New Law For BB Guns May Not Yield Solid Results

The Los Angeles Council and the police force have recently been drafting new laws on a very important issue: the color of toys. As silly as it sounds, police officers have been expressing concerns about the realistic appearance of non-lethal guns, including weapons like bb guns, airsoft guns, and water pistols. Now the LA council is voting on new laws for the colors of these non-lethal guns, which will have big effects on companies like AirsoftRC, as they may have to design and produce new products specifically for the LA area. However, there is still some uncertainty about the effectiveness of these new purposed policies.

1. Painted Bright - The new regulations that the LA council are voting on is the requirement that all non-lethal guns be painted in bright colors to easily distinguish them from the real deal. This regulation would have a big effect on producers of airsoft weapons and BB guns. To meet these LA requirements, companies would have to design specific products to be sold only in this area as well as produce them, which would be costly for these companies.

2. Orange Tips - Orange-tipped weapons have been the past solution for distinguishing these weapons. However, the LA police officers would like a more obvious sign to prevent any future OIS incidents due to non-lethal guns. Still, critics of these new regulations have pointed out that the bright colors are easy to mask. The regulations could backfire as a cheap can of spray paint can easily paint a non-lethal gun black to disguise, or paint a lethal gun a bright color to make a cop hesitate.

3. Dangers? - Still, the chief of police in Los Angeles is pushing for a change of the laws due to the dangerous situations that these non-lethal weapons have caused. When a suspect pulls a gun, a police officer is trained to respond to the situation, which can result in injury. When the weapon turns out to be a toy, it is too late to take those actions back. A shooting three years ago between the police and individuals armed with non-lethal weapons proved this very problem and has prompted the council to take action in order to prevent future situations.

4. Trained Cops - In addition to changing the laws regarding the coloring of non-lethal guns, police officers are asking for additional training in identifying these weapons. With more training, they would be able to distinguish non-lethal weapons and lethal weapons quickly, regardless of the color of the weapon. This training seems like a step in the right direction, but the LA council still plans on enforcing the different colored weapons in addition to more police training.

While these new regulations are just for the LA area, it may not be long before other areas follow their lead. Airsoft gun, water gun, and BB gun producers will be paying attention to these new regulations and watching to see if their product will be forever changed to bright blue and green exteriors.