BILL NUMBER: S9215
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to certain types
of imitation guns
 
PURPOSE OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to reduce confusion between imitation weap-
ons and real firearms, strengthen age restrictions on air guns, and
ensure that businesses involved in making and selling imitation weapons
follow the same basic safety standards that apply to the firearm indus-
try.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one updates the definition of "imitation weapon." It makes clear
that air rifles, pellet guns, and BB guns must be brightly colored and
meet the same visual safety standards that already apply to imitation
guns.
Section two raises the minimum age to buy a paint pellet gun from
sixteen to eighteen. It also requires someone to be eighteen to buy any
other type of air gun covered by the bill.
Section three expands the responsibilities of gun industry members. It
requires them to take reasonable steps to prevent imitation weapons from
being made to closely replicate real firearms. It also updates the defi-
nition of "gun industry member" to include businesses that manufacture,
sell, distribute, import, or market imitation weapons.
Section four brings imitation weapons under the state's firearm public
nuisance law. That means the same rules that apply to the sale and
marketing of fireamis would also apply to imitation weapons.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Realistic looking air powered weapons pose a deadly and significant
danger to children if mistaken for an actual firearm. In New York State,
and across America, adults and children have lost their lives due to
this confusion and a lack of common-sense safety precautions. The fact
is more can be done to limit and even eliminate these avoidable circum-
stances.
While state law prohibits the sale of realistic looking "toy" weapons,
there is a carveout for 'air rifle, pellet gun, or "B-B" gun'. This
carveout leaves many realistic-looking imitation guns accessible to
children. These imitation guns with realistic markings and design are
becoming harder and harder to distinguish by law enforcement officers,
who must make split-second decisions to determine whether a weapon is
real or not. The Washington Post's Police Shootings Database, which aims
to track the specifics of all police-involved firearm-related deaths
since 2015, reports that more than 300 individuals were shot and killed
nationwide by police while carrying imitation weapons.
In New York, the story is unfortunately the same. The Attorney General's
Office of Special Investigation ("OSI"), is charged with investigating
and, where appropriate, prosecuting all police killings in the state. In
many of these investigations, a realistic looking air powered weapon
played a significant role in a civilian death, with some victims as
young as children. OSI's 2024 annual report notes that six people lost
their lives over the three years, from September 1, 2021 through August
31, 2024, as a result of police mistaking an imitation weapon for a real
gun. In one particularly heartrending case, police shot and killed a
thirteen-year-old boy who had fled war-tom Myanmar and who happened to
be carrying a realistic looking imitation gun.
Imitation guns are commonly available at retail stores without identifi-
cation, and continue to pose a real danger to consumers, law enforce-
ment, and the public at large. Closing the loophole in state law will
enable police officers and others to quickly distinguish air powered
weapons from actual firearms.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None noted.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
30 days following enactment.

Statutes affected:
S9215: 871 general business law, 871(2) general business law, 399-r general business law, 898-b general business law