Of course it is. The similarity is that in both cases, the cop who deals with the decision can decide to charge if he or she wants to, and we should be grateful for that discretion.
What wasn't stated was if the people in question were neighbors of the complainant, lived on the same street, etc. Granted at 19-20, I'd be concerned and would likely call the police myself, but I have young kids running through my yard with toy guns all the time.
Sent to
editor@torsun.com:
Quote:
RE: Fake Pistols Throw Scare Into Cops
Although I can certainly understand the severity of the incident reported, Pete Fisher has perhaps inadvertently presented some innacuracies in his article.
In the article, Mr Fisher refers to the replica handguns as "weapons". By definition, these items are replicas and should only be reffered to as weapons if used in the commission of a crime. Seeing as no charges were laid, it's hardly fair to use the term "weapon" to describe a toy look-alike.
The second innacuracy relates to Mr Fisher's comment "The men, aged 18 and 20, told police they bought the 9 mm and .40-calibre handguns off the Internet two months ago." The replicas in question may represent 9mm and .40 caliber handguns, but are in fact incapable of discharging ammunition of this type and should not be reffered to as such.
Semantics? Perhaps. However, factual innacuracies of this type only help to exaggerate anti-gun hysteria, which propogates just fine without the assistance of Sun Media's freelance reporters. "
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