Airsoft guns and their use in crime

Softair guns, or as they are commonly known, airsoft guns, for those who are unfamiliar, are replicas of guns that fire 6mm plastic BBs using compressed air. They are made from various materials depending of the price and manufacturer. Many of the low-end airsoft replicas are made primarily from plastic while the more expensive ones are made from metal and composites similar to the live firearms. They are most commonly used by enthusiasts in games similar to those in the paintball community and are also used as movie props and as training aids for firearms training.

Airsoft guns are primarily manufactured in Japan and China. They have become more and more popular recently and have become more readily available at many sporting goods stores and retail chain outlets such as Walmart and K-Mart. Federal law requires all airsoft guns sold in the United States to have a bright orange tip either painted on or permanently attached to the gun making it easier for people, particularly those in the law enforcement community, to identify the gun as an airsoft gun. This law was enacted do to many occurrences when realistic looking airsoft guns or toy guns were mistaken for live firearms by police officers and resulted in the serious injury or death of several children and young adults. However, requiring these guns to have orange tips offers little difficulty for one who wants to paint over or sand off the orange tip.

With the relative ease of removal of the orange markings, it allows those who have the malicious intent to use these replica guns in the commission of crimes. While the use of airsoft guns in crime is relatively uncommon due to the risks of the gun being discovered as an airsoft replica, this has not stopped several people from attempting or succeeding in the commission of a crime.

There are numerous newspaper articles about those who have attempted to commit crimes using airsoft guns. One in particular occurred in Mt. Vernon, New York in January of 2008. A thirteen year old boy attempted to rob a Chinese restaurant with what appeared to be a .38 caliber revolver and, after the boy was wrestled to the ground by workers in the restaurant, it was discovered that the gun was actually an airsoft replica. Later, Mount Vernon Police Commissioner David E Chong was quoted as saying, "Until one of my officers picked up the gun, no one thought it was an imitation".

Police officers don't have the luxury to ask whether the the gun they see in someones hand is a real gun or a replica. They have to act quickly and sometimes this can result in tragedy. One case where this occured was in Longwood, CA in January of 2006. In this case a SWAT officer shot and killed a 15 year old who was brandishing an airsoft gun at school. The airsoft gun's orange markings had been painted over.

While airsoft guns are not real firearms, in many states, if used in the commission of a crime, they carry the same penalties as one would had they used a live firearm during the crime. Several states have attempted to pass laws either banning airsoft guns or increasing the regulations required to purchase them.

Although airsoft guns are not lethal and in most states not considered a firearm, the unfortunate reality is that with the easy access and the sometimes striking attention to detail in their appearance compared to their real counterparts, they have been and in all likelihood will continue to be an easy alternative for use in the commission of crimes.