Hello
I saw this article today in the St Paul Pioneer Press Newspaper.
Police are concerned about airguns that look like real guns.
In the photos see a nice break barrel rifle and a few air pistols.
This article is concerning for any airgun enthusiast.
Craig
"This article is concerning for any airgun enthusiast. Craig"
Yes and it should be an eye opener also. Would I want a realistic looking air gun pointed at me if I didn't know what it was? No. Would I defend myself with a firearm if I felt threatened with one. Yes.
Where do you draw the line?
This started years ago up here and ended up resulting in some changes to State code that I will try to explain further on.
Back in the mid 2000's there was a growing issue with urban scum pulling robberies with airsoft guns
In Minnesota there was zero regulation as MN law mirrored Federal codes on definitions thus all airguns were non weapons. Well that changed folks. So the State legislature changed their status. No hassle to buy one really but the change made it unlawful for an ex felon to possess
How it works is there is an exemption for .177 or smaller with round shot so a felon can have a Daisy Red Ryder or the like but anything larger is the same as possessing an actual Firearm. The 1st person nailed under the code change was some dumb kid who was doing drivebys with a paintball gun in Crookston MN who had a previous pot bust. Court sent him to prison. He appealed to the State Supreme Court who set aside that conviction on the grounds that a paint gun was never intended as an actual weapon. He still spent over a year in the Pen over a stupid paintball gun and acting the fool with it. He should have had maybe 30 days in the County Hotel but the DA was a clown
Gets better. Many low end Airsoft are not compressed air and are outside the State law, what some senior LE want is anything looking like a firearm to be regulated, even squirt guns
I live in suburban Pittsburgh and sometimes shoot in the backyard. I've discussed this with my neighbors, and they all know I only shoot air guns into a safe hillside backstop. But I have some air guns that I would never take into the backyard, regardless. My stainless Dan Wesson snubbie revolver, My Crosman M417, and my P17. They get shot in the basement, or out in the country at my buddie's place. Just common sense.
Duh!
Hello
I saw this article today in the St Paul Pioneer Press Newspaper...
...Police are concerned about airguns that look like real guns...
Craig
It may have made the news in that article, but it's hardly real news for some years now. Many TV shows or movies portray people who get shot and killed by the police for wielding a non-firearm that looks like one, almost weekly it seems. If someone thinks they're safe from harm because their replica or air gun isn't really the deadly weapon it appears to be, it's a major error in the way of common sense. Sometimes split second decisions need to be made by those who are carrying the real thing, and if it goes the wrong way, real bullets may fly.
As just mentioned, keep your 'real' looking guns where they won't attract unwanted attention. And if you have kids, have a serious sit down with them so they understand the rules, the dangers, and the reasons for them. School age children (and the rest of us) have no business taking a gun anywhere near a school, 'real' gun or otherwise.
