Custom guns are not playthings

If confronted by a zebra-striped rifle or hot pink pistol, don’t assume it’s a toy – it could be a real firearm with a custom paint job.

Handguns, assault-style rifles and even some hunting firearms are being adorned with flames, Hello Kitty logos, spiderwebs, and bright colors at gun owners’ requests.

The custom-painted guns recently were the topic of a regional and nationwide officer safety memo. The fear is that one of these designer weapons will end up in a criminal’s hands and when a person – an officer or a citizen – is confronted with it, they will incorrectly assume it’s a toy, authorities said. The result could be fatal.

“After reviewing this bulletin, it reinforces the idea to treat every gun as real and as if it poses a threat,” said Spokane police Officer Jennifer DeRuwe. “There’s that split second in time when a person is pointing a gun at you, and you have to decide my life or theirs.”

Gun shops nationwide customize firearms, including Lone Wolf Distributors in Oldtown, Idaho.

The practice of customizing guns is common, owner JR Shepard said. “I could sell a pink gun a week. Flames are really popular,” he said. The color or design is “only limited by your imagination.”

But Shepard says the warnings to police are more representative of “idiots” who have firearms than responsible gun owners.

“If someone points a gun at me, they are a bad guy,” said Shepard, whose family has operated Lone Wolf Distributors since the 1970s. “If someone points a gun at law enforcement, they deserve what they get. The color of the gun is irrelevant.”

Since Lone Wolf Distributors paints the firearms to gun owners’ specifications, nothing is off-limits. If a customer sends Shepard a Hello Kitty logo, a Batman symbol or a picture of Yosemite Sam, it can be painted on the firearm.

Capt. Ben Wolfinger, spokesman for the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department, was alarmed to hear about the custom-painted guns.

“We have made our officers aware of these new ‘designer’ guns,” Wolfinger said. “I believe that these designer guns will have the potential of confusing officers when confronted by them, putting them in danger.”

But law enforcement has an advantage over many citizens because of police training. “Any firearms training I’ve had, you treat a firearm as if you don’t know,” said Spokane County Undersheriff Jeff Tower. His suggestion: “If someone points a gun at you, take cover, conceal yourself and try to get behind something, which will hopefully give a person time to assess if the gun is real or not.”

Said Coeur d’Alene Police Capt. Steve Childers: “The concept of designer painted guns is absurd. We encourage gun owners to be responsible and not paint their guns to look like a toy.”