Following an approval by the Boston City Council in September, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh signed an ordinance banning replica handguns Monday.
This ordinance seeks to raise awareness about the dangers of using replica handguns throughout the city. Walsh said it is important to keep these items off the streets.
“The safety of Boston’s residents and visitors is a top priority, and I am proud to sign this ordinance banning replica handguns in public spaces which will help us in our larger mission of raising community awareness and engagement to remove replica firearms from the hands of our youth,” Walsh said in a Monday press release.
Boston Police Department Commissioner William Evans said banning replica guns can help keep them away from young children.
“Replica guns have become a big issue for us. We all too often encounter young people who are carrying these fake guns and even though they are fake, the public and police don’t know they are,” Williams said in the release. “Our goal is to make the city the safest place it can be and this ordinance will help remind the public and residents of the dangers these replica guns present.”
BPD has collected more than 150 replica guns to date, the release stated.
David Rosenbloom, a professor at Boston University’s School of Public Health, said Walsh’s decision to ban the use of replica handguns is an important step for the city.
“The great irony of toy handguns is that they’re more regulated than regular guns. But this is a good idea, and the reason that it is a good idea is the kids carrying around plastic toy guns that actually look like real guns can inadvertently be the victims of violence,” Rosenbloom said.
The use of toy guns causes confusion for police officers trying to keep violence off of the streets, Rosenbloom said.
“If you’re a kid or a teenager waving a gun around like this, the police officers don’t know how to reacts … so toy guns sometimes trigger real gunfire. And so I think that was the reasoning behind this city ordinance,” Rosenbloom said.
While gun violence is indeed a prevalent issue in many states, Rosenbloom said it is less serious in Massachusetts.
“Massachusetts has too many guns on the streets, but it has less of a problem than many other states because it has the best gun laws. So yes, we have a problem, but it is not as serious as some of the other parts of the country,” Rosenbloom said. “[Our] problem stems more from the easy purchase of guns elsewhere that get brought across the borders of Massachusetts and then sold illegally for use of crime.”
Several residents said the ordinance will benefit Boston and help improve safety.
Jen Muller, 42, of Downtown, said although banning replica handguns may infringe on personal liberties, it could also be beneficial for society.
“In general it’s a good idea because there is no need for people to be walking around with replica guns,” she said. “If you’re walking around with a squirt gun that looks like a [gun] and is black and a police officer wouldn’t know the difference, I’m in favor of it. I don’t see a downside.”
Megan Harwell, 25, of Kenmore, said it is near impossible to eliminate all violence from the streets.
“[The ordinance] might be an extreme measure. I get that they are trying to make amends for the stuff that has been happening in the past few months with violence and shootings, but it might be a bit extreme,” she said. “ … I don’t know if it’s possible. I mean, we’ve seen it before with prohibition.”
Carlos Asmat, 30, of the South End, said although he personally has not seen children using toy handguns, Walsh’s decision to sign the ordinance is useful.
“I don’t even know if I ever see replica guns, maybe sometimes,” he said. “It seems like a good idea. [But] I don’t know if it’ll affect me, probably marginally.”
Kennedy Davis contributed to the reporting of this article.
