UGA student arrested on felony charges for airsoft gun

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I wonder if the airsoft pistols has the Federally required one inch orange blaze tip. If it doesn't that could be another charge.

And if it does...shame on those campus cops for lacking critical thinking skills.

 

ok. Devil's advocate.
Why isn't an Air Pistol a pistol?
I agree that this is not a weapon (just like a straw in a 7 year olds hands is an object intended to propel a missle albeit a missle of soggy paper) but what is the proper legal definition of a pistol or revolver and why wouldn't a soft pellet air gun be considered one of them?

 

And there we go.
So it's pretty obvious that this guy was about as guilty of what they are accusing him of as someone with that straw & soggy wad would be.

I hope the guys's mom gets a good attny.



And if I've not said it before. This site rocks!

 

So if it is not technically a weapon and they detained him anyways...could he sue for unlawful imprisonment?

 

I'd love to see the 3" blade law be enforced here at Southern.

I estimate that 3/4th of the male population had a folding knife in their pocket.

So, I dare them to try to lock all of those people up.

 

Two Inches

Ram, it's the TWO-INCH blade law. And I don't think that is limited to just the sharpened section of the blade. From the tippy-tip right to the beginning of the handle, that's all considered "blade."

Now in my opinion a thug who attacks somebody with a two-inch blade knife has two problems. First, the victim may stomp their butt. Second, campus police could still drop the perp with a .40 to the chest, since any knife attack is a per se deadly assault. Even if two-inch knives are not considered particularly good weapons, being better classified as utility tools.

BIGGER ISSUE: Why do we let these dimwits in the legislatue pass such laws? Sometimes you can blame school officials for not understanding the law, but here the law is clear. An Airsoft pistol is a pistol. It is not a firearm, but then the law doesn't use the term firearm. Even if it were not a "weapon," it is still a pistol. Handguns that are firearms are "per se" classified as deadly weapons, as are any and all other firearms, even purely sporting ones.

If a single-shot .22 target rifle with a 26" bull barrel and a 9-pound empty weight is legally considered a "weapon" despite the fact that it is designed, marketed, and only sold for the sport of target shooting, then I think a BB gun or AirSoft gun or paintball gun could be called a "weapon" too.

FIXING THE PROBLEM: The legislature should go back and change the law to authorize schools to come up with ADMINISTRATIVE RULES regarding "weapons," the violation of which can not exceed removal from the school. Then the leglislature can make it a "misdemeanor" to possess a dangerous tool, knife, or other non-weapon instrument that is nonetheless likely to cause a serious bodily injury when used offensively against a person. Possession of a firearm, a weapon (designed and marketed to be used as such), a bomb (a real one, not a firecracker or bottle rocket) or possession of any non-weapon dangerous instrument WITH INTENT TO USE SAME AS A WEAPON could remain a felony.

 

Re: Two Inches

I don't have a knife. I have a flat sided tool that comes to a point and just happens to be worn down on one side.

Ah hell. I have a knife, and I defy them to do something about it. But, having three quarters of the school's male population charged with felony weapons possesion may bring them unwanted attention.

 

If airsoft and paintball guns are weapons then why arnt the cops busting up paintball tournements to enforce the laws against dueling?

 

OMG! When I go to pick up my child at school in my work vehicle, I will have my tools with me (I am a contractor), so in the area of "designed to propel a missile" I have four air nailers and a powder fired ramset nailer (.22 long); at least half a dozen "discs with two or more sharpened points" that I call circular saw blades; and I can't begin to count the number of sharpened blades over two inches long (hand saws of different types); and I bet the 2x4's in the back could work really well as a "bludgeon". Add to that the fact that I drive a van, so none of that can be locked up (other than by the door locks of course), and I guess that the .45 pistol and four inch pocket knife I carry do not look so bad, huh??

Seriously, I have four relatives in Law Enforcement (retired and active). They all maintain that the law here was made intentionly vague so that LEO could use it as a way to look for other things on a stop.