Video: Fake Gun Legislation

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WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) — Lawmakers are back in Jackson, and one Northeast Mississippi lawmaker hopes his colleagues will act quickly to help prevent a tragedy in what is a growing problem for law enforcement.

A box on a police chief’s desk is filled with confiscated fake pistols and air BB guns. And although police officers are trained in guns, when approached by someone with a gun looking like the real thing… situations don’t always end up good. In a test, West Point officers couldn’t tell the difference between a fake gun and their chief’s real weapon in his holster. The same goes if one of these is pulled on an armed store clerk.

“If they can’t look immediately and tell that it is not a real gun then that is a threat that can be met with lethal force. And that’s a huge issue,” said Tim Brinkley, West Point Police Chief.

Imitation shotguns and rifles are just as big a concern. It’s such a concern that Starkville State Representative Tyrone Ellis is proposing legislation to address the issue. The ideas include age-limits on their possession to requiring they be sold from behind a counter to prevent shoplifting.

“For somebody to be carrying this on the street that’s not real and putting my officers in a situation where they have to make a life or death situation based on being threatened with one of these is a scary thought,” said Tim Brinkley.

Ellis and Brinkley say their goal is public safety, not prohibiting the sale or possession of the the look-alikes.

“This should only be used in the presence of a, supervision of an adult. This ought to be treated like a real fire arm,” said Brinkley.

Any dangerous toy weapon is suppose to be used under the supervision of an adult. Senator Angela Turner is expected to be working on a senate version of that bill.