Imitation weapons must be easily identified with bright colors or made entirely of see-through materials under a measure signed Tuesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The new law is meant to clarify and strengthen state laws governing toy or imitation weapons in order to make them easily identifiable and prevent them from being used in crimes.
"My top priority as governor is keeping New Yorkers safe, and that means cracking down on devices used to commit crime," Hochul said. "Restricting these realistic-looking devices will ensure misleading and potentially dangerous devices are off our streets, keeping kids, law enforcement and all New Yorkers safe."
The law will require the imitation weapons to be colored bright white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink or purple. They can also be constructed with trapsarent or translucent material. New York City already bars imitation weapons and the new provision is meant to create consistency in the state.
There have been at least 63 shootings in New York statewide as a result of imitation weapons being mistaken for real weapons.
The measure was sponsored by Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti.