NY Man arrested for playing airsoft with his kids !

[OuTcAsT]

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/05/...n-queens-park/

Apparently, this poor guy was just using an airsoft gun, playing with his kids. Someone else sees him, becomes "uncomfortable" and tells him to leave the park. He goes home, and gets arrested for a laundry list of charges.

For an airsoft gun ? Really ? Guess I am not surprised at this reaction in NY.
But, I wonder if the prosecutor can make anything stick ?

[Brian Pfleuger]

Guess I am not surprised at this reaction in NY.

New York City

Which, geographically, is 0.17% of New York State. The vast majority of the rest of that 99.83% of the state is as or more gun friendly as anywhere else in America.

The rest of NY is no more responsible for the gun-control idiocy in that city than Tennessee is for gun-control in the rest of America.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Airsoft guns are illegal in NYC? When my daughter was little, I bought her an electric water gun that looked just like a Beretta 92. We used to run around the apartment complex with it. No one called the law - this was Oregon.

New York City is safer because of this righteous legal action.

Or why didn't a sensible cop just go tell the guy to cool it? Geez.

Mayor Bloomberg would have a stroke in TX. All the toy stores and sporting goods stores have an arsenal of airsoft.

[Spats McGee]

Originally Posted by Glenn E. Meyer

Mayor Bloomberg would have a stroke in TX.

Maybe someone should have invited him to the NRA Annual Meeting.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

He could have come over to San Antonio for our carbine match. I could introduce him around. I could've lent him my 10/22 - tricked out a bit for EBR for him to pop off a few rounds.

Or we could take him out for some pigs.

[ATW525]

I think that the laws in New York are asinine. I was outraged that these anti-gun mothers would want this poor guy arrested over a toy gun! Who are these queens mamas people, anyways???

So, I Googled them and found comments of people that were there and pictures that were taken of the guy. As much as it pains me to say it, I have to come down on the side of the police and the mothers on this one. Legality of airsoft guns aside, this guy doesn't appear to have made any effort to be safe and responsible.

[Nickel Plated]

I am very much against the demonizing of guns, real or airsoft. But it seriously looks like this guy was acting like an idiot and the results are hardly surprising.
Just like the 4 rules of firearm safety here. The airsoft community has their own very important rule. "Keep em out of sight" as in don't use them around people that haven't been informed what they are. In all likelyhood they will assume it's real.

And yeah airsoft guns, or any "realistic looking" toy gun is illegal in NYC.

[Evan Thomas]

Legality of airsoft guns aside, this guy doesn't appear to have made any effort to be safe and responsible.

No... Giving the pistol to his five-year-old daughter and letting her ride around on her bike and point it at people isn't exactly exemplary behavior.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

But is it worth an arrest as compared to a stern lecture? How much does this cost the taxpayer just for stupid?

[OuTcAsT]

But is it worth an arrest as compared to a stern lecture? How much does this cost the taxpayer just for stupid?

Agreed, I could possibly see it as a "ticketable" offense, but they seem hell-bent on throwing the whole book at him. Quite costly on both sides I reckon.

While his actions may not have been the greatest, it would hardly have raised an eyebrow around here. Neighborhood kids play with airsoft frequently and I have yet to see the Police get involved.

[Koda94]

I don't think playing airsoft games in a public park is exactly safe, but probably not worth getting arrested over. That said, its still a gun, and I get irritated when someone points one at me even sweeping the muzzle. I cant imagine playing airsoft in a park does not put bystanders at risk without eye protection.

[Evan Thomas]

Dunno. I really don't -- I wasn't there. I think the whole thing is ridiculous, but airsoft guns, other pellet guns, and realistic-looking toys are all illegal in NYC. And I can't fault a mother in an urban park for being uncomfortable when some doofus hands his little girl what looks like an actual gun.

And an arrest may not have been the worst possible outcome. If the police had made it to the park while Mr. Pawlowski and his kids were there... NYC police have a bit of a track record when it comes to reacting to people they think have guns.

[WillyKern69]

This is classic brainwashing by the Media. I read the article and one lady called the police. Why? she KNEW guns were bad. Where did she get this idea? The media. Most of us here grew up when there was not a "astigma" to "guns". Once, as some know, we have to fight this attack to the second. Laws are not the only fear to our RIGHT. It reminds me of Donald Sutherland in the second version of "The Invasion of Body Snatchers". When the lady finds him, at the end, he screams to alert all the rest. So scary.

WK

[ATW525]

But is it worth an arrest as compared to a stern lecture? How much does this cost the taxpayer just for stupid?

I don't know. Most airsoft guns I've had experience with can easily cause eye damage, and the park he was in looks like it's mostly a playground with some benches. The guy appears to have used exceptionally poor judgement, and is probably lucky that nobody was injured.

[Patriot86]

“I don’t tend to take things lying down, so I went past the parents, and so I walked straight over and I confronted him,” said Leni Calas. “I mean, he’s brandishing a firearm and I don’t care if that firearm is plastic. That’s unacceptable

Its a plastic "gun" not a firearm lady. The woman quoted in this story seems like the type of busy body who I know far too many of and just make my blood boil.

The keyword in firearm is...FIRE...as in.."explosive" actuated...


Its really a shame NYC is the way it is, I absolutly loved up-state NY the few times I have visited. My father grew up in NYC and has some great pictures and stories from his trips up to Upstate NY.

[Spats McGee]

Just as unnerving:

Originally Posted by Story linked by the OP

He remained in custody Wednesday evening, on charges of reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a minor, resisting arrest, and possession of an illegal BB gun.

Endangering the welfare of a minor? Possession of an illegal BB gun?!? Yes, I know that you could put an eye out with it, but still . . .

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I had a Daisy when I was a kid in NYC. Guess I was a master criminal.

I had a plastic 1911 that fired rounds based on a spring. I had realistic Colt SAAs that you stuck a cap on a round for six shots. Similar double barrel flintlock and derringer. OH MY GOD -

[Kimio]

Ah, the brainwashing continues, and the freeman is no longer "free". Welcome to the new world order honey.

Tin foil hat aside, while I do question the decision in terms of safety (What it appears to be is that he was in a public setting) I do not believe what he did was grounds to have him arrested. A stern warning perhaps, but the charges are simply outrageous.

Then again, this is NYC we're talking about...so I guess I really shouldn't be surprised that this kind of crap would be thrown down on this guy. Anything goes in NYC in the oppression of law abiding gun owners in Cites/States with laws like NYC or so it seems.

[Nittespanker]

I wasn't in the park and did not witness the incident so I can't really form a valid opinion. However if I had my 2 year old in the park on the swings and a guy came running by firing air soft gun it might not would have been his best day.

[Evan Thomas]

There are two separate issues here. One is the fact that the possession of pellet guns, including airsoft guns, is illegal in NYC. Is that absurd? I suspect that we all agree that it is.

The second issue is whether Mr. Pawlowski should have been arrested for breaking said law, (1) in a public place, (2) doing things with the pellet gun that were unsafe, i.e. allowing his five-year-old daughter to ride around pointing it at people: was it loaded or unloaded at that point? I don't know.

There are lots of other gun laws we think are unacceptable and/or stupid -- does that mean we expect to break them with impunity?

It's also worth noting that if this had not involved a white family, it's very unlikely that it would even have made the news.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Sensible discretion on the part of the officers might have been nice. However, freaked out Mom might have complained to the bosses if the officers just yelled at the guy.

I really can't see the need for the expense of a trial, etc. for this guy.

[Evan Thomas]

I agree, and I'd be very surprised if there is one.

We also don't know why resisting arrest was one of the charges, but if the guy was an uncooperative jerk from the moment police arrived at his door, that may have contributed to his being arrested.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Yep, some people never learn that they should cooperate with the law and then complain, appeal, etc. Ranting at the scene does you little good.

[BoogieMan]

No doubt this guy has zero common sense. He is likely to loose everything he owns trying to defend his actions in court. Not to mention the burden on the taxpayer to prosecute him. Some type of a misconduct ticket and a stern warning should have been suffice.

[FrankenMauser]

Originally Posted by Brian Pfleuger

New York City

Which, geographically, is 0.17% of New York State. The vast majority of the rest of that 99.83% of the state is as or more gun friendly as anywhere else in America.

Come on, now, Brian. You know as well as the rest of us, that the rest of the state is still quite restrictive. And, it isn't the geographical proportions that matter, it's the population. New York City, alone (not including the metro area), accounts for 43% of the state's population. When you add in the metro area, it just gets worse from there.

I know you have been forced to live with those restrictions for a long time, and have become accustomed to the atmosphere, but it isn't gun-friendly by any means.

I lived in two of what many people considered to be some of the best counties in the state, for gun rights. Yet, I could not legally possess handgun ammunition of any kind, because I didn't have a pistol permit. ...which, of course, meant I couldn't possess a handgun, either. I could not possess more than 1 lb of smokeless powder, because the local governments (all the way down to township level) considered it to be "hazardous to the community". I could not possess more than 100 primers, because they were a "dangerous explosive material".

And, the local reloading suppliers were so afraid of making a mistake that would land them on the wrong side of the NY State goonsquad, that almost all of them refused to sell components of any kind to anyone with a non-resident ID.

When I lived just outside Rochester, a deaf child there was shot for "brandishing" a handgun in his front yard. ...except it was a cordless phone.


Yet...
Two weeks ago, I stopped at a gas station, while driving between Pocatello, Idaho, and Salt Lake City, Utah, to execute a trade involving firearms, reloading tools, components, and cash. We literally handed off the goods while pumping gas at the pumps of a very busy filling station / truck stop at the crossroads of two major highways, and no one even gave us a dirty look. A few people actually seemed to be admiring the uncased blued steel. It sounds ridiculous to people in restrictive states, but the transaction was perfectly legal under state and federal law.

All the while, both of us had legally concealed handguns, with no license requirement. Heading the other direction, when I cross the border into Idaho (slightly more restrictive than Utah), all I have to do to remain legal is put the handgun in plain sight or unload it (it can't be loaded and concealed in a vehicle, without a permit).



I know it hurts to admit that you live in a state that is very restrictive and oppressive, and that I live in the middle of some of the least-restrictive states; but that doesn't change how ridiculous NY is, when it comes to guns, gun ownership, and the majority opinion. NY sucks.