Latest on the proposed Dallas "toy" gun ban
Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 2:36 pm
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 9c91a.html
"Dallas working on toy-gun ordinance
Council members voice some new concerns over possible regulation
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 4, 2006
By DAVE LEVINTHAL and EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
Hold your holsters.
After directing City Attorney Tom Perkins in August to craft one of the nation's strictest ordinances regulating the sale and possession of toy guns, the Dallas City Council's public safety committee asked him Tuesday to keep working on the matter.
The council never discussed the issue publicly Tuesday, instead spending nearly an hour in a closed-door meeting reviewing legal issues concerning toy-gun regulations.
In interviews after the closed session, council members expressed concerns over moving forward with the kinds of regulations they had previously sought.
Among the concerns:
• Should the city limit the ordinance to people 18 and younger?
• Could the city successfully defend itself against legal challenges to such an ordinance?
• What's the purpose of the ordinance? To make a moral statement? To keep children safe from police officers who may shoot at a child brandishing a toy gun?
In August, the council voted 7-1 to pursue banning all toy guns except those painted a bright color, such as neon green or fluorescent yellow, or made of transparent or translucent material.
The toys must also reflect light, and any toy that didn't fit the city's paint/reflection criteria would be illegal even if kept inside a private home or vehicle, according to directions given to Mr. Perkins in August.
Some Dallas residents, especially in the city's southern sector, have expressed concern over what they say is children's easy access to inexpensive replica firearms. Numerous ice cream vendors and retailers at bazaars and flea markets sell the toys.
Public-safety issue?
Council member Angela Hunt said Tuesday that she's particularly concerned about the city's basic reasoning for creating an anti-toy gun ordinance.
"I'm not convinced this is a public-safety issue," she said, noting that there are few cases nationwide in recent years where a police officer mistakenly injured or killed a child with a toy gun.
Ms. Hunt said she's not sure how to proceed. "I do know I don't want to create an ordinance that's unenforceable and that's simply symbolic. I'm concerned we've got sidetracked on a very narrow issue that doesn't have any real-world benefit," she said.
Council member Mitchell Rasansky, however, wants all toy guns – no matter their shape, size, color or reflective property – banned outright. He says the ordinance is worth the trouble to pass if it saves one child's life.
"And I want an ordinance with teeth in it. We should absolutely fine the people who are selling these things to our children," he said.
Despite his colleagues' differing views, council member, Leo Chaney says he's "optimistic we can reach a consensus on how to go forward."
Mr. Perkins never presented his draft ordinance to council members Tuesday, he said. Recognizing council members' disparate views on the issue, Mr. Perkins says he'll present the committee with "a range of options" at a future committee meeting."
"Dallas working on toy-gun ordinance
Council members voice some new concerns over possible regulation
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 4, 2006
By DAVE LEVINTHAL and EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
Hold your holsters.
After directing City Attorney Tom Perkins in August to craft one of the nation's strictest ordinances regulating the sale and possession of toy guns, the Dallas City Council's public safety committee asked him Tuesday to keep working on the matter.
The council never discussed the issue publicly Tuesday, instead spending nearly an hour in a closed-door meeting reviewing legal issues concerning toy-gun regulations.
In interviews after the closed session, council members expressed concerns over moving forward with the kinds of regulations they had previously sought.
Among the concerns:
• Should the city limit the ordinance to people 18 and younger?
• Could the city successfully defend itself against legal challenges to such an ordinance?
• What's the purpose of the ordinance? To make a moral statement? To keep children safe from police officers who may shoot at a child brandishing a toy gun?
In August, the council voted 7-1 to pursue banning all toy guns except those painted a bright color, such as neon green or fluorescent yellow, or made of transparent or translucent material.
The toys must also reflect light, and any toy that didn't fit the city's paint/reflection criteria would be illegal even if kept inside a private home or vehicle, according to directions given to Mr. Perkins in August.
Some Dallas residents, especially in the city's southern sector, have expressed concern over what they say is children's easy access to inexpensive replica firearms. Numerous ice cream vendors and retailers at bazaars and flea markets sell the toys.
Public-safety issue?
Council member Angela Hunt said Tuesday that she's particularly concerned about the city's basic reasoning for creating an anti-toy gun ordinance.
"I'm not convinced this is a public-safety issue," she said, noting that there are few cases nationwide in recent years where a police officer mistakenly injured or killed a child with a toy gun.
Ms. Hunt said she's not sure how to proceed. "I do know I don't want to create an ordinance that's unenforceable and that's simply symbolic. I'm concerned we've got sidetracked on a very narrow issue that doesn't have any real-world benefit," she said.
Council member Mitchell Rasansky, however, wants all toy guns – no matter their shape, size, color or reflective property – banned outright. He says the ordinance is worth the trouble to pass if it saves one child's life.
"And I want an ordinance with teeth in it. We should absolutely fine the people who are selling these things to our children," he said.
Despite his colleagues' differing views, council member, Leo Chaney says he's "optimistic we can reach a consensus on how to go forward."
Mr. Perkins never presented his draft ordinance to council members Tuesday, he said. Recognizing council members' disparate views on the issue, Mr. Perkins says he'll present the committee with "a range of options" at a future committee meeting."
