Police Aim to Enforce Toy Gun Law in Burbank

Contrary to humorous anecdotes circulated by local wags, the Burbank Police Department won’t storm toy stores or square off with GI Joe next year to enforce a city ordinance banning the sale of realistic-appearing toy guns.

“There have been a lot of jokes about SWAT teams surrounding Toys R Us,” Police Chief Glen Bell said Saturday. “Obviously, that is a joke. We joke about it ourselves.”

But Bell said the department is serious about enforcing the ordinance, passed last Tuesday, that makes Burbank the first city in the nation to outlaw the sale of toy guns that could “reasonably” be mistaken for firearms. The ordinance, which takes effect Jan. 1, also makes it a misdemeanor to brandish the toys in a threatening manner.

The measure has captured the attention of toy manufacturers, parents, merchants and peace activists who universally support the brandishing penalties but are divided on whether a ban on the sale of such items is justified. Critics called the ordinance silly and symbolic at best, whereas supporters called it important and “a great victory” for peace.

Bell agreed that the debate had uncovered some ambiguities. “It’s not a 100% good law, and not a 100% bad law. It’s somewhere in between.”

Inspired by Gunplay

Mayor Michael R. Hastings proposed the ordinance after KNBC-TV consumer reporter David Horowitz was forced to read a rambling statement by a man who held a realistic-looking toy pistol to his head during a broadcast in August.

The measure was also prompted by instances in which people, perhaps inspired by the wave of freeway shootings, pointed toy guns at other motorists or police officers.

Bell said his officers had not been threatened with toy guns recently but recalled an incident a few years ago in which a passenger in a speeding car pointed what appeared to be a .45-caliber automatic at a pursuing police car.

Police arrested the man on an obscure charge, such as deterring an officer from his duties, but could not charge him with the brandishing of what turned out to be a toy gun, Bell said.

“We needed something more specific,” Bell said, adding that his department had already asked the city attorney to draft a measure banning the displaying or pointing of toy guns when Hastings proposed his own ordinance Sept. 15. Last month, the state, Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City Council all adopted emergency legislation making it illegal to brandish a toy weapon.

The Burbank ordinance, however, takes the law much further by outlawing the sale of the toys as well.

A spokeswoman for Toy Manufacturers of America, a trade association based in New York City, called the ordinance a symbolic gesture and questioned its effectiveness. “It’s just clear they can’t eliminate toy guns from the toy boxes of children living in Burbank,” Jodi Levin said. “If somebody wants to play guns, they can go over to the next county and get one.”

Regardless, Levin said many toy manufacturers are already planning to alter designs so their toys are not mistaken for real guns. Levin said the trade association represents 230 companies that account for 90% of all toys manufactured in the United States.

Angela Bourdon, a spokeswoman for Toys R Us at its national headquarters in Rochelle Park, N.J., said the company told its suppliers last month that it no longer wanted to stock realistic-looking toy guns.

Pressure on Toy Makers

Levin said pressure from Toys R Us, the nation’s largest toy retailer, could probably influence the entire industry, leading to changes in the designs of toy guns.

Some groups are counting on the Burbank ordinance to propel a nationwide campaign to clear war toys off store shelves.

“What happened in Burbank is a great victory,” said Ron Kovic, a Vietnam veteran disabled in combat and member of the National Stop War Toys Campaign. “I played with war toys in the 1950s . . . . They led me to the Vietnam War.”

Kovic, who is paralyzed from the chest down, said at a Santa Monica news conference Friday that his organization hopes to build upon the Burbank ordinance and persuade other cities to adopt even tougher laws.

Locally, many shopkeepers declined to comment on the ordinance, referring inquiries to national spokesmen. But one shopkeeper who asked not to be identified said the ordinance would hurt his business because he had stocks of realistic-looking pistols and Uzi machine guns that squirt water. Still, he added, guns make up only a small part of his store’s stock.

Nationally, consumers bought $205 million worth of toy guns and rifles in 1986, Levin said, but spent $12.5 billion on toys overall.

Bell said the city would send letters to merchants outlining the provisions of the ordinance. He said violators would probably receive a warning before being cited. Offenders could face six months in jail, a $500 fine or both.

Parents leaving Burbank’s only Toys R Us store Saturday said they favored the ordinance and doubted it would hurt the store’s sales. “I think that’s a good idea. A lot of police are getting jittery,” said David Yancy, a father of two from Glendale.

Scott Peak, a father of two from North Hollywood, said he favors modifying designs because a toy gun “doesn’t have to be an Uzi.”

The shape and color of a toy gun really isn’t important, Peak added, recalling the days he played war in his boyhood. “The kid doesn’t care. The kid’s going to play with it.”