Airgun related legislation in Illinois and Washington
First the news came out about PROPOSED legislation in the New York state legislation. Now it has been discovered that there is also proposed legislation in Illinois and Washington State that could affect airgunners. Both bills were initially proposed at the beginning of 2025, and renewed for consideration in 2026.
Here is a video discussing the proposed laws in all 3 states:
And here are links to all of the source material, because knowledge is power.
Airgun Ownership Threats In NY, IL And WA https://community.hardairmagazine.com/threads/airgun-ownership-threats-in-ny-il-and-wa.6423/
US Federal Statute on Imitation Weapons: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/5001
ASA: https://airgunsporting.org/
NRA article about NY law: https://www.nraila.org/articles/20260420/running-out-of-targets-new-york-bills-go-after-air-pellet-and-bb-guns
Proposed Illinois Law: https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus/FullText?GAID=18&DocNum=2123&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=161675&SessionID=114
Proposed Washington State Law: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=5735&Year=2025
Illinois summary:
Illinois is proposing definition of "imitation firearms" that matches current law in effect in New York. Additionally, it has added this sub-paragraph on controls:
(b-1) It is an unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act for any person to knowingly sell, give, or deliver within this State, whether in a commercial transaction or private transaction, an imitation firearm to any other person.
Washington summary:
Washington also seeking to make their own definitions of "imitation firearms" to include defining "bb device" as (5) "BB device" means any instrument that expels a projectile, such as a BB or pellet, not exceeding six millimeters caliber, through the force of air pressure, gas pressure, or spring action, or any spot marker gun. They are also applying requirements for markings/warnings to anything since 2005, and adding a whole new section to impose penalties on manufacturers and state that federal code is not good enough.
Note: The NRA legal has already testified against this bill, but it has been reintroduced and assigned to a committee anyway.