Pellet guns and other toy weaponry should not be allowed to look like the real thing, a California lawmaker said Friday, vowing to introduce a bill to ban such replicas following the accidental killing of a 13-year-old boy by sheriff's deputies.

The proposal by State Senator Kevin de Leon would require imitation guns and rifles, including those used in civilian mock battle games, to be brightly colored, rather than in dark tones that make them look authentic.

"When officers must make split second decisions on whether or not to use deadly force, these replica firearms can trigger tragic consequences," said de Leon, a Los Angeles Democrat who tried but failed to get a similar bill through the legislature in 2011.

"By making toy guns more obvious to law enforcement, we can help families avoid the terrible grief of losing a child," he said.

Citing the accidental killing of teenager Andy Lopez Cruz on October 22, De Leon promised on Friday to reintroduce his bill when the legislative session reopens in January.

The eighth-grader was walking near his home in the wine-country town of Santa Rosa, carrying a pellet rifle he planned to return to a friend when he was shot dead by sheriff's deputies who mistook the imitation gun for the real thing.

The shooting, by a veteran deputy and firearms instructor, has sparked almost daily protests in California, and the FBI has launched an independent investigation.

The boy's family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Erick Gelhaus, 48, the Sonoma County sheriff's deputy who shot Andy. The suit, which also names the county as a defendant, seeks unspecified damages and alleges the deputy violated the teen's civil rights.

http://news.yahoo.com/toy-guns-not-look-real-ones-california-lawmaker-004226629--finance.html