U.S. Representative Edolphus Towns (D-New York), is extremely concerned about guns. No, not the kind you use to defend yourself or to hunt with, but rather the toy kind. In fact Towns wants toy guns banned and earlier this month introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to do just that. HR 215 reads,
The Consumer Product Safety Commission shall promulgate a rule in accordance with section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058) to declare as a banned hazardous product under section 8 any toy which in size, shape, or overall appearance resembles a real handgun.
Towns is serious about the dangers of toy guns. Saying that too many children in New York have been killed by people who thought they were carrying real guns, Towns sponsors regularly toy gun exchanges where children receive “educational toys” in exchange for their toy guns. On his official House web site, Towns says, “I am hoping that we will be able to save the lives of our children by making certain that these kinds of dangerous toys are banned.”
You might think he’s worried about young children playing with toy guns, but unbelievalby Towns has a sore spot for hoodlums in New York who have used lookalike guns to commit robberies. In a press release announcing HR 215, Towns cited just such a case,
Appearing at a press conference today, Congressman Towns described the events that lead to the fatal shooting of 19-year old Tysheen Bourne and 17-year old Andre Fields. “On March 31, a group of teenagers approached two undercover police officers in an apparent robbery attempt using toy guns. Apparently, the guns were the types you can buy at the neighborhood Rite Aid with a realistic barrel but a fluorescent purple plastic handle.”
According to police, in order to make the guns appear more realistic, the teens wrapped the handle in duct tape. Congressman Towns said, “Regrettably, the toy guns appeared all too real, and the officers shot and killed two of the boys. This is not the first time that we have had youngsters killed in Brooklyn because they had a toy gun in their hands, but it should be the last.”
Presumably the world would be safer if such criminals were forced to buy real guns. I think Towns is missing the point that the reason Bourne and Fields are dead has more to do with their criminal intent than with toy guns.