• A House bill would require adult supervision for minors who use BB or similar guns off their property
• Democrats say nearly 10,000 Americans are injured by BB or pellet guns annually, the majority are minors
• BB guns, like the Daisy Red Ryder from ‘A Christmas Story,’ are a learning tool for many children first experiencing firearms

Deven Free, a 12-year-old boy from Galesburg, was playing with BB guns with friends outside two years ago when he was shot in the head. The BB entered just above his right eye and lodged in his brain.

Deven was in and out of hospitals for more than a year before dying from his injuries last July.

His tragic story is what prompted state Rep. Julie Rogers, D-Kalamazoo, to introduce House Bill 4184 in early March. The bill would require people under 18 using pneumatic weapons such as BB or pellet guns outside their homes and yards to have adult supervision.

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Pneumatic weapons include any firearm that expels a BB or pellet by a spring or air, including not just BB guns, but pellet and paintball guns. According to a press release from Michigan House Democrats, nearly 10,000 Americans are injured by BB or pellet guns every year, with a majority of these being injuries suffered by minors.

A 2018 study in the journal Pediatrics found that roughly 10 percent of U.S. childhood eye injuries suffered in sports or recreational activities were caused by so-called “nonpowder guns.” The victims tended to be boys of about Deven’s age and the injuries tended to be more serious, causing nearly half the hospitalizations, the study found.

Rogers, a physical therapist by profession, told Bridge Michigan that after hearing about Deven’s case, she began to investigate laws surrounding BB gun usage in Michigan, and was dismayed to find that, in 2015, state restrictions were removed.

Prior to 2015, under Public Act 186 a minor caught using a pneumatic weapon without adult supervision outside of their home or yard could be charged with a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail, or a maximum fine of $500. The act was repealed in 2015. While the current language of the new bill is ambiguous, the sponsor said its intent is to place responsibility on the adult who failed to supervise, not the child.

Rogers’ bill seeks to reinstate the original restrictions, something Rogers said Deven’s family expressed their support for when the measure was originally introduced in 2022.