Anaheim Bans Use of Phony Firearms : Law Enforcement Officials Applaud Law, Believed First in State

The Anaheim City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance, believed to be the first of its kind in California, that bans the use of fake firearms in a threatening manner.

Under the ordinance, which was approved unanimously and without discussion, violators could be found guilty of a misdemeanor and receive up to six months in jail and a maximum $1,000 fine.

Don C. Benninghoven, executive director of the League of California Cities in Sacramento, said he had not heard of any other California city adopting a similar law.

Doesn’t Know of Any

“I don’t think there is any or I would have heard about it,” Benninghoven said.

The ordinance was lauded Tuesday by several county law enforcement officials.

“It sounds good,” said Santa Ana Police Lt. Mike Mitchell, who explained that it is difficult for officers to detect the difference between real weapons and their realistic-looking but phony counterparts--especially under duress and in the dark.

“You tell me the difference between a real gun and a fake gun. When you are staring down the barrel of one, they all look alike,” Mitchell said.

La Palma Police Chief Norm Hansen, president of the Orange County Police Chiefs and Sheriff’s Assn., said he also thought the new ordinance “a good idea.” Both Hansen and Bob C. Dunek, executive director of the Orange County Division of the League of California Cities, said they knew of no other city in the county with such a law.

Anaheim Assistant City Atty. Mark A. Logan, who wrote the ordinance, said he did not copy other local laws and knew of no others like it in the state.

Logan said the new law fills a gap in existing statutes, which cover the use of fake guns in rapes, kidnapings and robberies but do not cover many other crimes involving phony weapons, he said.

Anaheim adopted the ordinance to close the loophole that now allows some people who use replicas of firearms in a threatening manner to escape prosecution, Logan said.

The law, in part, reads: “It is unlawful for any person to brandish a replica or facsimile of a firearm in a rude, angry or threatening manner with the intent to frighten, vex, harass or annoy any other person.”

Police officers in Anaheim and elsewhere have reported incidents involving starter pistols--used in track events--pellet guns and water guns, among other weapons.

The most notable case in recent years involved the accidental shooting death of a 5-year-old Stanton boy in 1983. A police officer responding to a call killed the child, who was holding a toy gun in a dimly lit apartment.

Threatened Pickets

In Anaheim, there have been several incidents involving drivers or their passengers threatening others in moving cars with a fake weapon, Logan said. In one case, an individual brandishing a starter pistol sent a line of pickets scrambling for cover after waving the gun at the crowd, Logan said.

Use of such replicas are particularly dangerous if the parties at the other end of the barrel carry real weapons and don’t realize they’re being threatened with a fake gun, he explained.

“There are situations where there will be an undercover or off-duty officer or someone with a real firearm,” Logan pointed out.