Replica weapons ban is a life-saving measure By: Editorial Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 11, 2021 Last Modified: 6:03 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 11, 2021 Updates

Opinion

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This article was published 10/05/2021 (1326 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The website of a company that sells fake guns offers this promise: “These replicas are so similar to the real thing, that even the most seasoned historian might have to look twice to distinguish between the two.” Such an advertising pitch may be compelling to people who play weapons-based games such as airsoft. But, to police, that sounds like a threat.

A section of the federal government’s proposed firearms legislation, Bill C-21, would ensure replica guns are easily distinguished from real guns, a change that would no doubt come as a relief to police.

That section was endorsed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, whose members know the replicas can present an all-too-real dilemma for officers on the front lines in crisis situations. In Winnipeg, two separate deaths attest to the tragic reality that replica guns can be more than just props in a realistic game.

In the investigations of the two deaths, blame was assigned in both cases to the realistic appearances of the lookalike weapons involved. Officers are authorized to use lethal force to protect themselves and the public in situations of grave danger, and they had no way of knowing the guns pointed at them were not real.

Jason Collins, 36, died April 9, 2020, after police responded to an early-morning domestic dispute, where they heard a woman screaming. Mr. Collins left the home and walked towards officers with a weapon pointed at them. Police shot him three times, and only later learned his weapon was a BB gun designed to look like a handgun.

In a report released last week, Independent Investigation Unit director Zane Tessler wrote: “I continue to question the social relevance, and practical purpose for the manufacturing, importation, sales and possession of replica firearms. In fact, in my view, I cannot find a single redeeming factor for the possession of a replica firearm.”

Mark DiCesare, 24, died in similar circumstances in 2015. He pointed what appeared to be a submachine gun at a police officer as he drove by in a car. After a lengthy pursuit that ended with his vehicle being pulled over, he walked towards officers while pointing his weapon, and was shot several times. It turned out his weapon was a replica-style BB gun.

“I continue to question the social relevance, and practical purpose for the manufacturing, importation, sales and possession of replica firearms. In fact, in my view, I cannot find a single redeeming factor for the possession of a replica firearm.” — Zane Tessler, Independent Investigation Unit director

An inquest report by Judge Lindy Choy into Mr. DiCesare’s death recommended legislation governing the sale and possession of imitation weapons: “While a portion of the population may enjoy their use in sport or entertainment, the negative impact imitation weapons have on our communities warrants the need for some regulation.”

The Manitoba government has created an advisory group to offer feedback to Ottawa on the firearms bill, of which replica guns are only a small part. On many aspects of the bill, the province should cautiously consider its position to protect legitimate firearm uses by hunters, sport shooters and rural landowners. But when it comes to the section of the bill regarding fake guns designed to look like the real thing, Manitoba’s advice should be unequivocal: ban them.

Such legislation needn’t curtail games such as airsoft, which has an estimated 50,000 players in Canada who find competitive camaraderie and recreational fun in the sport. Those games can continue, but with guns that are visibly distinguishable from the real things, perhaps by unique colors or conspicuous markings that would make them immediately obvious to police in confrontations.

Fake guns should look fake. The alternative can be deadly — a grim reality laid bare in the tragic obituaries of two Manitoba men.