Every so often, we hear about some story where an armed citizen or, more often, a cop shoots someone who turned out to have a fake gun. Maybe it's an airsoft or BB gun, or maybe it's just a replica. Either way, it's not a real firearm, and a lot of people get very upset about it.
I get that. The idea of some kid being killed when he wasn't even able to hurt an officer feels like an overstepping of authority.
Unless, of course, you understand a few things about what it's like out there in the world.
Let's start with this incident, which is exactly what I described above.
🚨NEW CASE🚨
— Law Enforcement Legal Defense (@LELDF) June 24, 2025
A suspect ignored commands to put his hands up, reached into his waistband, and pulled out a replica pistol.
Deputy Jacob Diaz used deadly force to protect his life.
Radical activists demanded he be charged with murder—and the special prosecutor caved. pic.twitter.com/0nmnoDRmPV
Now, that fake gun is clearly fake under a handful of seconds of examination. It's modeled after a real one, obviously, but you can start to see wear in places that you wouldn't see on a real one.
But I have a handful of seconds to look at it. I didn't recognize it as fake right off the bat, and since it wasn't pointed at me, I could take my time to examine it further.
Had someone pointed it at me, I wouldn't have. I'd have reacted as if it were real. Were I a cop, I'd probably do exactly what it sounds like Deputy Diaz did.
Some might be wondering why officers don't take a few moments to try and figure it out, but let's understand something about the world we live in. There are a lot of crazy people out there who are just itching to shoot a cop. Years of "ACAB" and "defund the police" have primed certain portions of our population to see law enforcement as the enemy, even if they've done nothing wrong.
Couple that with criminality, and you get a recipe for someone wanting to take out a cop. There aren't that many, as a percentage of the population, but how many do you really need?
So, with that in mind, let's look at another gun. This is a guy who made the most ridiculous attempt at impersonating a federal agent ever, but look at the weapon he had.
That doesn't look much like a real gun. It looks like something a kit cobbled together out of junk because his mom and dad wouldn't buy him a real toy gun.
But it has ammunition. Someone clearly intended for it to fire. The sheriff's office describes it as a firearm, which means they at least think it'll work. Maybe.
Now, let's compare it to the fake gun shown above. Which looks more like a real gun? Clearly, the fake P320, but officers aren't going to take that chance. Had the dude in California pointed his gun at a law enforcement officer, he'd have been lit up just like the guy in Texas was.
And that's why people using airsoft or other air guns that resemble real firearms for crimes is pretty freaking stupid for them.
Perhaps the worst part, though, is that there's a lot of psychological trauma that can come from taking a life. It's worse if you found out the gun that prompted you to pull the trigger wasn't real. It shouldn't, because it's a righteous shoot just the same, but it often is.
I'm not someone who gives police a pass on everything they do. I've even been accused of being anti-cop, which would have been news to my late father, the lifelong cop. I just try to be realistic and call it like I see it, treating police as people rather than either scum or gods.
On stuff like this, though? I'm going to stand up for each and every one of the officers forced into an action like this because there's no time or room for hesitation. If they guess wrong and it's a real gun, they're dead, and a lot of other people could be, too.
And with armed citizens, the same is true. We don't have time to look because some guns look way too realistic and some real guns look way too fake.
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