Should All Imitation Firearms Have To Be Brightly Colored? (S. 213)

What is S. 213?

(Updated June 7, 2020)

This bill would require the exterior of all imitation firearms (specifically toy guns) to be painted a brightly colored orange or similar fluorescent shade to distinguish them from real firearms.  

Introduced in response to the killings of several young men — including 12-year-old Tamir Rice, 13-year-old Andy Lopez, and 22-year-old John Crawford — who were all shot and killed by police while holding toy look-alike weapons. Law enforcement officers in all cases mistakenly took the imitation firearms for real weapons.

This bill would allow for the Secretary of Commerce and Consumer Product Safety Commission to regulate the manufacturing of all look-alike weapons to have an easily distinguishable paint color. 

Under current law, only the tip of toy guns must be painted bright orange. That distinguishing feature has proven to be easy to remove. Even so, proponents of the bill claim that even the orange tip is not visible enough for police officers to differentiate imitations from real guns in a matter of seconds.

Argument in favor

12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot in November 2014, by police who mistakenly thought he was holding a real gun. It was a realistic black airsoft gun. If this toy were more visibly harmless, perhaps he would still be alive.

Argument opposed

Current law around imitation firearms is adequate. Painting all "toy guns" bright colors will only give the general public and police officers a false sense of safety — and hurt the imitation firearm industry.

Impact

People who use imitation firearms, manufacturers and producers of those products, law enforcement officers, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Cost of S. 213

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth:

This bill would also redefine look-alike guns to include toy guns, water guns, replica non-guns, airsoft guns firing nonmetallic projectiles, traditional B-B guns, and pellet-firing air guns. The bill would distinguish look-alike weapons from paintball guns and antique weapons. As Sponsoring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) noted in a press release: 

“No child should ever die because a police officer or anyone else mistakes a toy gun for a real weapon. This legislation will protect our kids and help law enforcement by making sure that imitation firearms cannot be mistaken for real firearms.”

In opposition to this bill, a spokesperson for APS Limited noted: 

“By painting airsoft devices in neon colors, we would be giving law enforcement and the general public a false sense of security ... Mandating that airsoft devices be brightly colored would essentially kill the market in the state, causing the loss of jobs and economic activity statewide.“

Of Note: 

A similar bill, the Imitation Firearm Safety Act, was passed in California in 2014 and goes into effect in January 2016. This bill was in direct response to the shooting of Andy Lopez, who was killed by local police while carrying a toy gun made up to look like an AK-47 in Sonoma county. Following suit, Ohio State Assemblywoman Alicia Rice is writing a similar law based on the Imitation Firearm Safety Act: John Crawford’s Law. 

Media:

Sponsoring Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Press Release

Ben Swann

Breitbart (Context)

(Photo Credit: "Nerf (5697272271)" by Helgi Halldórsson from Reykjavík, Iceland - Nerf. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons)