Byrna Carry Laws Explained, Plus the Rules on Projectiles

You can buy a non-lethal self-defense tool fast. Knowing what you are actually allowed to carry, and what you are prepared to use under stress, is the part most people skip. We get practical about Byrna launchers and the laws around them, starting with the biggest misconception: the launcher is generally considered an air gun, not a firearm, which is why it is typically legal in all 50 states at the state level with no permits or background checks required.

Then we dig into the part that gets confusing: projectiles. Hard kinetic rounds are widely accepted, but pepper ball rounds and tear gas rounds can face state-specific restrictions. We talk through the most notable problem areas mentioned by customers, including California and New York, plus other states that may allow pepper ball while limiting tear gas. We also share the simplest way to reduce risk: verify the latest rules using a reliable state-by-state reference, and when you are unsure, confirm with your local police department or an attorney who tracks self-defense and weapons regulations.

We also get hands-on about ownership beyond the legal checklist. We compare popular models like the CL and CLXL, explain how CO2 cartridge size affects power and shot count, and why the “easy to buy” part does not replace training. We outline the kind of practice that matters, from safe handling to situational awareness and de-escalation, plus what a structured multi-week program can add when you want real confidence.

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To learn more about Paratus Self-Defense LLC visit:
https://www.ParatusSelfDefense.com
Paratus Self-Defense LLC 
115 Perry Hwy Ste 138 
Harmony, Pennsylvania 16037-9205 
724-453-4030 

Transcript

Designed To Stop Not Kill

0:00

Welcome to Self-Defense When It Matters, brought to you by Paratus, a premier burna dealer. Hosted by Patrick Cranston, co-founder of Paratus Self-Defense. Here's the truth. When a moment goes sideways, you don't rise to the occasion, you fall back on your preparation. That's why today we're talking about self-defense tools designed to stop, not kill. No Hollywood heroics, just smart, effective protection when it matters most. Many people want the confidence of carrying a non-lethal defense tool, but understanding the legal side can feel confusing. Today we break it down in simple practical terms. Welcome, I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer with Patrick Cranston, the co-founder of Paradise Self-Defense. It's great to be back with you, Patrick. Great, great to be here, Julie.

Legal Basics Of Berna Launchers

0:51

And you know, a question that we hear often is how do you know if you are legally allowed to carry a burna? Can you walk us through this? How do we check that out? Sure, that's a great question. And there's a couple things to know off the bat. There's there's two parts of a burna. There's the the launcher itself, um, which is an air gun. And then there is also the projectiles, which can be the hard kinetic rounds or the pepper ball um or tear gas rounds. And so those uh those can be uh handled differently or have different regulations around them. So we'll look at the launchers first. So the launchers are considered an air gun. They are not a uh they're not a firearm, so they're not regulated like firearms. And they're air guns are legal in all 50 states, so there's no background checks required, no permits. Uh, you just have to be 18 to purchase one, but you don't have to, you know, give your driver's license or do background checks or anything like that. Um, we get a question a lot: can felons own air guns? And there is generally no law against a felon owning an air gun. Um, that being said, uh, if you uh are a felon that like someone who's still out on parole or something like that, you probably want to check with your parole officer just to make sure that there is no problem with that. Um but as a general rule, there's no law against uh, you know, restrictions, I should say. And there's no restrictions on owning an air gun. Um, because air guns come in all types and different shapes. Even nail guns can be air guns, um, you know, airsoft guns, paintball guns, BB guns, those are all considered air guns because they use compressed air of some type to, you know, to fire a projectile. So those don't have any restrictions. There are some local municipalities or towns or cities that may have specific uh ordinances against air guns. Um, back in the 90s, they when paintball was kind of becoming pro uh popular, there were some problems with kids uh taking paintballs and like shooting up businesses and neighborhoods and things like that. And so a local municipality may have passed a uh ordinance against uh air guns, but even that is typically um the you know the this type of air gun, it just kind of depends on how that ordinance is written as to whether you can have the air gun or not. So that would be the only thing you'd want to uh check, maybe with your local municipality or your local uh city or town. Um the at a state level, there's no state laws banning air guns.

