Sponsor pulls bill to ban toy guns

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ANNAPOLIS -- Children in Annapolis may continue to play with their toy guns -- at least for a while.

Alderman Cynthia Carter, a Democrat, chose last night to postpone voting on legislation to ban toy guns from the city rather than allow the City Council to strike it down.

Mrs. Carter said she will rewrite the legislation and attempt to gain support from law enforcement before introducing it again.

"I didn't think this would be as hard as it is, and that safety would not be the main issue," Mrs. Carter said at last night's meeting. She said most were more concerned with whether the government should take a position on the issue than they were about public safety.

Mrs. Carter cited several incidents in which children had been injured or killed because their toy guns were mistaken for real guns.

"We should not wait around for something to happen," she said. "I'm sorry that I didn't have the support of this council, or the support of the community at large."

Mrs. Carter introduced the legislation in June, but after a public hearing last month, she did not think enough of her colleagues were convinced the law was a good thing.

Alderman Louise Hammond and Alderman Joshua Cohen, both Democrats, were outspoken opponents of the bill.