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Ohio Legislation Seeks Ban on Lookalike Guns
By: Associated Press
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Legislation in Ohio would prohibit the production, sale and public display of lookalike guns.
A bill introduced Thursday by Rep. Bill Patmon would ban all BB guns or other gun replicas that could be confused with a real weapon. Violators would face up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The proposal comes after two fatal police shootings last year of young people holding lookalike guns in Ohio. Twenty-two-year-old John Crawford III was fatally shot in August while carrying an air rifle in a suburban Dayton Wal-Mart. A 12-year-old boy with a pellet gun in Cleveland was killed in November.
Lawmakers haven’t yet acted on another proposed bill requiring all lookalike guns to be brightly colored or have fluorescent strips.