BB Gun Bill Advances In Legislature
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Manufacturers would have to make BB guns in bright colors so they could more easily be distinguished from real guns, under a bill approved by the state Senate.
Sen. Kevin de Leon, a Democrat from Los Angeles, introduced the bill after numerous tragedies in which police mistakenly shot people carrying BB guns.
His bill, SB798, is patterned on a law requiring that imitation firearms be made in bright colors to avoid the same problem.
Several Republican senators objected, saying state government is going too far. Sen. Joel Anderson of La Mesa wondered if the next step will be regulating the sticks that youngsters pick up and pretend are guns.
The bill passed Monday on a 21-16 vote and now goes to the Assembly.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
