City Councilman Wants To Shut Down Stores Selling BB Guns To Minors
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A Philadelphia lawmaker wants the city to wield a bigger hammer against stores that sell BB guns to minors.
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson says he believes that letting BB guns get into the hands of teenagers could easily lead to a police confrontation:
"We don't want to see a tragedy based upon having a fake gun that someone thinks is real."
Johnson believes that the current fines against stores that sell BB guns to kids are not enough of a deterrent. He has introduced a bill that boosts the penalty from $100 to $1,000 and more importantly, he says it could result in the store having their business license revoked for six months to a year:
"I'm pushing for the suspension of the business license. Because I think that goes a long way as it relates to them actually stopping the sale of illegal BB guns. I'm pushing for the suspension of the business license. Because I think that goes a long way as it relates to them actually stopping the sale of illegal b-b guns."
Johnson's bill will be debated in committee.