New Ordinance Bans Replica Guns In Public Spaces Throughout Boston
Police Will Seize Fake Guns Not Properly Marked
An ordinance banning replica guns throughout out the city of Boston is being signed by Mayor Martin J. Walsh. The ban will outlaw replica handguns in public spaces. Mayor Walsh is signing the new ordinance at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury.
Those attending the replica guns ban are Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans, Twelfth Baptist Rev. Jeffrey Brown, Dan Mulhern, Walsh’s advisor on public-safety initiatives, and several other officials.
This latest gun legislature is designed to avoid the potential for an officer accidentally shooting a child playing with a fake gun. This stems from a tragic case which involved a young boy in Cleveland, Ohio was shot and killed in a park while playing with a fake gun around police.
Replica guns have been used in many robberies around the Boston area. In banning fake firearms, this helps officers avoid shooting or killing someone not in actual possession of a real gun.
Walsh talks a little more about the new law, revealing that this aims to ensure the safety of children who often play with fake guns that look like an authentic firearm. If police take fake guns away from kids, this gives authorities a chance to speak with parents when they come to retrieve the “toys.”
“The police will be able to confiscate them before a serious situation arises and the owner will be able to pick them up in person at the district station. But it’s also going to give us a chance to talk to parents,” Walsh said.
The replica gun ban gives police the right to seize any replica handgun not clearly marked as fake by an orange or red-tip on the muzzle; this is a federally required “code.”
Police will be required to contact the parent of any minor caught with a replica gun.
Commissioner Evans says police have confiscated 673 real guns and 153 replica guns off the streets of Boston so far this year. He says many of the fake models look like the real thing.