Steven Mace
02-11-2002, 07:07 PM
BB gun law debate begins
By John Sanko, News Capitol Bureau
Is a BB gun a deadly weapon?
Colorado lawmakers will begin a week of legislative fighting over guns today with that issue on their plate.
Sen. Mark Hillman, a farmer and former Daisy BB gun owner from Burlington, will try to convince the Senate Judiciary Committee that a BB or pellet gun is not a deadly weapon unless it's used to cause death or bodily injury.
But that's not the way prosecutors see it. Peter Weir, executive director for the Colorado District Attorneys Council, said prosecutors don't want the law changed. They insist today's more powerful BB and pellet guns frequently look like real guns and can maim or kill.
Both the Senate and the House plan to hold committee hearings later this week over gun bills dealing with conceal carry, safe storage and background checks.
But it all begins today with Hillman's SB 116.
Hillman said he became interested when he was told about a Colorado Springs case involving a juvenile "just walking across a school yard" when a BB gun tucked in the back of his pants fell out. A school security guard stopped him, found a small amount of marijuana as well, and the youngster was held on a felony charge.
"The district attorney argued that the only possible reason he could have had that gun and drugs was to use the gun in some sort of a threatening way," Hillman said. "The judge bought it and they held the kid on possession of a deadly weapon on school grounds."
But Weir said there have been several cases where BB and pellet guns have been used in extremely dangerous fashion. He said the current law is a tool that the district attorneys need and use. He noted that in the Colorado Springs case the youth eventually was charged with a misdemeanor.
Weir said velocity studies of the guns show that the pellets have the capability of penetrating both skin and muscle. Some are CO-2 cartridge-driven or pump-action. They can be deadly if someone is shot at close range in the temple or behind the ear, he said.
Some of the BB guns are almost identical replicas of 9-millimeter and far more serious weapons, he added.
"Because of that, the menacing factor that arises from that and issues that surround when people don't understand it's a BB or pellet gun are of great concern," Weir said. "The district attorneys are taking it very seriously. We are opposed to this bill."
February 11, 2002
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/legislature/article/0,1299,DRMN_37_980982,00.html
Steve Mace
By John Sanko, News Capitol Bureau
Is a BB gun a deadly weapon?
Colorado lawmakers will begin a week of legislative fighting over guns today with that issue on their plate.
Sen. Mark Hillman, a farmer and former Daisy BB gun owner from Burlington, will try to convince the Senate Judiciary Committee that a BB or pellet gun is not a deadly weapon unless it's used to cause death or bodily injury.
But that's not the way prosecutors see it. Peter Weir, executive director for the Colorado District Attorneys Council, said prosecutors don't want the law changed. They insist today's more powerful BB and pellet guns frequently look like real guns and can maim or kill.
Both the Senate and the House plan to hold committee hearings later this week over gun bills dealing with conceal carry, safe storage and background checks.
But it all begins today with Hillman's SB 116.
Hillman said he became interested when he was told about a Colorado Springs case involving a juvenile "just walking across a school yard" when a BB gun tucked in the back of his pants fell out. A school security guard stopped him, found a small amount of marijuana as well, and the youngster was held on a felony charge.
"The district attorney argued that the only possible reason he could have had that gun and drugs was to use the gun in some sort of a threatening way," Hillman said. "The judge bought it and they held the kid on possession of a deadly weapon on school grounds."
But Weir said there have been several cases where BB and pellet guns have been used in extremely dangerous fashion. He said the current law is a tool that the district attorneys need and use. He noted that in the Colorado Springs case the youth eventually was charged with a misdemeanor.
Weir said velocity studies of the guns show that the pellets have the capability of penetrating both skin and muscle. Some are CO-2 cartridge-driven or pump-action. They can be deadly if someone is shot at close range in the temple or behind the ear, he said.
Some of the BB guns are almost identical replicas of 9-millimeter and far more serious weapons, he added.
"Because of that, the menacing factor that arises from that and issues that surround when people don't understand it's a BB or pellet gun are of great concern," Weir said. "The district attorneys are taking it very seriously. We are opposed to this bill."
February 11, 2002
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/legislature/article/0,1299,DRMN_37_980982,00.html
Steve Mace