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Ebay to Block Stun-Gun Sales to New Yorkers
AP News via MYWay.com ^ | October 11, 2005 | Mark Johnson

Posted on 10/11/2005 12:23:47 PM PDT by WmShirerAdmirer

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Online auctioneer eBay Inc. (EBAY) said Tuesday it will block the sale and shipment of stun guns and other illegal weapons to New York residents under an agreement with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

In an investigation that started last year, Spitzer's office found the eBay users were easily able to buy stun guns through the company's Web site. Investigators, posing as ordinary customers, bought 16 stun guns from 16 different sellers on eBay.

The sellers, 14 of whom are from outside New York, are believed to have sold more than 1,100 stun guns to New Yorkers from September 2003 to August 2005, investigators said. Included in the sales were a Taser International Inc. (TASR) stun gun valued at $57 and a $400 "Air Taser" that delivers a 50,000-volt disabling shock through darts connected by wires to the weapon.

"You wouldn't want these used in either illegal activities or horseplay," Spitzer spokesman Paul Larrabee said. "Dangerous devices should not be in the hands of those unable to properly use them and you certainly don't want them used in any criminal activity."

Under the agreement, New York residents who bid on an illegal weapon will receive an electronic warning from eBay that the transaction is illegal and that any purchase will be reported to authorities.

EBay has also sent letters to stun-gun sellers to warn them that the sale of such weapons in New York is illegal.

The company, based in San Jose, Calif., also agreed to suspend retailers who violate New York laws.

New York is one of seven states that ban electric stun devices, Spitzer's office said.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ebay; newyorkers; stunguns

1 posted on 10/11/2005 12:23:50 PM PDT by WmShirerAdmirer
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

And it will be so hard to get around.


2 posted on 10/11/2005 12:27:07 PM PDT by right right
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

Imagine this on a grand scale when the UN gets control of the internet.....


3 posted on 10/11/2005 12:27:38 PM PDT by konaice
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To: WmShirerAdmirer
"Dangerous devices should not be in the hands of those unable to properly use them and you certainly don't want them used in any criminal activity."

All that's missing is the wrap up, da-dum-dum the police will protect you.

4 posted on 10/11/2005 12:32:07 PM PDT by xsrdx (Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

if there were a million stun guns in new york i bet people would be nicer-if there were a million handguns in new york people would be nicer-lot less crime


5 posted on 10/11/2005 12:42:03 PM PDT by catmanblack. (he is the great I AM-)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer
New York is one of seven states that ban electric stun devices

Coal or fuel oil powered stung guns will still be permitted however.

6 posted on 10/11/2005 12:45:10 PM PDT by steveo (Member: Fathers Against Rude Television)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer

Tyrants.


7 posted on 10/11/2005 12:47:13 PM PDT by Sir Gawain
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To: steveo
Coal or fuel oil powered stung guns will still be permitted however.

Mine is nuclear. Is that allowed?

8 posted on 10/11/2005 12:56:49 PM PDT by zeugma (Warning: Self-referential object does not reference itself.)
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To: zeugma

Any NY law on flamethrowers, ATF says they are a-ok :)


9 posted on 10/11/2005 1:03:44 PM PDT by vrwc0915
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To: right right
And it will be so hard to get around.

Yup, just like I and my friends used to get around the ban on magazines of more than 15-round capacity in NJ...we had great fun going to gun shows in Pennsylvania and buying whatever we wanted for cash. This is just little old me, who isn't exactly well-connected in the criminal world. I must've had 40 such mags before I left the PRNJ for Texas...just my way of flipping Il Duce Florio the bird. BTW, I surprised my gun law-ignorant bride of 18 months when we passed the "Welcome to Delaware" sign that as of that moment she'd no longer have to worry about bailing me out of jail. After I explained the absurd law, she asked me how many I had...I told her that about 200 years in Rahway State Prison was sitting less than 2 feet from her caboose (well, I didn't say that, but this is the family hour). She also asked me if Texas had laws like that. I replied, "No, Texas is in America." Now I have lots more such mags, many more guns (including an "evil" Bushmaster AR-15) and a carry license.

Bottom line is this: laws like this only affect those willing to obey, i.e. the law-abiding. Violent criminals, who Spitter and other hoplophobic morons profess to be targetting, will get whatever they want. Duh, its the reason that they are called criminals. However, I'd expect that a certain number of bird-flippers will acquire some stun-guns in a roundabout way, just because...and they'll be as bad as convicted violent felons in the eyes of the jackass that this country calls The Law.

10 posted on 10/11/2005 1:10:34 PM PDT by Ancesthntr
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To: Ancesthntr


I'm stunned by this news.


11 posted on 10/11/2005 2:06:25 PM PDT by BronzePencil (if we outlaw nuclear energy only outlaws will have nuclear energy)
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To: WmShirerAdmirer
"You wouldn't want these used in either illegal activities or horseplay," Spitzer spokesman Paul Larrabee said. "Dangerous devices should not be in the hands of those unable to properly use them and you certainly don't want them used in any criminal activity."

And they certainly don't want you using them for self defense.

12 posted on 10/11/2005 2:13:51 PM PDT by Moonman62 (Federal creed: If it moves tax it. If it keeps moving regulate it. If it stops moving subsidize it)
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

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