What are Federal laws on airsoft?

Answer 1

There have been a few highly isolated cases of airsoft guns being mistaken for real firearms, and some cases where armed law enforcement units have responded to tips of unlawful firearm use. This is the main reason that Federal Laws require minimum 6mm (approx. 1/4") orange tips to be present on all "toy guns" (including airsoft replicas) imported into the United States.[11]

One prominent case occurred in Longwood, Florida when 15-year-old Chris Penley threatened students with an airsoft pistol at his middle school and was subsequently shot dead when he aimed it towards an officer. The orange tip mandated by US Federal law had been painted black.[12]

However, the effectiveness of such measures remains open to debate, because these orange tips can be easily removed, covered, or painted away at any time. Airsoft players will generally do anything to avoid using the orange tip on their guns because it makes them more visible at a distance when they play. The majority of airsoft guns now lack orange tips even if they originally had them, even in localities that require them, so this type of legal regulation would be impractical to enforce in all instances. This is often the norm if the airsoft gun is used only in private or restricted game locations that are not usually accessible to law enforcers. Furthermore, theatrical or movie productions may require the absolute lack of any markings that would distinguish a replica gun from a real gun, so there are regulated exceptions to the orange-tip rule.[13]

Furthermore, their legal imposition means that criminals can attempt to disguise real firearms as toys by painting the tip of the barrel orange, or vice versa. Legislators may not realize the danger that police officers would face if confronted with real firearms that have been disguised to look like replica or airsoft guns.[original research?] For police departments that are already hampered by a lack of resources to enforce laws on actual firearms, the additional task of tracking down and constantly monitoring non-lethal replica guns could result in much more lax enforcement of the orange-tip rules.[original research?]

Some believe that orange tips are not required after sale of an airsoft gun in most places. Electric-AirsoftGuns.com claims that "the federal law only says that the orange tip must be present during importation and sale. Once the item has been transferred to private ownership, the orange tip is no longer required."[14] However, in Federal Regulations, Title 15, Part 1150, it clearly states that these orange markings must be "permanently affixed to the muzzle end of the barrel as an integral part of the entire device

I double checked this article and everything is in order, reference was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft

This is not my article.