County DA joins call to ban fake guns

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch has joined other City and District Attorneys across California calling for a federal ban on undetectable and replica firearms, including the type carried by a Santa Rosa teenager when he was shot by a sheriff’s deputy in October.

“Our community is still reeling from the recent tragedy involving a replica firearm,” Ravitch said. “I am committed to keep Sonoma County safe from the various ways in which unlawful firearms or the unlawful use of firearms can lead to the senseless loss of lives.”

Andy Lopez, 13, was killed October while carrying a fake AK-47 through his Santa Rosa neighborhood.

The current federal law bans undetectable weapons in sensitive areas including airports, schools, courthouses, and public areas. These undetectable weapons and their components can currently be manufactured by 3-dimentional printers, laser cutting machines or other technologies, and are unable to be detected by traditional metal detectors and may not present an accurate image on an x-ray.

The current federal law is set to expire December 9. “If Congress fails to reauthorize the law, the threat to public safety will be severe,” warned Ravitch and other prosecutors in a letter to Congressional leaders.

Currently it is currently unlawful for a person to manufacture, sell or possess an undetectable firearm in California. Absent the federal ban, Ravitch said, controlling the exportation of such weapons from other states would be significantly hindered.

“If unrestricted, the widespread production of undetectable firearms will surely increase,” Ravitch said.