news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051011/ap_on_bi_ge/spitzer_stun_guns
AP Ebay to Block Stun-Gun Sales to New Yorkers By MARK JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Tue Oct 11, 5:28 PM ET ALBANY, NY - Online auctioneer eBay Inc. will block the sale and shipme nt of stun guns and other illegal weapons to New York residents after wo rking with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, it was announced Tuesday.
In an investigation that started last year, Spitzer's office found that e Bay users were easily able to buy stun guns through the company's Web si te. Investigators, posing as ordinary customers, bought 16 stun guns fro m 16 different sellers on eBay. The sellers, 14 of whom are from outside New York, are believed to have s old more than 1,100 stun guns to New Yorkers from September 2003 to Augu st 2005, investigators said. Included in the sales were a 900,000-volt T aser International Inc. stun gun valued at $57 and a $400 "Air Taser" th at delivers a 50,000-volt disabling shock through darts connected by wir es 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 electroni c warning from eBay that the transaction is illegal and that any purchas e will be reported to authorities. Anyone bidding on items on eBay has to fill out a registration with the c ompany 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. Hani Durzy, a spokesman for eBay, said the company has for a long time al erted stun gun dealers of the states in which it is illegal to sell the weapons. He said eBay modified its policy after having conversations wit h Spitzer's office. "We have always had a policy that if it's illegal to do off eBay, it's il legal to do on eBay," Durzy said. "We have made some changes and additio ns to our existing stun gun policy. We want to continue to keep people f rom 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.
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