Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today sent a letter to the Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Elliot F. Kaye, urging him to review a California law that will help ensure that toys guns are not mistaken for real guns, and to adopt similar standards for all toy guns sold in the United States.
“The death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland last month is just the most recent example of what can happen when a police officer mistakes a play weapon for a real firearm,” Senator Boxer wrote. “The Commission plays a critical role in protecting the public from possible injury or death associated with toys.”
On November 22, 2014, Tamir Rice was killed in Cleveland, Ohio by an officer who mistook the toy airsoft gun he was playing with for a real gun. There are reports that the orange safety tip that is supposed to identify the toy as fake was removed.
The CPSC is the regulatory body charged with assessing the efficacy of the current rules for toy guns to ensure that they are protecting American children from harm.
Senator Boxer is asking Commissioner Kaye to review the Imitation Firearm Safety Act – legislation signed into law in California this year that will require all toy guns sold in the state to be painted a bright color. She wants the agency to strengthen the current toy gun standards, similar to a provision in the California law, to reduce the risk of death and injury associated with realistic toy guns.
The Senator continued, “We don’t need another child’s death to remind us that we need to change the current laws regulating imitation firearms. Any modifications you can make to the existing toy gun standards that will help ensure that law enforcement officers are able to distinguish fake guns from real firearms are much appreciated.”
The full text of the letter follows:
December 10, 2014
Commissioner Elliot F. Kaye
Chairman
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
4330 East West Highway
Bethesda, MD 20814
Dear Commissioner Kaye:
I am writing to ask that the Consumer Product Safety Commission review the current Toy Gun Marking regulations and strengthen the standards to ensure that they are keeping our children safe.
The death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland last month is just the most recent example of what can happen when a police officer mistakes a play weapon for a real firearm. The Commission plays a critical role in protecting the public from possible injury or death associated with toys. I hope the Commission will exercise its authority to assess the effectiveness of existing safety standards (ASTM F 963) and promulgate rules for toy gun markings that are more stringent than the current standards. In light of the many reported incidents where the orange safety cap has been removed or the fake gun did not have the legally required orange colored band, it seems clear that those safety standards are not satisfactorily minimizing the risk of mistaking an imitation gun for a real firearm. Specifically, I propose that you require all toy guns to have the entire exterior surface colored white, bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright pink, or bright purple.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the Imitation Firearm Safety Act, which ensures that toy guns can never be mistaken for real guns. I hope the Commission will review this new law for possible ways to reduce the risk of injury associated with toy guns.
We don’t need another child’s death to remind us that we need to change the current laws regulating imitation firearms. Any modifications you can make to the existing toy gun standards that will help ensure that law enforcement officers are able to distinguish fake guns from real firearms are much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
