The Nation : Reagan Signs Bill Banning Plastic Guns

President Reagan signed a bill banning the manufacture, sale or possession of plastic guns or any other firearms that can elude detection. Although such guns are not currently on the market, experts estimate they could be developed shortly, but the ability to detect such a device is years away. The bill covers any firearm that cannot be detected by a walk-through metal detector, but it exempts any gun that has been certified by the Pentagon or the Central Intelligence Agency. During congressional hearings on the measure, considerable concern was expressed about the problems plastic guns would create for security checkpoints in airports, courthouses and prisons.