Criminal Law Statute Assignment
Sarah Paris
PLST 230
August 27, 2022
There are multiple elements presented in statute section 18.2-284 provided on the selling
or giving of toy firearms. This statute provides several very specific elements that must be met in
order to classify an offense as a Class 4 misdemeanor.
The first element discusses the means by which a person is prohibited from obtaining a
toy firearm. Namely, a person may not “sell, barter, exchange, furnish, or dispose of by purchase,
gift or in any other manner” a toy firearm.
The second element specifies what kinds of toy firearm are prohibited. These are “any toy
gun, pistol, rifle or other toy firearm”.
The third element discusses the kinds of ammunition that is prohibited from being used,
the presence of which makes the aforementioned items prohibited, “if the same shall, by action
of an explosion of a combustible material, discharge blank or ball charges.”
Lastly, the statute explains that the sale of anything that qualifies as a cap pistol is not to
be prevented.
Under this statute, the sale of the “Sava Magnum 9mm Front Firing Blank Gun Semi-
Automatic 420 11 FF” would be prohibited. It meets the requirements of the first element in that
it is a toy firearm that is for sale. It meets the second element simply by being a “Front Firing
Blank Gun”, qualifying it as a toy firearm. In the description of the item, it is listed as being a
“Blank Firing Gun”, which is specifically prohibited by the third element.
Even though the description of the item points out that it is unable to fire “real” bullets,
the statute specifically mentions the blanks that are advertised, making the selling of this item a
Class 4 misdemeanor, as declared by the statute.
