§ 265.10 Manufacture, transport, disposition and defacement of weapons

Attorney's Note

Under the New York Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class D felonybetween 1 and 7 yearsup to $5,000
Class E felonybetween 1 and 4 yearsup to $5,000
Class A misdemeanorup to 364 daysup to $1,000
Class B misdemeanorup to 3 monthsup to $500
For details, see N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00 and N.Y. Penal Law § 70.15

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Terms Used In N.Y. Penal Law 265.10

  • Assault weapon: means

    (a) a semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following characteristics:

    (i) a folding or telescoping stock;

    (ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon;

    (iii) a thumbhole stock;

    (iv) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;

    (v) a bayonet mount;

    (vi) a flash suppressor, muzzle break, muzzle compensator, or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor, muzzle break, or muzzle compensator;

    (vii) a grenade launcher; or

    (b) a semiautomatic shotgun that has at least one of the following characteristics:

    (i) a folding or telescoping stock;

    (ii) a thumbhole stock;

    (iii) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;

    (iv) a fixed magazine capacity in excess of seven rounds;

    (v) an ability to accept a detachable magazine; or

    (c) a semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following characteristics:

    (i) a folding or telescoping stock;

    (ii) a thumbhole stock;

    (iii) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;

    (iv) capacity to accept an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip;

    (v) a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer;

    (vi) a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned;

    (vii) a manufactured weight of fifty ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded; or

    (viii) a semiautomatic version of an automatic rifle, shotgun or firearm;

    (d) a revolving cylinder shotgun;

    (e) a semiautomatic rifle, a semiautomatic shotgun or a semiautomatic pistol or weapon defined in subparagraph (v) of paragraph (e) of subdivision twenty-two of section 265. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Chuka stick: means any device designed primarily as a weapon, consisting of two or more lengths of a rigid material joined together by a thong, rope or chain in such a manner as to allow free movement of a portion of the device while held in the hand and capable of being rotated in such a manner as to inflict serious injury upon a person by striking or choking. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Dealer in firearms: means any person, firm, partnership, corporation or company who engages in the business of purchasing, selling, keeping for sale, loaning, leasing, or in any manner disposing of, any assault weapon, large capacity ammunition feeding device, pistol, revolver, or semiautomatic rifle. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Disguised gun: means any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive and is designed and intended to appear to be either; (a) something other than a gun; or (b) a toy gun that shall include, but not be limited to, any firearm, rifle, shotgun or machine-gun displaying a color finish other than the original manufacture color, a decorative pattern or plastic like surface; provided, however, that any rifle or shotgun displaying a camouflage color finish or pattern that is intended for hunting, as defined by Article 11 of the environmental conservation law, shall not be considered a "disguised gun" for purposes of this section. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • 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; or (f) any other weapon that is not otherwise defined in this section containing any component that provides housing or a structure designed to hold or integrate any fire control component that is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by action of explosive. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Firearm silencer: means any instrument, attachment, weapon or appliance for causing the firing of any gun, revolver, pistol or other firearms to be silent, or intended to lessen or muffle the noise of the firing of any gun, revolver, pistol or other firearms. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Gunsmith: means any person, firm, partnership, corporation or company who engages in the business of repairing, altering, assembling, manufacturing, cleaning, polishing, engraving or trueing, or who performs any mechanical operation on, any firearm, large capacity ammunition feeding device or machine-gun. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Kung Fu star: means a disc-like object with sharpened points on the circumference thereof and is designed for use primarily as a weapon to be thrown. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Large capacity ammunition feeding device: means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device, that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than ten rounds of ammunition; provided, however, that such term does not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, . See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Licensing officer: means in the city of New York the police commissioner of that city; in the county of Nassau the commissioner of police of that county; in the county of Suffolk the sheriff of that county except in the towns of Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip and Smithtown, the commissioner of police of that county; for the purposes of section 400. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Machine-gun: means a weapon of any description, irrespective of size, by whatever name known, loaded or unloaded, from which a number of shots or bullets may be rapidly or automatically discharged from a magazine with one continuous pull of the trigger and includes a sub-machine gun. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Metal knuckle knife: means a weapon that, when closed, cannot function as a set of plastic knuckles or metal knuckles, nor as a knife and when open, can function as both a set of plastic knuckles or metal knuckles as well as a knife. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Microstamp: means a unique alphanumeric or geometric code that identifies the make, model, and serial number of a firearm. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Microstamping component: means a component part of a semi-automatic pistol that will produce a microstamp on at least one location of the expended cartridge case each time the pistol is fired. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Microstamping-enabled pistol: means any semiautomatic pistol that contains a microstamping component. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Pilum ballistic knife: means any knife which has a blade which can be projected from the handle by hand pressure applied to a button, lever, spring or other device in the handle of the knife. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Rapid-fire modification device: means any bump stock, trigger crank, binary trigger system, burst trigger system, or any other device that is designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a semi-automatic firearm, rifle or shotgun. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • 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 to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger using either: (a) fixed metallic cartridge; or (b) each projectile and explosive charge are loaded individually for each shot discharged. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Semiautomatic: means any repeating rifle, shotgun or pistol, regardless of barrel or overall length, which utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing cartridge or shell to extract the fired cartridge case or spent shell and chamber the next round, and which requires a separate pull of the trigger to fire each cartridge or shell. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Shotgun: 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 to fire through a smooth or rifled bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger using either: (a) a fixed shotgun shell; or (b) a projectile or number of ball shot and explosive charge are loaded individually for each shot discharged. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Switchblade knife: means any knife which has a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
  • Undetectable knife: means any knife or other instrument, which does not utilize materials that are detectable by a metal detector or magnetometer when set at a standard calibration, that is capable of ready use as a stabbing or cutting weapon and was commercially manufactured to be used as a weapon. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00

