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February 19, 2001 Someone call the National Toy Rifle Association by Lance Jonn Romanoff In a now decades- long frenzy to blame bad behavior on inanimate objects, anti-gun activists have managed to fill the federal register with a mountain of laws and regulations that simply ignore the Second Amendment right to bear arms. It's estimated that there are now around 20,000 federal laws related to firearms. Not satisfied, their latest crusade is at best, extremely silly; at worst, a nanny-state metaphor taken far too literally. The target: toy guns. On 3 January 2001, Congressman Ed Towns (NY, Brooklyn, District 10) introduced bill HR215, a measure to ban "toys which in size, shape or overall appearance resemble real handguns." Citing a March 2000 incident where two Brooklyn teens were killed in a robbery attempt while "armed" with toy guns, Towns has said: "We have young people in this country who are being killed because of toy guns. The time has come for Congress to hold a hearing on my bill to enable us to do the kind of things that need to be done to protect our children." Towns, whose other legislative accomplishments include something called the "Student-Athlete Right to Know Act" and a health impact study of electromagnetism, ignores the fact that the "young people" in question were committing a felony at the time they were killed. Regulars Jerry Brito Olga Gardner Galvin Mark Kawar Yuval Levin James Markels Deroy Murdock Others Archive Today's Story Archive Search More E-Mail This Story Subscribe About Forum Submissions e-mail us As absurd as HR215 is, it's hardly unprecedented. In April, Annapolis, Maryland alderwoman Cynthia Carter proposed a buy- back program for toy guns, thinking that somehow this would "curb violent behavior." She considered this a first step towards making toy guns illegal. In September, California Governor Grey Davis (a man who thinks more government intervention in electricity markets will solve a government- created power shortage) signed a law that would make toy guns that aren't neon orange or green illegal in his state. Even the generally sensible New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani signed a law prohibiting "realistic looking" toy weapons in October 1999. In Canada, a nation that never met a regulation it didn't like, Ontario police conducted a May 2000 raid on a toy store, seizing 3,200 toy guns -- despite the fact that toy guns were at the time perfectly legal. Six months later, the Ontario legislature got around to actually banning toy guns sales to minors. Ontario Solicitor General Dave Tsubouchi called the legislation "a good starting point." Finally, a trend-setting New Zealand school has, with police approval, begun issuing "licenses" to carry toy weapons to children as young as four -- provided they answer a series of questions the "correct" way. For example, if a child wants to carry his toy gun to put down an imaginary horse, the license is approved. If, however, he wants to play "cops and robbers" the license is denied. (New Zealand policemen don't carry firearms.) No word as yet on those New Zealand kids who want to play the robber -- most likely, like the real criminals, they won't bother with the licensing process. Remember, when toy guns are outlawed… only toy outlaws will have toy guns…or something. --30-- Lance Jonn Romanoff is a libertarian activist and web designer in Boston, MA. Recently, he was webmaster for the Carla Howell for Senate and Dan Belforti for Congress campaigns.