U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has introduced the Look-Alike Weapons Safety Act of 2015, legislation that would help protect children from harm by ensuring that imitation firearms can be easily distinguished from real firearms.

“No child should ever die because a police officer or anyone else mistakes a toy gun for a real weapon,” Boxer said. “This legislation will protect our kids and help law enforcement by making sure that imitation firearms cannot be mistaken for real firearms.”

In December, Senator Boxer urged the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to review a recent California law that will ensure that toy guns are clearly distinguishable from real guns by requiring that all imitation firearms sold in the state be painted a bright color or feature bright fluorescent strips. She asked the commission to adopt similar standards for all toy guns sold in the United States.

Boxer’s letter followed the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was killed in Cleveland, Ohio by an officer who mistook the toy airsoft gun he was playing with for a real gun. There are reports that the orange safety tip that is supposed to identify the toy as fake was removed.

The letter referenced only toy airsoft guns because the CPSC does not have the authority to regulate BB guns and other imitation firearms.

Boxer’s legislation, similar to the California law, would give the CPSC the authority to regulate all imitation firearms, including airsoft, BB and pellet-firing guns, and requires the exterior surface of all such products sold in the United States to be painted a particular color or combination of colors so they are clearly distinguishable from real firearms.

The California law — the Imitation Firearm Safety Act — was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October of last year and goes into effect in January 2016. The bill was passed after Andy Lopez Cruz, a 13-year-old from Santa Rosa, was killed by a Sonoma County police officer who thought his AK-47 replica was a real assault weapon in August 2013.