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City Councilman Wants To Shut Down Stores Selling BB Guns To Minors

By Mike Dunn

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A Philadelphia lawmaker wants the city to wield a bigger hammer against stores that sell BB guns to minors.

Councilman Kenyatta Johnson says he believes that letting BB guns get into the hands of teenagers could easily lead to a police confrontation:

"We don't want to see a tragedy based upon having a fake gun that someone thinks is real."

Johnson believes that the current fines against stores that sell BB guns to kids are not enough of a deterrent.  He has introduced a bill that boosts the penalty from $100 to $1,000 and more importantly, he says it could result in the store having their business license revoked for six months to a year:

"I'm pushing for the suspension of the business license.  Because I think that goes a long way as it relates to them actually stopping the sale of illegal BB guns.  I'm pushing for the suspension of the business license.  Because I think that goes a long way as it relates to them actually stopping the sale of illegal b-b guns."

Johnson's bill will be debated in committee.

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