Minors may not purchase toy guns that look real
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

An ordinance adopted by the Township Committee prohibits merchants in Freehold Township from selling realistic-looking replica guns to people under the age of 18. The gun on the left (above) is a replica 9mm Beretta that shoots rubber and metal pellets, powered by the propellant green gas. The gun on the right is an authentic Beretta.

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - Municipal officials pride themselves on trying keeping residents safe from harm.

To that end, the members of the Township Committee recently adopted an ordinance that bans the sale of toy guns that look like real guns to anyone under the age of 18.

The ordinance defines a toy gun as "any imitation of any original firearm that was manufactured, designed and produced after 1898, including water guns, replica nonguns, air-soft guns firing nonmetallic projectiles, and BB, paintball and pellet-firing air guns."

According to the ordinance, no retail establishment in Freehold Township will be able to sell, attempt to sell or offer for sale a realistic-looking toy gun to minors.

Merchants are not prohibited from selling guns that obviously look like a toy to people under the age of 18.

When asked why officials felt the need to put this ordinance in place, Mayor Dorothy Avallone said she wanted to take a proactive stance regarding the sale of replica toy guns.

"We have all read stories about terrible situations where police have been confronted by someone holding what looks like a real gun. Situations like this can be fatal," the mayor said. "We are always trying to implement things to make our residents safe, especially our kids."

People under the age of 18 are not prohibited from possessing a toy gun that looks like a real gun. Avallone said such a law would be impossible to enforce.

"This is not a police state," she said.

Avallone said she has not heard of any negative feedback arising from the adoption of the ordinance, which bans the sale of realistic-looking toy guns to minors.

Kathleen Waugh, a spokeswoman for Toys R Us, said the store has had a policy banning the sale of replica toy guns in place since 1994.

"We do not sell replica toy guns or those that could be altered to look like real guns," Waugh said.

Geoffrey Webb, director of advertising and sales promotions for KB Toys, said his store has no guns in stock that are replicas of real guns. He said all of the toy guns sold in the store meet all safety and all federal and state guidelines.