Alderman Calls For Ban On Gun-Shaped Phone Cases

By Jim Bochnowski in News on Jul 13, 2015 8:20PM

Via NYPD twitter account

Alderman Edward Burke has announced he will introduce an ordinance to the City Council banning gun-shaped smart phone cases, which are for sale online, even as their existence defies logic.

While Alderman Burke's office admits that there have been no instances of the cases popping up in Chicago, he still believes it is imperative that the city makes a preemptive strike, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. In a statement, Burke said:

"Whether this case is sticking out of your pocket or being held in your hand, it could be confused by law enforcement officers as a firearm. Allowing these cases to proliferate in Chicago would be a threat to public safety and almost certainly lead to a tragic event. We must act now to ban this outrageous product."

Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo said he supports Burke's assertions. He said in a statement:

"The only thing you see when someone is carrying this in their waistband is what seems to be a weapon, which is going to put an officer on a heightened level of self-protection. If I were on the street and approached an individual with one of these in their waistband or pocket, my weapon would be out. I would not take the chance that this is not a real gun."

The cell phone cases first came to prominence on June 30, when a New York City police precinct posted a picture of the case, pleading with consumers not to buy them.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York followed this up by stating that the cases could be in violation of federal law, which requires all toy guns to have a visible orange tip to identify them as harmless. He told the New York Times, "For years, we have been concerned about realistic-looking fake weapons and that’s precisely why this federal law was put into place."

It's already started to get even more difficult to buy the cases, which are manufactured in Asia. eBay agreed to pull the item after hearing from Sen. Schumer, the New York Daily News reports. Amazon followed suit after hearing complaints from consumers, saying the product had "not met its criteria for listing on the website," according to Yahoo.

The real question, though, is why would anyone want such a product? In addition to bringing unnecessary risk to your life and being almost painfully tacky, isn't a phone case shaped like a gun incredibly unwieldy? You almost certainly wouldn't be able to comfortably fit it in your pocket. But there's no accounting for taste and luckily Burke has a plan to save would-be owners from their own version or lack thereof.