Lowell City Council bans replica guns

The death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was playing with a pellet gun when Cleveland police officers shot and killed him in 2014, is the worst-case scenario that the Lowell City Council hopes to prevent through a new ordinance that bans replica guns in the city.

People who sell, possess, use or display a replica gun in public that does not have identifying marks – such as the entire gun being painted a bright color or made of transparent materials – will have it confiscated on a first offense and returned within 24 hours. Second and subsequent offenses carry a $50 fine.

The law requires that replica guns be stamped with the name of the manufacturer and have an orange tip on the gun’s barrel. Laser pointer attachments are prohibited.

The City Council passed the ban by a 7-2 vote on Feb. 9.

With support from the Police Department, Councillor Rodney Elliott introduced the ordinance, which is modeled after similar laws in Boston, Miami and Washington, D.C., following Rice’s death and incidents in Lowell where robberies and other crimes were being committed with replica guns.

“I don’t want to put police officers in jeopardy or have them be forced to second guess themselves when a gun is being pulled out,” Elliott said. “These replica guns, they look very much real.”

Lowell Police Superintendent William Taylor said the ordinance could prevent a tragedy like the Rice case.

“We’ve had similar incidents – fortunately not one that required us to use deadly force like that – but we’ve had several incidents as I believe most agencies do where people mistakenly see these replica firearms and believe they’re real,” Taylor said.

Replicas have already been confiscated under the new ordinance, Taylor said. On Feb. 20, several callers reported someone with a rifle behind a CVS. Officers located the man and found that the rifle was actually a pellet gun, and the man also had two BB handguns and a “starter pistol.” In a press release, police cited the incident as an example of the kind of public panic that can be caused by replica guns.

The ordinance includes one exemption, based on public feedback, Elliott and Taylor said. Replica guns may be used in public by organizations marching in a parade, historical re-enactors, or other groups, such as the Air Force Junior ROTC Drill Team at Lowell High School.