New York statutory definitions:
§ 265.00 Definitions.
As used in this article and in article four hundred, the following
terms shall mean and include:
3. “Firearm” means (a) any pistol or revolver; or (b) a shotgun having
one or more barrels less than eighteen inches in length; or (c) a rifle
having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches in length; or (d)
any weapon made from a shotgun or rifle whether by alteration,
modification, or otherwise if such weapon as altered, modified, or
otherwise has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches; or (e)
an assault weapon. For the purpose of this subdivision the length of the
barrel on a shotgun or rifle shall be determined by measuring the
distance between the muzzle and the face of the bolt, breech, or
breechlock when closed and when the shotgun or rifle is cocked; the
overall length of a weapon made from a shotgun or rifle is the distance
between the extreme ends of the weapon measured along a line parallel to
the center line of the bore. Firearm does not include an antique
firearm.
11. “Rifle” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and
intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and
made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic
cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for
each single pull of the trigger.
15. “Loaded firearm” means any firearm loaded with ammunition or any
firearm which is possessed by one who, at the same time, possesses a
quantity of ammunition which may be used to discharge such firearm.
16. “Certified not suitable to possess a self-defense spray device, a
rifle or shotgun” means that the director or physician in charge of any
hospital or institution for mental illness, public or private, has
certified to the superintendent of state police or to any organized
police department of a county, city, town or village of this state, that
a person who has been judicially adjudicated incompetent, or who has
been confined to such institution for mental illness pursuant to
judicial authority, is not suitable to possess a self-defense spray
device, as defined in section 265.20 of this article, or a rifle or
shotgun.
§ 265.06 Unlawful possession of a weapon upon school grounds.
It shall be unlawful for any person age sixteen or older to knowingly
possess any air-gun, spring-gun or other instrument or weapon in which
the propelling force is a spring, air, piston or CO2 cartridge in or
upon a building or grounds, used for educational purposes, of any
school, college or university, without the written authorization of such
educational institution.
Unlawful possession of a weapon upon school grounds is a violation.
§ 265.08 Criminal use of a firearm in the second degree.
A person is guilty of criminal use of a firearm in the second degree
when he commits any class C violent felony offense as defined in
paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 70.02 and he either:
(1) possesses a deadly weapon, if the weapon is a loaded weapon from
which a shot, readily capable of producing death or other serious injury
may be discharged; or
(2) displays what appears to be a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun,
machine gun or other firearm.
Criminal use of a firearm in the second degree is a class C felony.
§ 265.01 Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth
degree when:
(1) He possesses any firearm, electronic dart gun, electronic stun
gun, gravity knife, switchblade knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal
knuckle knife, cane sword, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, metal knuckles,
chuka stick, sand bag, sandclub, wrist-brace type slingshot or
slungshot, shirken or “Kung Fu star”; or
(2) He possesses any dagger, dangerous knife, dirk, razor, stiletto,
imitation pistol, or any other dangerous or deadly instrument or weapon
with intent to use the same unlawfully against another; or
(3) He or she knowingly has in his or her possession a rifle, shotgun
or firearm in or upon a building or grounds, used for educational
purposes, of any school, college or university, except the forestry
lands, wherever located, owned and maintained by the State University of
New York college of environmental science and forestry, or upon a school
bus as defined in section one hundred forty-two of the vehicle and
traffic law, without the written authorization of such educational
institution; or
(4) He possesses a rifle or shotgun and has been convicted of a felony
or serious offense; or
(5) He possesses any dangerous or deadly weapon and is not a citizen
of the United States; or
(6) He is a person who has been certified not suitable to possess a
rifle or shotgun, as defined in subdivision sixteen of section 265.00,
and refuses to yield possession of such rifle or shotgun upon the demand
of a police officer. Whenever a person is certified not suitable to
possess a rifle or shotgun, a member of the police department to which
such certification is made, or of the state police, shall forthwith
seize any rifle or shotgun possessed by such person. A rifle or shotgun
seized as herein provided shall not be destroyed, but shall be delivered
to the headquarters of such police department, or state police, and
there retained until the aforesaid certificate has been rescinded by the
director or physician in charge, or other disposition of such rifle or
shotgun has been ordered or authorized by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(7) He knowingly possesses a bullet containing an explosive substance
designed to detonate upon impact.
(8) He possesses any armor piercing ammunition with intent to use the
same unlawfully against another.
Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree is a class A
misdemeanor.
I don’t see what law has been broken.
Neither do I, but they'll find *something* I'm sure.
Causing a mass case of the vapors or something like that.
The news (WNBC) is all atwitter that he bought it at a local retail store for $170.
I suspect that if it can be sold in NEW YORK CITY, with no background check, waiting period, etc, etc, it's not a legally a gun, even in NEW YORK CITY.
Be pretty funny if they have to drop all the charges, except perhaps the "numerous violations of New York City's Administrative Code".
Wonder what they would do to a 14 year old, bicycling down one of their streets with a shotgun over the handlebars? That's what I did at 14. More than once, and in a "Gang" too. I think there were 5 or 6 of us. That would have been 1964, fall, pheasant season, second largest city in the state, then as now.
We could ask him all about it, and he could answer at his leisure, in Gitmo.