Start saying goodbye to Airsoft Guns

[MyDiscountStation]

City Ready to Pull Trigger on Replica Gun Ban
By Christina Lent

Officers’ report says fake guns put public, police at risk; a council hearing is scheduled in late January on plan to prohibit toy guns in public
Beaverton Police Officers Andrew Halbert and Mike Hanada hold examples of replica firearms police encounter when on some emergency calls. Halbert holds an H&K G36 assault rifle replica while Hanada holds a Berreta 92F that looks real.
Hillsdale Chiropractic

Beaverton city officials are ready to prohibit airsoft guns and other realistic looking toy firearms from public places.

During a work session Monday night, city councilors encouraged a team of police officers and the city attorney’s office to take a tough stand and tighten language of a proposed toy gun ban ordinance with firm penalties before a Jan. 22 public hearing.

The ordinance would cover realistic replica guns that often are mistaken for the real thing.

The councilors hope to reduce the confusion and alarm caused when the public spots someone carrying a replica gun.

They also want to save lives.

Beaverton’s proposed toy gun ban ordinance is being proposed by the Police Department in light of an increasing number of incidents in which police officers responding to calls drew their guns on people carrying replica firearms that had a striking resemblance to a real weapon.

“This ordinance is very important to all members of the Beaverton Police Department,” said Beaverton Police Chief David Bishop. “The purpose of this ordinance is to foster a safe environment for our community, the officers who respond to the calls and are put in the position to make the decision to shoot or not shoot, and also for the individuals displaying the fake firearms in a public place or school, who put themselves at great risk.”

Bishop likened a person carrying a replica firearm in a school or park to someone shouting “fire” in a crowded theater.

“This has become a serious problem, and we want to address it before someone is seriously injured or killed,” Bishop said.

City councilors, after reading a detailed report and hearing a presentation, voiced their support for adoption of replica gun restrictions.

If approved, Beaverton would be the first Oregon city to put such rules in place.

“If we can save one kid from being shot or injured by mistake and an officer’s career and mental health, it’s well worth it,” said Councilor Dennis Doyle.

Councilor Betty Bode agreed.

“We don’t want that pretend world to become real,” she said.

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[MyDiscountStation]

College Station police issue Airsoft gun warning
Eagle Staff Report

College Station police are warning people about playing with Airsoft guns, especially in public and within city limits.

Airsoft guns shoot BBs or plastic projectiles at speeds that easily can cause serious injury, authorities said. The guns are popular, probably because of how realistic they look, Lt. Mark Langwell said.

"Citizens see kids playing with guns. They don't know they're not real, so they get alarmed and call us," he said. "On our way to the scene, all we know is that there's a suspect with a gun. It can be dangerous for everyone."

Most Airsoft guns are modeled after real guns, down to the reloading mechanism and weight, he said, but they are considered toy guns and are required to have an orange safety muzzle tip. Any attempt to remove or conceal the orange tip is a violation of federal law.

Police are urging people not to carry or use an Airsoft gun in a public place where it could be mistaken for a real firearm.

Firing any kind of rifle, pistol or any other mechanism that discharges a projectile within the College Station city limits is illegal and could result in a citation carrying a $265 fine.

According to a study by Beaverton Police Officers Andrew Halbert and Mike Hanada, from July 1, 2005, to Dec. 1, 2006, there were 26 emergency calls on reports of a person with a gun. The study only analyzed calls in which police were able to locate the person involved.

Of the calls, seven people were arrested, some on unrelated charges. The guns in other calls turned out to be Airsoft toys or other realistic looking fake firearms.

In one case, police stopped a Beaverton school bus after someone reported that a passenger had a gun.

“It turned out that the fake gun never made it onto the bus, but that call put everybody on that bus in jeopardy of harm,” said Randy Kayfes, public safety director for the school district.

The study by Halbert and Hanada also revealed that so far this year Beaverton schools have been forced into six lockouts caused by “gun” sightings near schools. The incidents disrupted classes and interrupted studies.

“Students do not learn where they do not feel safe,” Kayfes told the council. “We can’t take a chance with children’s lives.”

On average, 5.74 officers respond to each “gun” call, cutting into the 6.86 officers assigned to average shifts. Those officers are tied up for more than 80 minutes from the time they are dispatched to the time they get the “all-clear” signal.

“Police officers are being placed in a situation where they are forced to make the split-second decision on whether or not to use deadly force,” Halbert said. “Looking at the growing popularity of these replica guns, we want to take a proactive approach rather than a reactive one.

“We want to avoid tragedies that other agencies have faced around the country. So far, we’ve been able to avoid tragedies and we seek to continue that trend.”

Hanada agreed. “We don’t want to see anybody get hurt,” he added.
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[MyDiscountStation]

According to a study by Beaverton Police Officers Andrew Halbert and Mike Hanada, from July 1, 2005, to Dec. 1, 2006, there were 26 emergency calls on reports of a person with a gun. The study only analyzed calls in which police were able to locate the person involved.


So does that mean a total of 26 calls were made and they only studied the cases were the person was found?
or does that mean these 26 cases are the ones were they found the people?

lets pretend all 26 cases were the ones where they found people.
Lets pretend all 26 cases were airsoft rifles.
That is only an average of 1.44 calls a month. Quit crying !!!!!

In one case, police stopped a Beaverton school bus after someone reported that a passenger had a gun.

“It turned out that the fake gun never made it onto the bus, but that call put everybody on that bus in jeopardy of harm,” said Randy Kayfes, public safety director for the school district.

if the fake gun never made it onto the bus....... how the heck do they know it is fake?
That call put everybody on the bus in harms way?.....
does that mean the Police were ready to blow all the brains out of all the kids?

Shabby reporting is what the above shows.
Scare tactics is what the above shows.
Scare the public so they can pass laws that infringe on our rights.

And to those who think this does not infringe on rights....... it starts out with the toys and then moves on to our real guns

[packnrat]

when was a leo's life in danger?

only people who would get hurt are the poor slobs,
who just had to get in the way of a hot shot leo's bullet. :bawling:

[DblTap]

Those toy replica guns are amazingly similar to real guns, especially at first glance. Do yourself and your kids a favor if you live in a large city and don't buy them one.

On the other hand, if I were a cop and had a bullet proof vest I would take a "bullet" from these fake guns before I pulled the trigger and killed a kid. I just wouldn't be able to live with the fact that I killed a kid with a toy gun. I would like to define kid as elementary school age. Kids older than that ought to know better.

[packnrat]

i do agre that improper use will get sombody hurt...or worse.

a number of years back a leo was chasing down a "perp", they went into a dark alley, perp droped down and in the dark pointd a "gun" at the leo.

one very dead kid.....one very very badly mested up leo.

it was a 12 year old kid and he used his fingers like a gun.

so the anti air soft is just a ploy to move a anti gun agenda forward.
first ban this,
then ban that.

not trying to pick a hair,

yes there are places one just should not have even a toy on them.

but it just gets back to how one treats the object.

people just do not respect anything anymore.

:headbang: