Has the device that you viewed as a harmless “toy” gotten you or your child in trouble with the law? New Jersey law says that no permit or license is required to obtain an airsoft gun, which is a soft pellet firing device. Most kids use this in a game similar to paintball, and it’s relatively harmless to get hit by one of the pellets. Even though these guns can be purchased legally, you can still end up facing the penalties associated with firearms, such as a criminal record and jail time. Since I’ve seen no less than 3 of these cases in the last few months alone, I thought it would be good to get some information out there.

In the many cases that I have dealt with, the incident starts out with someone who innocently buys an airsoft gun and uses it with no criminal intent. Most people do not regard these as a serious weapon until they are faced with being arrested and charged for one.

Windows Vista Business Oem Iso. I had one myself when I was younger and never thought anything of it. Recently, I have seen individuals as young as 18 who did something seemingly harmless, such as shoot one of their friends as a joke, charged with a serious assault offenses under both N. Java Runtime 1.5.0.0.8 [2-in-1]. J.S.A. 2C:12-1B(2) for recklessly causing bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon and N.J.S.A. 2C:121B(4) for Pointing a firearm at another with extreme indifference to human life. 2C:12-1B(2) and (4) are third and fourth degree crimes respectively. A person convicted of these offences, not only faces fines, Probation, and potential jail time, but will be left with a felony record.

All this because of a harmless toy. The following statues were originally intended for BB guns, but because of the nature of airsoft guns, they also qualify under these statutes: Under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-1, these devices are considered “firearms”, as they fire a projectile using high compression. You could be charged with anything from third degree possession of a handgun without a permit for simply having an airsoft gun to a second degree offense with mandatory parole if the court deems it was used for unlawful purposes. According to N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4, a person “is guilty of a crime of the third degree if the handgun is in the nature of an air gun, spring gun or pistol or other weapon of a similar nature in which the propelling force is a spring, elastic band, carbon dioxide, compressed or other gas or vapor, air or compressed air, or is ignited by compressed air, and ejecting a bullet or missile smaller than three-eighths of an inch in diameter, with sufficient force to injure a person. Otherwise it is a crime of the second degree.” It is also common for someone possessing an airsoft gun to be charged under N.J.S.A.

The statute states that “Any person who knowingly has in his possession any other weapon under circumstances not manifestly appropriate for such lawful uses as it may have is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.” Usually this is charged when the “weapon” was pointed at or fired at someone. In these cases the fact that an “assault” occurred under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1B(2) and (4) is used to show it was not possessed for a for a lawful purpose.

The most serious charge I have seen recently in relation to airsoft guns is N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4(e), which states that possession of an imitation firearm with the purpose to use it unlawfully against a person or property of another would be a crime of the second degree. Being charged with a crime of the second degree for what most consider a recreational device could put you behind bars for a maximum of ten years and carries a presumption of incarceration. Keep in mind that this last statute not only applies to airsoft guns, but anything that could be considered an imitation firearm, such as a blank gun.