The Maryland ACLU has released a statement that reads like it came from the extremist National Lawyers Guild.  A fourteen-year-old black child, Dedric Colvin, was shot and wounded by police while carrying a BB pistol.  Police saw the teen carrying a realistic-looking handgun and a basketball; when they asked him to stop, he fled.

The ACLU had this to say:

Fourteen year old boys play with BB guns all over the country every day without getting shot by police. It dehumanizes Black children when law enforcement and our society so quickly seek to justify a shoot-to-kill response when a Black child in East Baltimore does the same thing.

This latest incident, on the anniversary of the Uprising for Freddie Gray, underscores the systemic lack of accountability to boys like Dedric Colvin, who they are sworn to serve.

Just when did the ACLU get this crazy?

First, BB guns may be fun to shoot, but they are not harmless.  Modern BB guns can launch metal projectiles at over a thousand feet per second.  A young man accidentally paralyzed his friend by shooting him in the spine with an air rifle.  Even the weakest BB gun is capable of seriously injuring someone.  Responsible parents do not let their fourteen-year-old children “play” with BB-Guns.

Second, the BB gun in question looks almost identical to a Berretta 92 pistol.  One would have to hold it, or be very close, to tell the difference.  BB guns are not toy guns; for this reason, they do not have a bright red/orange/pink muzzle.  Responsible parents do not let their children play outside with realistic-looking replica firearms.

Third, the ACLU referred to the Baltimore riots as the “Uprising for Freddie Gray” in an attempt to lend legitimacy to violent and lawless behavior.  In a democracy we express our discontent at the ballot box; we don't burn police cars or loot liquor stores.

The ACLU correctly pointed out that the police might have exercised more caution if Dedric Colvin had been a white kid in an affluent suburb.  However, this doesn't help their case.  Brandishing a realistic BB pistol is a bad idea anywhere; it is an especially bad idea in a high-crime area, where the police will be on edge.

I will assume that Dedric Colvin's parents had more sense than the Maryland ACLU and likely warned their son about the potential consequences.  Evidently, the ACLU thinks a white person offering the same sage advice is a racist.  As I said, when did the ACLU become this crazy?