Grand Rapids, MI Looking To Crack Down On ‘Imitation Guns’

By Tom Knighton

When I was a kid, I had a BB gun like most of my friends. Mine was the old-fashioned Red Ryder made famous by A Christmas Story. I had one before the movie came out, but in truth, I kind of disliked one thing about it. It didn’t look like any of the guns I saw on TV or movies. As a child of the ’80s, westerns weren’t a part of my youth. I wanted an air gun that looked like a semi-automatic handgun or an AR-15 like my friends all had.

The primary reason why BB guns are made to look like real guns is because the market demanded it.

However, it now seems that the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan is ready to crack down on these look-alikes.

City officials are attempting to strengthen Grand Rapids’ gun ordinance as it relates to replica firearms at a time when police officers are regularly encountering them.

BB guns and replica firearms have created challenges for local police in evaluating the fake from the real guns.

In the almost 19 months since Jan. 1, 2018, Grand Rapids police have taken 106 “imitation and pneumatic guns” from the community. That includes replica guns, BB …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms