Toy guns under new restrictions as NY law goes into effect. What to know

• Toy guns must be brightly colored or translucent under NY law that went into effect this week.
• This builds on existing New York City laws.
• Since 1994, there have been at least 63 shootings from actual firearms in New York related to the use of a toy gun.

New restrictions regulating the appearance of toy guns in New York went into effect Monday, expanding the use of bright color schemes to distinguish these toys from actual firearms.

Under the new law, which was signed in August, the exterior of a toy weapon will have to be completely covered with a bright color, such as orange, red, yellow or white. Toy weapons may also comply with the new requirements if they are made of completely transparent materials.

These changes replace old state standards that only required toy guns to have an orange stripe and an exterior color different from a traditional weapon.

Federal law separately regulates the appearance of toy guns, requiring that they contain the characteristic blaze orange plug inserted into the barrel.

Since 1994, there have been at least 63 shootings from actual firearms in New York related to the use of a toy gun, according to the attorney general's office. From these incidents, at least eight people have died.

"Restricting these realistic-looking devices will ensure misleading and potentially dangerous devices are off our streets, keeping kids, law enforcement and all New Yorkers safe," Gov. Kathy Hochul said when the bill was signed.

Weren't these rules already in effect in NY?

The changes conform to rules that have already been in place in New York City for years.

In 2015, then-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a settlement with major retailers over allegations that they had sold realistic-looking weapons to consumers in the city and across the state through their online stores.

State law allows realistic-looking guns to be sold for use in theatrical, film or television productions, or if they are being held temporarily for sale out of state.

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How have toy guns been involved in real shooting incidents?

According to the Giffords Law Center, the legal arm of the eponymous gun-control advocacy group, 146 people holding fake guns were shot by police nationwide between 2015 and 2018. 

Most recently, an off-duty corrections officer was charged in July with killing Raymond Chaluisant, an 18-year-old Bronx man, after Chaluisant reportedly shot at him with a toy gun containing gel-based pellets.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, conspicuous and colorful markings are designed to help police distinguish between actual threats and harmless products in the short amount of time these decisions are made on the ground.

"Toy gun markings provide a visible indication of it being a toy versus a real firearm," the commission said in a statement. "This is critical not only for decisions that need to be made instantaneously by law enforcement personnel, but also for other scenarios, including identifying where a child has inappropriately obtained a real firearm. This is particularly important given the realistic-nature of many of today's toys."

The commission has long pushed for retailers to rein in their production of realistic-looking weapons. In 1994, then-Chair Ann Brown issued a "challenge" to manufacturers to "stop producing any guns that look like or could be modified to look like real guns."

Do toy gun markings work to distinguish from real firearms?

However, the utility of the conspicuous marking system has been called into question. A 1989 study commissioned by the National Institute of Justice, a division of the U.S. Department of Justice, found under simulated conditions that officers confronted with the blaze orange plug fired at those suspects at nearly the same rate as suspects brandishing real weapons.

Other marking systems, such as those encouraged by the new New York state law, were found to be more effective. Fake pistols colored entirely in white, translucent green or a combination of orange and purple were substantially more effective in dissuading officers from discharging their firearms.

Asher Stockler is a reporter for The Journal News and the USA Today Network New York. You can find him on Twitter at @quasiasher or send him an email at astockler@lohud.com. Reach him securely: asher.stockler@protonmail.com.