Maryland legislators have proposed a new series of gun-control laws, including a provision to virtually ban toy guns and air rifles.
The new bill takes aim at owning alleged “imitation firearms,” which would be punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to a year in prison. Imitation firearms are defined as “a toy, a device, or an object that substantially duplicates or can reasonably be perceived to be a firearm or a handgun.” Additionally, those already owning toy guns will not be “grandfathered in.”
The measure, by Baltimore delegate Jill Carter, would require bright colors or easily identified trademarks on toy or air guns. As an NRA spokesman commented, “This legislation is poorly drafted and short-sighted. It will ban the BB and pellet guns that many parents use to teach their children safe gun handling and marksmanship.”
A similar bill in the Maryland Senate would ban imitation firearms sales or transfers, but not possession or use.