and dangerous instruments and appliances.

1. Any person who manufactures or causes to be manufactured any machine-gun, assault weapon, large capacity ammunition feeding device or disguised gun is guilty of a class D felony. Any person who manufactures or causes to be manufactured any rapid-fire modification device is guilty of a class E felony. Any person who manufactures or causes to be manufactured any switchblade knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal knuckle knife, undetectable knife, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, plastic knuckles, metal knuckles, Kung Fu star, chuka stick, sandbag, sandclub or slungshot is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

2. Any person who transports or ships any machine-gun, firearm silencer, assault weapon or large capacity ammunition feeding device or disguised gun, or who transports or ships as merchandise five or more firearms, is guilty of a class D felony. Any person who transports or ships any rapid-fire modification device is guilty of a class E felony. Any person who transports or ships as merchandise any firearm, other than an assault weapon, switchblade knife, pilum ballistic knife, undetectable knife, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, plastic knuckles, metal knuckles, Kung Fu star, chuka stick, sandbag or slungshot is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

3. Any person who disposes of any machine-gun, assault weapon, large capacity ammunition feeding device or firearm silencer is guilty of a class D felony. Any person who disposes of any rapid-fire modification device is guilty of a class E felony. Any person who knowingly buys, receives, disposes of, or conceals a machine-gun, firearm, large capacity ammunition feeding device, rifle or shotgun which has been defaced for the purpose of concealment or prevention of the detection of a crime or misrepresenting the identity of such machine-gun, firearm, large capacity ammunition feeding device, rifle or shotgun is guilty of a class D felony.

4. Any person who disposes of any of the weapons, instruments or appliances specified in subdivision one of section 265.01, except a firearm, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor, and he is guilty of a class D felony if he has previously been convicted of any crime.

5. Any person who disposes of any of the weapons, instruments, appliances or substances specified in section 265.05 to any other person under the age of sixteen years is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

6. Any person who wilfully defaces any machine-gun, large capacity ammunition feeding device or firearm is guilty of a class D felony.

7. Any person, other than a wholesale dealer, or gunsmith or dealer in firearms duly licensed pursuant to section 400.00 of this chapter, lawfully in possession of a firearm or semiautomatic rifle, who disposes of the same without first notifying in writing the licensing officer in the city of New York and counties of Nassau and Suffolk and elsewhere in the state the executive department, division of state police, Albany, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

8. Any person, dealer, firm, partnership or corporation who intentionally designs or transforms a firearm, rifle, shotgun or machine-gun to resemble a toy gun by either altering or concealing the original color or surface of the gun with the purpose of selling such weapon is guilty of a class D felony.

9. Any person who modifies a microstamping-enabled pistol or microstamping component with the intent to prevent the production of a microstamp is, for a first offense, guilty of a class B misdemeanor, and for a second or subsequent offense, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. For the purposes of this subdivision, it shall not be unlawful to replace the microstamping component of a microstamping-enabled pistol when the component is damaged or in need of replacement with another valid microstamping component for the safe use of the firearm or replacing such pin for a legitimate sporting purpose that is only used for that legitimate purpose.