NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3998
SPONSOR: Abinanti TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to clarifying the
definition of "imitation weapon"
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To increase safety by minimizing cases where an imitation weapon is
mistaken for a real firearm.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends general business law section 871 (2), as
added by chapter 475 of the laws of 1988, to change the definition of an
imitation weapon and provides that permissible imitation weapons must be
entirely brightly colored or be constructed entirely of transparent or
translucent materials which permits unmistakable observation of the
imitation or toy firearm's complete contents, along with other identify-
ing features.
Section 2 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
While on the surface they are seemingly harmless children's products,
toy guns have been responsible for an alarming number of real crimes and
deaths. Since 1994, there have been at least 63 shootings in New York
State as a result of imitation weapons being mistaken for real firearms,
and at least 8 of those shootings were fatal. Hundreds of crimes have
been committed in New York City with toy guns. While current state law
regulates the composition of imitation weapons, these products are still
widely available and dangerous. This bill clarifies and strengthens the
definition of an imitation weapon by making it consistent with the New
York City Administrative Code.
In August 2015, the Attorney General settled a lawsuit against several
major online retailers and third-party sellers, including Walmart,
K-Mart, Sears and Amazon, for violating state law regarding the sale of
imitation weapons. Between 2012 and 2014, the Attorney General's inves-
tigation found that these retailers sold 6,429 prohibited toy guns to
New York consumers. The retailers agreed to pay over $300,000 in fines
and moving forward to only sell toy guns that comply with New York
City's standard throughout the state.
By making state law consistent with New York City's law, this bill will
codify the intent of the Attorney General's settlement agreement and
prevent additional and future retailers from selling inconsistent
imitation weapons. It will further increase safety by minimizing cases
where an imitation weapon is mistaken for a real firearm.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-20: A.7355 referred to consumer affairs and protection, same as
S.35 (Hoylman) passed senate;
2017-2018: S. 0021 (Hoylman), died in consumer protection; 2016:
S.7656, died in consumer protection
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3998
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 1, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Consumer Affairs and Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to clarifying the
definition of "imitation weapon"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 871 of the general business law,
2 as added by chapter 475 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 2. "Imitation weapon" means any device or object made of plastic,
5 wood, metal or any other material which substantially duplicates or can
6 reasonably be perceived to be an actual firearm, air rifle, pellet gun,
7 or "B-B" gun; unless such imitation weapon:
8 (a) is colored [other than black, blue, silver or aluminum,] white,
9 bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright blue,
10 bright pink or bright purple on the entire exterior surface or as the
11 predominant color in combination with other colors in any pattern; or
12 (b) [is marked with a non-removable orange stripe which is at least
13 one inch in width and runs the entire length of the barrel on each side
14 and the front end of the barrel,] is constructed entirely of transparent
15 or translucent materials which permits unmistakable observation of the
16 imitation or toy firearm's complete contents; [and]
17 (c) has a barrel [at least one inch in diameter] that is closed for a
18 distance of not less than one-half inch from the front-end of its barrel
19 with the same material of which the imitation weapon is made, unless it
20 is a water gun;
21 (d) has legibly stamped thereon, the name of the manufacturer or some
22 trade name, mark or brand by which the manufacturer can be readily iden-
23 tified; and
24 (e) does not have attached thereto a laser pointer, defined for the
25 purpose of this section as any device that emits light amplified by the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01697-01-1
A. 3998 2
1 stimulated emission of radiation that is visible to the human eye.
2 "Imitation weapon" does not include any nonfiring replica of an antique
3 firearm, the original of which was designed, manufactured and produced
4 prior to eighteen hundred ninety-eight.
5 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
6 have become a law.
