Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Laws on black powder cannons?
Q. I am currently facing charges that carry a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment for firing 2 black powder cannons that I made myself. I believe the charge is illegal use of an explosive device. Can someone please give me some insight on the laws governing the use of these cannons.
Keith S [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Little Falls, Minnesota
2002
by Harold L. Peterson
on eBay or
AbeBooks
or Amazon
(affil links)
A. Hello Keith. This is a metal finishing website, so you need to be talking to a lawyer, not to us.
But since your posting is here, an anecdote may help:
I was serving on the grand jury, and possession of a BB gun was a common felony charge. I spent every Monday in court for 16 weeks, and the prosecutor sought and got *felony* indictments on this charge several times every day.
Then one afternoon during this stint, my son & a friend are playing outside, and another kid shoots them with a BB gun. No real harm done, but the friend is whining that he was hit, so I confiscate the BB gun and call the police to get rid of it. The dispatcher says (paraphrasing): "If the kid misused it, keep it". I say I don't want it. He says "Okay, sir, put it in your garbage." I say no firearms in my garbage. So he tells me "You can drop it off at the station." I say I'm not driving with a BB gun in my car, please send an officer to pick it up: "It's a TOY, sir, it's NOT a GUN! It's just a TOY!".
The point being that in my state a BB gun is laughed off as a toy except if they want a cudgel to use to make you plead guilty to something (maybe a spouse called 911 about domestic abuse then refused to prosecute)? So they hold a FELONY indictment over you (penitentiary time) -- a situation that gives prosecutors outrageous power to force you to plead guilty to anything they wish.
I can't say that a cannon in your state is exactly analogous to a BB gun in mine, but a lawyer may be able to instantly do more for you than you can imagine. Call him/her immediately because your life is in the hands of someone who can ruin it on a whim so you don't want to tweak him/her. Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. I have an actual black powder cannon from the US Military. It is a small navy gang plank cannon. Also a Revolutionary War Hand Mortar cannon both in working order. I have fired the Navy cannon which is louder than you can imagine. It sent a ripple of water across the Des Moines River once. It was twice louder than the Sheriff's cannon next door in Oskaloosa. Why is this cannon with no serial number illegal to fire without a projectile?
Edward E DeLong- Ohio
July 6, 2020
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