Fake Guns Pose Real Danger

Air guns, pellet guns and replica guns are as easy to buy as comic books. They can be purchased without question at many retail stores.

These fake guns are often used in robberies. The victim at the end of the barrel is in no position to judge if the gun is real or fake. SWAT teams have been mobilized to deal with people wielding toy or replica guns, and any person threatening to shoot people is at risk of being shot.

Realistic-looking toy guns and replica firearms comprise up to 40 per cent of guns seized by police. Cap guns are also the main cause for the loss of an eye in children and young adults.

Lightweight pellets that allow many air guns to fire a pellet at speeds faster than the legal threshold in Canada's new firearms law are now on the market. It is hard to understand why no laws address fake guns, when even plush toys are regulated under the federal Hazardous Products Act.

This fall, the Ontario government introduced legislation to restrict the sale and purchase of most toy guns and imitation firearms. Canada Safety Council director Mark Yakabuski attended the October 24 announcement of the legislation, which is supported by all parties as well as by police association, safety groups and others.

The Canada Safety Council has urged the federal government to take action on this obvious threat to public health and safety.

January 2001

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Lax Gun Laws Support Terrorism (April 2002)

Pellet Gun Shooting
(October 2003)