I guess New Jersey is running out of legal gun owners to harass. At least that’s one explanation for Atlantic City’s most recent ordinance aimed at curbing gun violence. Apparently, the genius progressives who run New Jersey’s version of Vegas have decided that banning toy guns will somehow save lives. It’s really nice that Atlantic City doesn’t have anything else to worry about, like failing casinos, declining tourist revenue, or rampant crime.

According to the Press of Atlantic City, the council made the decision in an otherwise routine council meeting (H/T: Last Resistance):

The toy gun ordinance, introduced by all of council and initiated by Police Lt. James Sarkos, bans the sale, possession or use of any imitation firearms — except for non-firing antiques and film prop guns — which aren’t in bright, fluorescent colors or transparent. Pistols that use metal caps are banned from being sold to minors. “We’ve gotten a lot of phone calls from D.C. and Philadelphia,” Tibbitt said. “This is catching on. This may be saving some lives,” Marsh said.

Really? Banning “realistic” toy guns help save lives? Look, guns don’t kill people; but chunks of plastic – that merely resemble an actual gun – certainly don’t kill people. Authorities explained that such realistic props can often be used in a commission of a crime in lieu of a real weapon. But c’mon: Only liberals would think that banning toy guns will somehow cut down on crime. Maybe we should implement background checks and registration schemes for Nerf guns as well.

To be fair, there really isn’t anything in the Second Amendment that protects the private possession of toys. But, that is probably why this absurd crackdown on fake firearms is so groan-inducing. Atlantic City’s (toy) gun control will do little to battle the violent criminals who are determined to rob, burglar, mug and rape.

Then again, reducing crime might not really be the intent of such hoplophobic regulation. The rule seems far more dedicated to propagandizing an intolerance of the firearm culture, than addressing public safety concerns. (Do you really think that mugger or rapist is going to suddenly take up a hobby and full time job, just because they couldn’t get their hands on a fake gun?)

It almost seems like liberals have a visceral and mind numbing reaction to anything even faintly connected to the concept of firearm ownership. Heck, kids are being suspended because they show a little creativity at lunch time, and chew their Poptarts into the shape of a gun. Another kid was disciplined for having the audacity of thinking some fluffy clouds on the horizon looked vaguely similar to a handgun. Of course, few examples seem to demonstrate the anti-gun intolerance of the left more than when a school administrator expressed concerned over the image of a handgun on the school’s “no-guns” signs. (Seriously.)

The Bloombergesque liberals of America’s big cities are not merely interested in prohibiting the ownership of private arms, they are intent on degrading the very idea of private firearm ownership. Certain t-shirt logos, the casual mention of firearms, silhouetted outlines of a handgun, and even toy guns are patently offensive to these leftists.

I guess I really hate to point out the obvious, but it probably should be said by someone: If you outlaw toy guns, then only outlaws will have toy guns. (On the bright side, that’s probably what half the owners of these toys pretend anyway… The other half pretend to be cowboys.)