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nucinud Inner circle New York, New York 1298 Posts |
I live in New York City now. I was told Handcuffs and Thumbcuffs are illegal to own. Is there a special license I can get or need to have to use them in my act? Thanks in advance, Harry
"We are what we pretend to be" Kurt Vonnegut, jr.
Now U C It Now U Don't Harry Mandel www.mandelmagic.com |
dave_matkin Inner circle 4522 Posts |
Hi Harry.
Sounds like a question for a lawyer rather than a chat room. Not being awkward or shooting you down - I just wouldn't trust the people on here with such an important question. Well, maybe I would. Also, I can't think of anyone on here from NY. I know that in the UK it's illegal to carry knives over a certain length. But I do knife throwing and there is a club called KATTA UK. We have a membership card and on it is some blurb for the police. Id checks with the police too. I was once stopped for fire breathing in Coventry one evening. But that's a story for when I have more time! |
Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts |
I spent the first 26 years of my life living in NYC. I never heard of this, and yet...
https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/20......147.html This New York judicial code says different. I have the feeling that if you are a magician, this is the kind of law no one would pay any attention to. Probably the same for consenting adult play. When I was a teenager in the 70's, many of the shops that catered to illegal use of marijuana, and they were everywhere, also had these item openly displayed in the window or the display cases.
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right! |
jimgerrish Inner circle East Orange, NJ 3209 Posts |
You can just call them "toy cuffs", which are allowed under the law, and prove it in a challenge by showing how easily you escape from them. They MUST be toy cuffs! I note that they never got around to banning plastic cinch cuffs, which means Al-Quadir's "Ins and Outs of Plastic Cuffs" can still be used in the Big Apple.
Jim Gerrish
magicnook@yahoo.com https://www.magicnook.com Home of The Wizards' Journals: https://magicnook.com/wizardsTOC.htm |
dave_matkin Inner circle 4522 Posts |
Quote:
On Jun 9, 2020, jimgerrish wrote: Yes, that's a great idea. Escape from stuff and say the stuff you escape from must be toy stuff as its easy to escape from. That will make you look like a world-class escape artist. |
thegreatscungilli Regular user 166 Posts |
The wording is very ambiguous (probably by design). "Toy cuffs" are exempt if "by their construction can not be used to restrain an individual" so MAYBE cuffs that magicians use that can be escaped from by means other than using the key in the lock MIGHT be considered "Toy Cuffs" but the wording is ambiguous enough that a police official could decide that if the magician implies to the audience that they are real and the magician is the only one that knows the "secret" that they are not exempt.
If you are a paid magician and doing magic is your "business" section 9 reads like you MIGHT be exempted since you would be "engaged in a business activity which requires the utilization of such cuffs...." but you would likely have to have a business license, a "C" Corporation or a LLC that was valid in whatever NY jurisdiction you were in to prove that the cuffs were a business related item. Relying on "non-enforcement or the forbearance of police officials" is usually a bad idea. Just because they don't enforce something is no guarantee they WON"T enforce it in a given instance. The language of the code is ambiguous enough that if someone gets mad at you and reports that you have "illegal handcuffs" you're the one that has to convince the police that you are exempt. Unless there is another statute somewhere that provides for exceptions, it sounds like the hassle is not worth the trouble if magic is just a hobby. If you work in NY and you need or want to have it as part of your act, it sounds like you are going to have to spend some $ on a lawyer to make sure you don't run afoul of the law. |
thegreatscungilli Regular user 166 Posts |
FYI the statute that Cliffg37's link points to does ban plastic "cinch cuffs" as well.
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ringmaster Inner circle Memphis, Down in Dixie 1974 Posts |
If you are a performer on your way to a job having them in your kit should not be a problem.
If you are not a pro and just like to carry handcuffs, get over it, it's illegal.
One of the last living 10-in-one performers. I wanted to be in show business the worst way, and that was it.
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dave_matkin Inner circle 4522 Posts |
Quote:
On Oct 3, 2020, thegreatscungilli wrote: yes, not something I want to be proving I can escape from. Unless you a naff performer and don't care if you look like a numpty - we all know who you are... as do you..... Say no more! |
dave_matkin Inner circle 4522 Posts |
Quote:
On Dec 26, 2020, ringmaster wrote: it's legal to buy them, it's legal to own them, and if you're the proprietor of a sex ship, it's legal to sell them. It's legal to carry them, but...but that dosen't matter, cause, get a load of this; all right, if you get stopped by a cop in Amsterdam, it's illegal for them to search you. I mean that's a right the cops in Amsterdam don't have. |
Riley Special user Swansea UK 955 Posts |
Dave
You seem to know a lot about this aspect |
dave_matkin Inner circle 4522 Posts |
Quote:
On Jan 13, 2021, Riley wrote: Yes I know it looks and sounds like I know a lot about it .... but I just quoted Vincent Vega. Never been to Amsterdam and never done any drugs (one of those statements is false!) |
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