Boston To Ban Replica Handguns In Public Spaces
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is planning to sign an ordinance banning replica handguns in public spaces throughout the city.
Walsh says the ordinance is aimed at increasing public safety by allowing police to confiscate replica firearms and requiring the owner to retrieve them at local police stations.
The goal is to make residents, particularly young people, aware of the dangers of replica handguns — which can be mistaken for real guns.
Walsh will be joined at the Monday signing ceremony at the Twelfth Baptist Church in the city's Roxbury neighborhood by Boston Police Commissioner William Evans and members of the local clergy.
A 12-year-old boy was fatally shot by police in Cleveland last year after brandishing what turned out to be a replica gun.
The regulations will take effect immediately after the signing.
One Dorchester mother told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe she agrees with the ordinance.
"Guns (aren't) good at all," she says. "My kids aren't allowed to play with guns, so anything to make our lives safer (I support)."
A Dorchester man told Tunnicliffe he disagrees with the regulation.
"I have a couple of BB guns that look realistic that could be mistaken as a real gun if the person doesn't have common knowledge," he said. "I'm responsible with it so I don't think it's fair that someone like me should be banned from using it in the privacy of my backyard where I'm safe with it."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports
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