Following an appeal made by a felon who was convicted in 2013, the Supreme Court of Minnesota has approved a review process to determine if a BB gun can be legally considered as a firearm or not. The appeal was made by David Lee Haywood who was incarcerated in 2013 for the possession of this type of air gun.
According to Fox News, Haywood was arrested two years ago after authorities searching his car discovered a BB handgun which was designed to look like a 9mm semi-automatic Walther P99 pistol. It was later on discovered that he has been prohibited from owning and using a gun due to his drug-related conviction in 2005.
During his court hearing, the judge presiding over the case ruled that the BB gun is classified as a firearm under state law. But earlier this year, Haywood submitted an appeal to contest the charges filed against him, 10News reported.
In his appeal, Haywood maintained that the BB gun should not be classified as a firearm because by definition, real guns use a controlled explosion caused by a primer charge or percussion cap to fire or shoot. BB guns, on the other hand, do not rely on any form of ignition to function. Instead, these propel the loaded plastic pellets or steel balls using the pressure produced by springs, compressed air or CO2 cartridges.
His argument was then reviewed by the Minnesota Court of Appeals in September but citing chapter 609 of the Criminal Code, the appellate court still decided that the BB gun is a firearm. The court also sourced a ruling made by the Supreme Court in 1977 which states that the term firearm should be updated and expanded to cover gun replicas or those that shoot projectiles without using gunpowder or other explosive charges, according to the Washington Times.
Despite the statements made by the Court of Appeals, Haywood's legal representatives argued that his 2013 case was incorrectly ruled. This prompted the Supreme Court to re-open the debate regarding the legal classification of BB guns.
