Re: Should we be developingnonlethalmeansofself-defense?(wasre:violence)

Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Wed, 06 Oct 1999 21:26:52 -0400

Joseph 1 wrote:
>
> > From: Chuck Kuecker
> > Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 1999 9:42 AM
> >
> > For taking out multiple attackers without alerting their compatriots, I
> > think some sort of drugged projectile fired from a slienced airgun
> > (oxymoron?) might be easier to get working. Blowguns?
>
> A silenced airgun isn't an oxymoron at all; you can purchase or make your
> own silencers for paintball guns (they can be surprisingly loud). Could that
> be another possible application for paintball guns, though? What if the .68
> calliber balls were filled with a skin-contact sedative? Or even an airborne
> irritant like mace? Could be a very effective non-lethal weapon with
> relatively pin-point accuracy (certainly moreso than lobbing a grenade
> cannister into a crowd). It could be useful in hostage situations, etc.
>

Actually, no you cannot always purchase or make your own silencers. While the ATF does not regard airguns as firearms, so the National Firearms Act does not apply to silencers that are only useful with airguns (I don't know how you could make them only useful for airguns and not useful for firearms using the same caliber), but several States DO regard airguns as firearms. Massachusetts is one, and silencers are quite illegal (despite the overbearing presence of noise ordinances) there, actually they might be more difficult to get, since theoretically you can get a real silencer by going through the Class III Restricted Weapons Tax Form 4 process with the ATF, but since the ATF doesn't recognise airguns as firearms, they would not accept a Form 4 on a silencer for an airgun as a device that requires such a transfer process and fee (The transfer tax is $200.00). Funny how government is.

Mike Lorrey