Johannes Paulsen – November 19, 2016 at The Truth About Guns

The Baltimore Sun reports that the Baltimore City Council has given preliminary approval to a constitutionally suspect ordinance that would ban any toys or replicas that look like working firearms.

City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young said replica guns are contributing to violence on Baltimore’s streets. He said people are using the fake weapons in robberies, and children who carry them are put in harm’s way….

“It’s something that we should do for the safety of our children,” Young said. “We’re getting stores robbed with replicas. We’ve got people running around with these things and they almost look real. … I don’t think we should be allowing replica guns in the city of Baltimore, especially with the murder rate we have.”

The ordinance makes owning, carrying or otherwise possessing a “replica” that could “reasonably be perceived to be a real firearm” subject to a $250 fine for a first offense. According to the text of the ordinance on the City Council’s website, they’re defining “replica gun” as follows:

“replica gun” means any toy, imitation, facsimile or replica pistol, revolver, shotgun, rifle, air rifle, B-B gun, pellet gun, machine gun, or other simulated weapon, which because of its color, size, shape, or other characteristics, can reasonably be perceived to be a real firearm.

There’s a problem with the city’s proposed ordinance. Mark Pennak, a …. read more here