Fake Guns Bring Real Pain
Airsoft guns are sold as toys, but they are weapons that can bring harm to their owners, even death. Airsoft guns work by firing plastic pellets with gas or spring systems and most owners use them to simulate war games. They are sold to anyone over eighteen, but it is legal for any age to use them. The Federal law only requires an orange tip be on the end of the barrel during the selling or shipping of the airsoft gun. The problem is that once the owner has the airsoft gun he or she can remove the orange tip. Recently some cities and states require airsoft guns to have orange tips to differentiate them from real guns, but there needs to be a federal law. The problem with users removing orange tips from airsoft guns
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This could mean getting injured by a fired pellet. I used to own a few and there is a warning about wearing protective eye wear, but the user is not warned that using these guns could pose a threat to their life. In my neighborhood some teenage boys were playing army games with airsoft guns without orange tips. Another neighbor called the police thinking they were real guns. When the police confronted the boys they dropped their airsoft guns, but if they had not obeyed the situation could have turned violent. There have been cases where airsoft gun users, who have covered up or removed the orange tips, have been killed. Sometimes these toy guns are used to commit crimes and police cannot confirm that the criminal is using a real or fake gun. In these cases the officers have no choice, but to react as if the person is holding a real gun. The most devastating effect of mistaken identity of airsoft guns is when children are using them. In November of 2014 a twelve year old boy, Tamir Rice, was shot dead by police when he reached for an all black airsoft gun. The police officer was only 10 feet away and feared for his life after the young boy reached for his fake gun. Sadly, the person who called the officers even told the 911 operator that the gun Tamir was waving around was probably fake(NBC News). If a bright orange tip had been on this airsoft gun then perhaps Tamir Rice would still be alive