Unlawful possession of weapons by persons under sixteen · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 265.05 Unlawful possession of weapons by persons under sixteen.
It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of sixteen to possess any air-gun, spring-gun or other instrument or weapon in which the propelling force is a spring or air, or any gun or any instrument or weapon in or upon which any loaded or blank cartridges may be used, or any loaded or blank cartridges or ammunition therefor, or any dangerous knife; provided that the possession of rifle or shotgun or ammunition therefor by the holder of a hunting license or permit issued pursuant to article eleven of the environmental conservation law and used in accordance with said law shall not be governed by this section.
A person who violates the provisions of this section shall be adjudged a juvenile delinquent.
A person under 16 may not possess the listed spring- or air-powered weapons, guns using loaded or blank cartridges, their cartridges or ammunition, or a dangerous knife. The rule does not cover a hunting-license or permit holder’s rifle, shotgun, or ammunition used under Environmental Conservation Law article 11. A violation results in juvenile-delinquent adjudication. ★
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.