For many of us who started our shooting career with an air rifle, our first BB gun still holds a special place in our hearts. Mine was a Daisy, although not the fancy Red Ryder received by Ralphy of Christmas Story fame.
For generations, youngsters have learned the ins and outs of shooting and gun safety by using BB guns. But those growing up in New York might just be looking at the end of a longstanding tradition.
A bill under consideration in the New York State Assembly takes aim at BB guns and the youth who use those guns to learn about shooting and safety before transitioning to actual firearms. The measure, S 9215, would redefine BB and pellet guns as “imitation weapons,” raise the legal age for buying one to 18, and require that the so-called “weapons” be painted brightly to differentiate them from “real” guns and have a plug in the barrel.
Perhaps the most egregious part of the proposal is raising the age to own an airgun to 18. According to the sponsor of the measure, the purpose of the bill is to “reduce confusion between imitation weapons 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 industry.” The likely real purpose, however, is to cripple the oft-berated “gun culture” by limiting the amount of youngsters who love shooting and learned that love through shooting BB guns.
Equally egregious, however, is the requirement that all BB guns and pellet guns have a plug in the end of the barrel. Obviously, that renders them completely useless for shooting, killing the use of airguns in the Empire State.
The measure has drawn the ire of Daisy, one of America’s premier BB and pellet gun manufacturers. In fact, in a social media post, Daisy alerted followers to the disturbing proposal.
“Attention citizens of the state of New York—your government is working to ban the Red Ryder (and every other airgun) by placing them in the imitation weapons category,” the company wrote in the post. “This would require a plug in the barrel and coloration to match toy guns. The plug alone renders them useless. It’s two bills—S9215 and A10701. Contacting your legislators to voice your opposition is required to stop the removal of yet another one of your rights.”
In a recent update on the legislation, Hard Air Magazine shared details on the effects the measure would have if it were passed by lawmakers and signed by the governor.
“Effectively, this would ban the future sales of airguns within the state of New York,” Stephen Archer wrote in the update. “The result would be no more plinking in the backyard. No more competitive air rifle shooting. No more 4H, Scouting and gun club youth training. No more small game hunting with air rifles… Particularly, it will remove the ‘on ramp’ for youth shooters who then develop a lifelong interest in shooting—as many of us did. And we can guess that this is what’s behind the proposal. They really don’t want more people like us.”