New York bill would bar shock glove sales and distribution

People and businesses would be barred from importing, making, selling, holding for sale, transferring, or distributing shock gloves. A shock glove is a glove or similar device designed mainly as a weapon that delivers an electric shock through physical contact and can stun, disable, disorient, paralyze, or cause pain. The ban covers in-person and online sales, as well as sales by phone, mail, or other remote means. The act would take effect 90 days after it becomes law.

The attorney general could ask a court to stop violations and impose civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation, or up to $4,000 for a knowing and willful violation. The attorney general could bring a case against a person or business, including its agent or employee, for violating the proposed ban. Before seeking an order to stop a violation, the attorney general generally must send certified mail notice and allow five business days for a written response. The attorney general may skip this step if giving notice would not be in the public interest. The court would not need proof that anyone was injured or that the violation was knowing or intentional. These enforcement rules would take effect with the rest of the act, 90 days after it becomes law.

A person who possesses a shock glove when the act takes effect would have 60 days to surrender it to police or a sheriff, or otherwise dispose of it lawfully. This applies to people who possess a shock glove on the act’s effective date. Possession during those 60 days would not by itself violate the penal law if it began before the effective date and is only for surrender or lawful disposal. The 60-day period would start on the act’s effective date, 90 days after it becomes law.