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Comment by idunnoman1222 | Hacker News Reader

If you look at the picture, it’s clearly a labour of love. I’m glad they don’t have this kind of dystopic thought police watching citizen videos where I live

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It looks awesome to be honest and is probably part of the reason it scared the authorities. Had it looked more like a miniature potato cannon, I'm not sure they would've thought it any more dangerous than a slingshot.

Kind of reminds me how California's assault weapon ban seems to be quite centered around how "scary" the firearm looks, and not the capabilities of the weapon.

Codified into law there can be some reason to it. A butterfly knife isn't a lot more lethal than a similarly sized Leatherman. But a self-respecting gangster is going to go with the much cooler butterfly knife, which for many countries is enough reason to ban one but not the other.

However this should be a matter of law, not enforcement decisions.

I agree that may be a reason politicians ban weapons in similar laws, but I believe that is a really stupid reason.

In this situation, it does appear to me that the law insufficiently specifies what is legal, and it is unfortunate that this came down to an enforcement decision.

It also looks like it would be pretty ineffectual. I suspect the amount of current needed to make it lethal ... would be a lethal current itself.

They are slowly getting better, but also much heavier. Here are a couple youtubers [1] hitting water balloons, watermelons, pineapples and soda cans. Demolition Ranch and Kentucky Ballistics

[1] - https://youtu.be/RkCNq9yICJ8?&t=391 [video][16 mins, but I skipped to 6m in]

Seems like a (modern) slingshot is a good deal more lethal than these.

That thing is clearly not a thought, but a literal lethal weapon. You know what would actually be dystopian? Gun violence happening on a regular basis.

It's built to imitate the _looks_ of a lethal weapon. Given its build quality and size I have my doubts that it can actually accelerate those bullets to a harmful speed unless you're staring down the barrel without eye protection. The most danger this appears to present to society is scare value and an unprotected fairly large capacitor, as a shock hazard to whoever is holding it.

There's a video of the suspect demonstrating its capability and it looks dangerous enough.

https://youtu.be/-Bm3278gk50?si=dmKK4qyTajAoACSi&t=30

It's putting tiny holes through thin cardboard at point blank. Sure it could probably injure your eye or something but it's not on the level of like a real handgun.

Of course, the headline just says it was 'seized'. That could happen for an airsoft gun in Japan for all I know.

It was ceased and the police determined it was a potentially lethal weapon on examination. The suspect was arrested on this basis.

Given the circumstances and confession I’m guessing this guy will be let off with a warning (deferred prosecution).

Police would never exaggerate their effectiveness to justify their behavior and funding. Never.

A child’s slingshot is more dangerous than this.

Don’t fall into the “scary weapon!” trope. Thankfully I live in America where most people don’t freak out like this and we can have cool hobby projects.

A sling is more dangerous than that thing.

My index finger can also poke a hole in a cardboard box. This is a toy.

Is that a cardboard box?

Eh... That is not clear at all. Given typical coil gun efficiencies (single digit percentages), there is absolutely no way that this thing is even remotely comparable to a typical 9mm handgun (in projectile velocity and just general lethality).

Just ask yourself-- how many people are killed by coil guns each year? Stopping their proliferation strikes me as utterly useless regulatory overreach that benefits exactly no one, and deprives many a nerd of a cool hobby project.

Just calling things "a labor of love" and suggesting if it is it shouldn't go against laws isn't really a good argument. I'm sure Ted Kaczynski was doing his actions out of a labor of love, he was just trying to make the world a better place (for his own definition of "better").

If criminals are openly talking about their crimes on the public facing internet, I'd hope the police would go after it.

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