Post by coots on Jul 18, 2015 0:19:47 GMT -5
'Gun Grip’ Phone Case Draws Outrage
State Senator Amedore seeks ban; Sheriff Seeley calls product ‘tragedy waiting to happen’
It will protect your cell phone, but it may put you in danger.
Recently, the “Gun Grip” iPhone case became a popular purchase from street vendors and websites like Amazon and Ebay from $5 to $49.
The “Gun Grip” case for an iPhone 5 or newer model turns your cell phone into the barrel of a firearm with a gun grip and trigger guard beneath it – causing it to look like a realistic handgun.
State Sen. George Amedore, R-46, introduced legislation in the Senate Friday to prohibit the sale of the phone cases designed to imitate the look of a firearm.
“This is a public safety issue, plain and simple,” Amedore said. “Our law enforcement officials already have a difficult enough job to do. These cases put our officers and our citizens at risk, and to continue to allow them to be sold is irresponsible.”
Amedore’s spokeswoman Eileen Miller said the proposed bill would ban cases or covers for wireless communication devices that imitate weapons.
“The bill was just introduced, and because we’re off session, we haven’t circulated it for other legislators to jump on board,” Miller said. “People in the assembly have reached out and are interested in supporting it.”
Under current law, the sale of imitation weapons that could be realistically perceived to be a firearm, like the gun grip iPhone case, is prohibited unless constructed in colors other than black, blue, silver or aluminum, or is marked with a non-removable orange stripe, according to a release from Miller.
Miller said the increase in the gun grip case sales has led to great concerns among law enforcement officials.
Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley he supports Amedore’s proposed bill to ban the gun grip phone cases 100 percent.
“These cell phone cases are a tragedy waiting to happen,” Seeley said. “When that phone case is sticking out of someone’s pocket, it looks like the holster of a firearm. If anyone pulls that out to answer their phone at a traffic stop or any public place, everyone’s first reaction will be that that person has a handgun they intend to use right then and there.”Seeley said the gun grip phone case is nothing to take lightly.
“A police officer has just seconds to make a decision whether they need to use force on a person or not,” Seeley said. “God forbid an officer mistakes one of those cases for a firearm, and someone ends up getting shot innocently - you know what’s coming down the pike if that happens. Or, what if it isn’t a case like that, but one where someone is really pulling out a firearm and the officer second guesses it things like these cell phone cases exist. Banning those cases will make our job much easier and safer, and make everyone else safer, too.”
Politicians in both the Democrat and Republican parties have spoken out against the dangerous cell phone protectors for the past few weeks.
On July 7, Sen. Charles Schumer urged online retailers to stop selling the controversial gun grip cases, as they put people in jeopardy and likely violate federal law.
“Any retailer willing to sell this potentially dangerous and tasteless handgun iPhone case is making a very bad call and putting lives at risk,” Schumer said. “We should be doing everything in our power to end the rash of gun violence across the country, however, this product simply promotes it.”
Ebay has since pulled the cases from its retail website, according to the New York Daily News.
Like Schumer, Amedore said the gun grip iPhone case could easily be mistaken for a real gun and result in tragedy.
“These cell phones are an accident waiting to happen,” Amedore said. “To continue to allow them to be sold as novelty items does a disservice to every responsible firearm owner throughout the state.”
On June 30, the 112th precinct of the New York Police Department tweeted out a photo of a woman holding her iPhone in a gun grip case with her finger on the trigger talking on the phone, as well as a shot of the plastic handgun grip sticking out of her back shorts pocket.
“I would not suggest purchasing this cell phone case, which was designed to look like a firearm,” Deputy Inspector and Commanding Officer Judith Harrison wrote on Twitter, before hashtagging, “‘Be smart and be safe"
State Senator Amedore seeks ban; Sheriff Seeley calls product ‘tragedy waiting to happen’
It will protect your cell phone, but it may put you in danger.
Recently, the “Gun Grip” iPhone case became a popular purchase from street vendors and websites like Amazon and Ebay from $5 to $49.
The “Gun Grip” case for an iPhone 5 or newer model turns your cell phone into the barrel of a firearm with a gun grip and trigger guard beneath it – causing it to look like a realistic handgun.
State Sen. George Amedore, R-46, introduced legislation in the Senate Friday to prohibit the sale of the phone cases designed to imitate the look of a firearm.
“This is a public safety issue, plain and simple,” Amedore said. “Our law enforcement officials already have a difficult enough job to do. These cases put our officers and our citizens at risk, and to continue to allow them to be sold is irresponsible.”
Amedore’s spokeswoman Eileen Miller said the proposed bill would ban cases or covers for wireless communication devices that imitate weapons.
“The bill was just introduced, and because we’re off session, we haven’t circulated it for other legislators to jump on board,” Miller said. “People in the assembly have reached out and are interested in supporting it.”
Under current law, the sale of imitation weapons that could be realistically perceived to be a firearm, like the gun grip iPhone case, is prohibited unless constructed in colors other than black, blue, silver or aluminum, or is marked with a non-removable orange stripe, according to a release from Miller.
Miller said the increase in the gun grip case sales has led to great concerns among law enforcement officials.
Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley he supports Amedore’s proposed bill to ban the gun grip phone cases 100 percent.
“These cell phone cases are a tragedy waiting to happen,” Seeley said. “When that phone case is sticking out of someone’s pocket, it looks like the holster of a firearm. If anyone pulls that out to answer their phone at a traffic stop or any public place, everyone’s first reaction will be that that person has a handgun they intend to use right then and there.”Seeley said the gun grip phone case is nothing to take lightly.
“A police officer has just seconds to make a decision whether they need to use force on a person or not,” Seeley said. “God forbid an officer mistakes one of those cases for a firearm, and someone ends up getting shot innocently - you know what’s coming down the pike if that happens. Or, what if it isn’t a case like that, but one where someone is really pulling out a firearm and the officer second guesses it things like these cell phone cases exist. Banning those cases will make our job much easier and safer, and make everyone else safer, too.”
Politicians in both the Democrat and Republican parties have spoken out against the dangerous cell phone protectors for the past few weeks.
On July 7, Sen. Charles Schumer urged online retailers to stop selling the controversial gun grip cases, as they put people in jeopardy and likely violate federal law.
“Any retailer willing to sell this potentially dangerous and tasteless handgun iPhone case is making a very bad call and putting lives at risk,” Schumer said. “We should be doing everything in our power to end the rash of gun violence across the country, however, this product simply promotes it.”
Ebay has since pulled the cases from its retail website, according to the New York Daily News.
Like Schumer, Amedore said the gun grip iPhone case could easily be mistaken for a real gun and result in tragedy.
“These cell phones are an accident waiting to happen,” Amedore said. “To continue to allow them to be sold as novelty items does a disservice to every responsible firearm owner throughout the state.”
On June 30, the 112th precinct of the New York Police Department tweeted out a photo of a woman holding her iPhone in a gun grip case with her finger on the trigger talking on the phone, as well as a shot of the plastic handgun grip sticking out of her back shorts pocket.
“I would not suggest purchasing this cell phone case, which was designed to look like a firearm,” Deputy Inspector and Commanding Officer Judith Harrison wrote on Twitter, before hashtagging, “‘Be smart and be safe"
