Hi,
I had a customer request for a toy gun. It looks pretty real with some ornaments and steam-punk like artefacts.
Before I proceed, does anyone happen to know about the legality of producing (printing) and posessing toy firearms?
The information I found on the police web site isn’t quite clear to me:
“It is an offence under the Arms Act to possess or use an imitation firearm without a lawful, proper and sufficient purpose.”
but also
“Toy guns are not covered by the Arms Act”
http://www.police.govt.nz/faq/what-are-the-rules-around-imitation-firearms
This article talks about a law prohibiting the import of replicas (but not sale)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11171538
Either way, I don’t think I’ll go ahead with the print job, but still curious to know.
Cheers,
Oliver
Xeno
2
most of the time it is the appearance of a firearm that causes a problem, if the customer wants you to print it in a dark coloured material, or paint it like a real gun, I would decline such an order, but printing it in a bright colour would be less of a problem, and it would be up to the costumer what to do with it, and his problem, as long as the design doesn’t look too much like a real firearm. certain countries like the US, you would even get arrested (shot) by the police if you hold a roll of toilet paper 
If I would have any doubt, I just cancel the order.
You used the term firearm. That is a specific legalese, that in my country is defined as the lower receiver of the machine we know as a gun. Producing “firearms” for sale requires a license. Print the costumers some orange tips! Maybe theres a law that requires orange tips on toys.
I actually went and talked to police last week. They were really reasonable and cool about this (for a split second I thought they might not be too happy about the topic).
For New Zealand the situation is this:
- don’t make a replica (anything that’s functional) without the required licenses (manufacturing, carrying)
- making imitations (anythink that looks like a real gun) is okay, but you can/will get into trouble if you start waving it around
- anything that’s not a replica (which might be a gray line) they don’t care about.
The model in question was pretty large and despite it looking pretty real (to me) they really were not concerend. Obviously the colour used plays an important role as well.
I thought they would be much more concerned about printing of imitations, but no.
Be careful of your use of words. In a litigious society, the legal meaning of the word may be similar, (meaning different B-)) but you might hinder yourself by assuming the meaning. Your best source to find out instead of the police would be the law library and a lawyer who specifically knows this area of the law. The cops are your adversary, probably not a good source for the whole truth. I say all this with the understanding, I know nothing about new zealand law but I follow the IQE rule when it comes to law. I QUESTION EVERYTHING! So what is a replica? Why would I need a license? What is a license? What is functionality? What is manufacturing? That kind of approach to the law will send you down the rabbit trails that give you true understanding of what is allowed.
Yes, all fair points. I’ve declined the job anyway, so no worries.
The NZ laws in relation to firearms (that’s the term used) don’t apply to ‘toy guns’ - so in the end it would come down to whether a model would be considered a toy gun or an imitation.
I totally agree with you that in front of a court it might not be that clear.
Consider airsoft guns. I bet theres a lot of people doing that without any fear. Ive seen on youtube 3d printed airsoft guns that are incredible! No need for a license to carry that…
It isn’t counted as a firearm in New Zealand becuase it doesn’t fire. If you are really concerned then you can print an orange tip for the print.
No different to buying one of those fake Sig Sauer cap guns for $5 at those 123 marts.
