REPORT: TOY GUN BAN NOT NEEDED

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 8, 1992                   TAG: 9202080407
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
REPORT: TOY GUN BAN NOT NEEDED
There is no need for Roanoke City Council to enact a ban on the brandishing of look-alike guns because state law already makes it a crime, City Attorney Wilburn Dibling said in a report released Friday.
Police have reported several recent incidents in which people have pointed look-alike guns at officers. That prompted council members to ask Dibling if the city needs to adopt regulations on the toy guns.
State law prohibits the brandishing of a firearm or "any other object similar in appearance to a firearm, whether capable of being fired or not," Dibling said.
Violation of the law is a misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine, he said.
Dibling also said that state law prohibits localities from enacting broad regulations on the purchase, possession and carrying of firearms.
But the city is allowed to have ordinances that regulate the possession of guns by minors and the carrying of loaded rifles or shotguns in any vehicle on a public street.
Dibling said the city has a law making it illegal for minors to carry guns in public places unless accompanied by a parent, guardian or adult official of an organized club. It also has a law making it illegal to sell or to give a pistol to anyone younger than 18.
Dibling recommended that council enact a law making it illegal for any person to transport, possess or carry a loaded shotgun or rifle in any vehicle on a public street or road. The state allows localities to enact such bans, he said.
Council already has voted to ask the state legislature to approve a pending bill that would make it a felony to carry or possess a firearm on school property.
The offense now is a misdemeanor, with penalties of a jail sentence of up to 12 months, a fine up to $2,500 or both. The pending legislation would increase the offense to a felony with penalties of a prison sentence of one to five years, a fine up to $2,500 or both.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB