Orange Tips? A Solution?
sbm bbm Glad the story ended without an arrest or injury for death.
Article "Can you tell a real gun from a toy? It's tougher than you think. Take our quiz" has several pairs of photos, each w a real gun and 'toy' gun. Can you tell the difference? I'll wait right here while you read and see for yourself.Leisurely reviewing these photos in relaxed atmosphere of a comfortable living room armchair & w perfect light and no stress, I cannot begin to tell which is the real gun (admittedly, limited experience with and exposure to firearms).
An orange tip* on 'toy gun' does not guarantee a happy or even neutral ending. Simple for a child, teen, or adult to paint or tape orange tip onto end of a gun's barrel --- toy or actual. Likewise, easy to strip off or mask a toy's orange tip, to render it seemingly 'harmless.' Then anyone looking at either type of gun has a difficult, if not impossible, time distinguishing which is which.
Hard for me to imagine standing in a police officer's shoes and seeing someone pull a gun, then judging in a split second if real or 'toy.' Throw in the variables any LEO may face.
--- weather: outdoor scene, below freezing, sweltering heat, rain, snow?
--- person to approach: angry, drunken, drug addled, mentally ill, asleep?
--- immed. environment: home, retail store, protest, public sidewalk, empty bldg, 70 mph vehicle traffic half a lane away?
--- identity of individual: unknown, previously encountered & arrested, serving arrest warrant, a BOLO or APB??
--- nature of 911 call: baby in danger, domestic violence, store robbery, home invasion, traffic accident, wellness check, etc, etc.?
--- others close by: family members of person engaged, crowd gathering, pedestrians?
--- light levels: normal, high noon, pitch black, glaring sunrise/set, dark basement or alley?
--- proximity of back-up: partner 10 feet away, ten LEOs already out of vehicles 1/2 block away, or two other LEOs 20 min away?
--- plus other factors.
Are you back from the link? How many of the guns could you correctly identify as real? As toy? Who wants to try ^this^ in real life? I'm gonna to move to the end of line, which is getting pretty long, or behind the door.
'Toy' guns are used in actual crimes, w ppl scared into compliance by virtue of seeing the gun's shape. Should LE training lull LEOs into a sense of complacency "Oh, no danger, it's just a toy" then be shot at, injured, or killed after seeing orange tips? It's just plain hard to accurately tell if gun is 'toy' or real. Legislation requiring orange tips on certain gun-look alikes is not a complete or reliable solution for LE or the public in trying to distinguish 'toy' guns from real guns. What a quandry.
my 2 cts.
..................................................................................................................
* Toy gun - Wikipedia.
@aThousandYearsWide
sbm bbm Glad the story ended without an arrest or injury for death.Article "Can you tell a real gun from a toy? It's tougher than you think. Take our quiz" has several pairs of photos, each w a real gun and 'toy' gun. Can you tell the difference? I'll wait right here while you read and see for yourself.
Leisurely reviewing these photos in relaxed atmosphere of a comfortable living room armchair & w perfect light and no stress, I cannot begin to tell which is the real gun (admittedly, limited experience with and exposure to firearms). An orange tip* on 'toy gun' does not guarantee a happy or even neutral ending. Simple for a child, teen, or adult to paint or tape orange tip onto end of a gun's barrel --- toy or actual. Likewise, easy to strip off or mask a toy's orange tip, to render it seemingly 'harmless.' Then anyone looking at either type of gun has a difficult, if not impossible, time distinguishing which is which.
Hard for me to imagine standing in a police officer's shoes and seeing someone pull a gun, then judging in a split second if real or 'toy.' Throw in the variables any LEO may face.
--- weather: outdoor scene, below freezing, sweltering heat, rain, snow?
--- person to approach: angry, drunken, drug addled, mentally ill, asleep?
--- immed. environment: home, retail store, protest, public sidewalk, empty bldg, 70 mph vehicle traffic half a lane away?
--- identity of individual: unknown, previously encountered & arrested, serving arrest warrant, a BOLO or APB??
--- nature of 911 call: baby in danger, domestic violence, store robbery, home invasion, traffic accident, wellness check, etc, etc.?
--- others close by: family members of person engaged, crowd gathering, pedestrians?
--- light levels: normal, high noon, pitch black, glaring sunrise/set, dark basement or alley?
--- proximity of back-up: partner 10 feet away, ten LEOs already out of vehicles 1/2 block away, or two other LEOs 20 min away?
--- plus other factors.
Are you back from the link? How many of the guns could you correctly identify as real? As toy? Who wants to try ^this^ in real life? I'm gonna to move to the end of line, which is getting pretty long, or behind the door.
'Toy' guns are used in actual crimes, w ppl scared into compliance by virtue of seeing the gun's shape. Should LE training lull LEOs into a sense of complacency "Oh, no danger, it's just a toy" then be shot at, injured, or killed after seeing orange tips? It's just plain hard to accurately tell if gun is 'toy' or real. Legislation requiring orange tips on certain gun-look alikes is not a complete or reliable solution for LE or the public in trying to distinguish 'toy' guns from real guns. What a quandry.
my 2 cts.
..................................................................................................................
* Toy gun - Wikipedia.
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