Sioux City Considering Banning Toy Firearms in Public
Officials in Sioux City have just about had it with toy guns, so much so, they are considering banning people from carrying some forms of "toy" firearms in public.
According to KSFY TV, the problem stems from police saying how increasingly difficult it has become to distinguish toy replica looking weapons from real guns.
KSFY reports on Monday, (November 5) the Sioux City Council tentatively approved an ordinance that would ban pellet and BB guns. However, before this ordinance could be adopted more votes are required at future council meetings.
The proposal on the table now wouldn't ban Nerf or squirt guns, or guns that shoot suction-cup darts.
Sioux City Police Capt. Mark Kirkpatrick told KSFY, officers have had multiple encounters with replica weapons and faced the question of whether to use deadly force. According to Kirkpatrick, no one carrying a toy firearm has died after having an encounter with police in Sioux City. But as KSFY reports, that is not the story nationwide, as there have been more than 50 such deaths recorded each year resulting from people committing crimes using replica looking weapons.
Source: KSFY TV