Interviewer: Following a recent deadly shooting involving a pellet gun, one man is facing serious charges, including second-degree manslaughter. So, how does a situation like this differ from one involving a standard firearm? We’ve got managing partner Paul Harding here from Harding, Mazzotti. So, how does the law treat BB guns and pellet guns versus a standard firearm?
Paul: Or a paint gun, you know, kind of the same thing. So firearms, you know, it really is so regulated. There are so many rules. Who can own them, where you can take them, what you can do with them, and it’s a lot of rules. Now, when we talk about these other guns, pellet gun being the one in the news lately, it all has to do with the fact that what is propelling the projectile forward. In the case of a BB gun or a pellet gun, it’s air. And there’s no regulation. They’re not considered a firearm, but keep in mind, they can be considered a deadly weapon. And that is where these criminal charges are stemming from.
Interviewer: So that can still result in criminal charges if something happens from one of these guns being shot.
Paul: Very similar that there’s not a lot of regulations around knives. But if you have a knife and you use the intent to injure someone, it becomes a deadly weapon, even though most of us can possess one.
Interviewer: And is it the same level of charges, or is it still like kind of a step down from a regular firearm?
Paul: No, it could be the same exact thing. So you won’t have a charge for the firearm, but you can be charged by having a weapon, using a weapon, deploying a weapon. But it comes down to the intent. So if you intend, or in this case, it looks like recklessly are using the gun, we’ve got these, you know, you’ve got these manslaughter charges, which are very serious. And we often don’t see them when we’re talking about a BB gun or a pellet gun or a paint gun.
Interviewer: Yeah. To your point, because the force is done by air. I imagine you also don’t need to have a background check to purchase one of these.
Paul: You can just walk in, you got to be 16 years old or older, and you can walk in and buy as many as you want because they don’t regulate them at all, other than the age to purchase.
Interviewer: So then I would imagine, too, parents should be thinking about this if they are considering buying these for themselves or for their children.
Paul: I think I had a BB gun at 10 years old. And you know, I remember thinking they were kind of powerful. But yeah, parents need to understand that it is a gun, it can cause damage. And if it’s done recklessly, as we’re seeing here, criminal charges can be brought and the result of this activity is result in the death of someone. I mean, really unforeseeable generally, but it happened. So yes, parents don’t treat this as a toy. It’s not.
Interviewer: Okay. Paul, thank you so much.
Paul: Absolutely.
Interviewer: Well, for more info covered in our weekly What Are Your Rights segments or to send us a story idea, head to our website, cbs6albany.com.
