Toy guns are now made in bright colors, to distinguish them from the real thing. Where in post- World War II America children would play with revolver-style cap pistols that resembled those used by cowboy heroes in movies and on television, today’s toy guns often are more true to the appearance of modern firearms. And there have been instances of children and adults being shot because police officers thought a real gun was being brandished. Hence, legislation making the use of bright colors mandatory for makers of toy guns.
But, there’s a problem. The gun is the photo is not a toy. It’s the genuine article, painted to resemble a toy. And just as there have been tragic episodes involving realistic-looking toy guns, there have been numerous cases of police officers encountering fully-functional weapons painted to look like toys.
Requiring toy guns to be made in bright colors does nothing to enhance the safety of either the public or police officers. Police officers must still assume that any gun, regardless of hue, is loaded and capable of being fired.
Sure, you can distinguish a real gun from a toy. Pick it up, feel its heft, examine it. But in the split-second decision-making that police officers face when dealing with someone holding a gun, the time to make such a determination is absent.
The legislation mandating that toy guns be colorful in appearance can be filed under the heading of “feel-good” legislation. It makes some people feel good, but accomplishes nothing else.
