Ebay agrees to block stun-gun sales to New Yorkers

only the lordly royal guards can have stun guns...not the mere peasants in NY...

Ebay agrees to block stun-gun sales to New Yorkers
AP | 12 Oct 2005

Online auctioneer eBay Inc. will block the sale and shipment of stun guns and other illegal weapons to New York residents after working with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, it was announced Tuesday.

In an investigation that started last year, Spitzer's office found that eBay users were easily able to buy stun guns through the company's Web site. Investigators, posing as ordinary customers, bought 16 stun guns from 16 different sellers on eBay.

The sellers, 14 of whom are from outside New York, are believed to have sold more than 1,100 stun guns to New Yorkers from September 2003 to August 2005, investigators said. Included in the sales were a 900,000-volt Taser International Inc. stun gun valued at $57 and a $400 "Air Taser" that delivers a 50,000-volt disabling shock through darts connected by wires to the weapon.
"You wouldn't want these used in either illegal activities or horseplay," Spitzer spokesman Paul Larrabee said. "Dangerous devices should not be in the hands of those unable to properly use them and you certainly don't want them used in any criminal activity."

EBay was never a target of the investigation, Larrabee said.

New York residents who bid on an illegal weapon will receive an electronic warning from eBay that the transaction is illegal and that any purchase will be reported to authorities.

Anyone bidding on items on eBay has to fill out a registration with the company that includes the bidder's address.

EBay has also sent letters to stun-gun sellers to warn them that the sale of such weapons in New York and other states is illegal.

The company, based in San Jose, Calif., also agreed to suspend retailers who violate New York laws.

Hani Durzy, a spokesman for eBay, said the company has for a long time alerted stun gun dealers of the states in which it is illegal to sell the weapons. He said eBay modified its policy after having conversations with Spitzer's office.

"We have always had a policy that if it's illegal to do off eBay, it's illegal to do on eBay," Durzy said. "We have made some changes and additions to our existing stun gun policy. We want to continue to keep people from doing illegal things on eBay."

New York is one of seven states that ban electric stun devices, Spitzer's office said. The others are Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

Spitzer is preparing to run for governor of New York, so he's grandstanding every chance he gets. New Yorkers don't want, or need stun guns or tasers anyway. For non-police officers, they are just novelties and conversation pieces. I'm sure that you can still get them through the mail, sans e-bay, at your own risk. The last I heard, years ago, the distributors in Arizona, and elsewhere, will gladly send them anywhere.

I just googled and found this easily:
http://www.beststungun.com/

They stress that it's sent very discreetly, lol.

Maybe they've changed, after all. The company that I referenced says:
[]We cannot and will not process any orders which are placed from a restricted / illegal area and ship to a non-restricted location.
States where stun devices are legal but with some restrictions:
Connecticut - Legal for home use, carrying prohibited.
Florida - Legal, subject to restrictions.
Illinois - Legal, subject to restrictions.
Indiana - Legal, subject to restrictions.
North Carolina - Legal, subject to restrictions.
North Dakota - Legal, subject to restrictions.
Ohio - Legal, subject to restrictions.
Washington - Legal, subject to restrictions.

States where stun devices are illegal: (Click on the state name for more details) Hawaii
Massachusetts
Michigan
New Jersey
New York
Rhode Island
Wisconsin

Cities where stun devices are illegal: (Click on the city name for more details) Annapolis, MD
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore County, MD
Chicago, IL
Denison / Crawford County, IA (*According to Sheriff Tom Hogan*)
District Of Columbia
Philadelphia, PA
[/SIZE]I used to see them for sale out in the open at flea market stalls and such in Brooklyn. They are best for cops and rent-a-cops, and they get them at police supply shops. Civilians are at less risk of being charged with using "excessive force" in an altercation, and these things aren't very useful for "self-defense".