Results: BB Guns

Have you heard any of the recent controversy in the news about whether BB guns are firearms or not?

This topic has come up because a man in Minnesota was charged with possession of a firearm by an ineligible person (this was due to a previous drug conviction.) He had been found in possession of a BB gun that strongly resembled a Walther P99 pistol. He was sentenced to 5 years and the judge in this case told the jury that BB guns count as firearms. Have you ever seen a BB gun that was indistinguishable from a "real" gun?

The MN Court of Appeals upheld his conviction in September of this year, but the case is now being brought before the Supreme Court. The convicted felon, David Lee Haywood, states that his BB gun should not have been considered a firearm because the statute actually gives no definition of what constitutes a firearm. If you go by a dictionary definition, a firearm is classified as "a weapon that uses gun power or an explosive charge to fire a shot" - neither of which a BB gun does. The courts, however, state that MN appellate courts have a history of including BB guns as firearms. So what's your opinion - is a BB gun a firearm?

What about air rifles, do you think those should be classified as firearms as well?