Where Pepper Ball Rounds Are Restricted

3:41

So then we get to the projectiles, and so as we know, Berna fires three different types of projectiles, the hard plastic projectiles. There's no states that have any kind of restrictions on the hard plastic projectiles. Um, when it comes to the uh pepper ball or tear gas uh rounds, there are some states that do not allow you to um have uh purchase the uh pepper ball or purchase the tear gas rounds. There's some states where you can have the pepper ball, but you can't have the tear gas. Um there's a couple of states, uh California being the most notable one where you're not allowed to have the pepper ball rounds um or the tear gas rounds. Um New York, uh there's some restrictions about like you can have them, but you just can't, like we can't ship them to New York. Um, but they uh you have to be a licensed dealer to sell them in New York. So like we're not licensed in New York to sell them, so uh we can't sell them to New York. But my understanding is that in New York, you're allowed to own them. Um, you just have to purchase them uh from a licensed dealer if you're in the state of New York. So there's some, so when it comes to the to the pepper ball rounds themselves, there are some additional restrictions. I would say in the vast majority of states, um they're they're fine with no restrictions. Uh New York and California being the two most notable exceptions to that, where there's a little bit more restrictions. Um, and uh Hawaii also is another state where there's some additional restrictions. And then there are a handful of states where like you can have the pepper ball rounds, but you're not allowed to have the tear gas rounds. Um, I think New Jersey is one of those, Minnesota, Michigan. Um, so uh on our website, we do have a listing of those where you can uh, you know, what what rounds are acceptable in what states. Um so you can check that out on our website. Um and it's always good if you have questions and you're not you know quite sure, it doesn't hurt to talk to your local uh police department about it, or even if you have a lawyer that's uh up on those type of things, you can talk to your to your lawyer about it. Um, but normally the police department's a good place to go and ask them, you know, what kind of uh restrictions there may be around that. And do

Lawsuits And Future Legal Changes

6:03

you see restrictions changing um at the state level anytime soon across the country? Um we have not seen anything getting more restrictive. Um there are several efforts underway, both I believe in New York and in California. I know Berna themselves has an active lawsuit against the uh state of California, allowing them to uh uh sell to overturn the ban on selling the pepper ball rounds, um, because you can have pepper spray in California, I guess, but if it's in a round, if it's in a projectile, the way it's uh manufactured basically is what they're they don't like. And Berna's contention is that, well, if someone can have a regular pepper spray that's in a canister, why can't they have pepper spray that's in a ball? You know, so it's um so that is act actually an active uh litigation that's pending uh against the state of California. Um, but that's really the only two efforts I know um, you know, to either make them uh less restrictive or more restrictive. Um the fact that they're air guns, air guns have never been regulated, and air guns encompass a large number of things just besides self-defense launchers. And so passing some kind of restriction against air guns uh does seem rather unlikely. And

Buying Models And Store Policies

7:26

then what about you as a seller? Do you have to have a lot of documentation on who purchases what and when? Or are you required? No, not required. There's zero documents. So you can come in as long as you're over the age of 18. Um, we can sell it to you. We don't require any, you know, we don't take down serial numbers or submit any records to the state or do anything like that. There's just nothing, there's no regulation around there that requires any of that. And right now, what are the and I know you've addressed this in a previous episode, but what's the most popular model right now? So the the CL is the most popular model right now, and I would say probably our second most popular is the new CLXL. And the difference is the CL uh uses a smaller eight gram CO2 cartridge. So it's our smallest launcher, and that's one of the reasons why it's so popular. Uh, not only is it small, but it's actually as powerful or more powerful than most of the other models. Um, and so that makes it a very uh you know attractive offer to people. The new CLXL is exactly the same as the CL, except it has a longer barrel. And what that longer barrel does, it allows us to use a 12-gram CO2 cartridge because the cartridges go in under the barrel. So it gives more space for a 12-gram CO2 cartridge, which does make that one shoot just a little bit harder than the CL. And it also gives you a few more shots per CO2 cartridge. Uh with the CL, you're gonna get up to 15 rounds uh shots out of one uh CO2 cartridge. With the CLXL, uh, we see it get we often see getting like 19 or even maybe a couple extra shots over that. So um, but you get 19 good shots out of a 12 gram CO2 cartridge. So it does sound relatively easy to go into a a store and come out, you know, walk away with a burner. Oh yeah, yep. It's very easy. As long as you have the money to pay for it, uh and you're over 18, there's really not any other restrictions around that.

Training Plan And Final Takeaways

9:26

And I know you've also talked about this before too, but if you could just um quickly address to like the training that you recommend to someone who has not used a burna and is not familiar with handguns. Yeah, so it's if the functions of it are similar to a handgun, but because it's less lethal, you don't have all the, you know, I mean, you still want to be safe with it, but you don't have all the concerns of like having to shoot it out of range or you know, only you know, keeping it loaded in the house, things like that, because it's it's not going to kill anybody, even you know, even if it is fired. So, um, but we do recommend um the uh getting getting trained with it, any tool that you have, the more you train with it, the better you're gonna be at with it. So, you know, when you come into our store, we have a demo range where you can uh try it out and we go over it and kind of do like a 20, 30 minute demo with you, let you shoot it, kind of explain it all to you, uh, get you up to speed on it. Once you've purchased the launcher, uh anyone that purchases a launcher, or and really doesn't you have to purchase it at our store, but anyone that has a burna is always welcome to come into our store and use the range for training. Um, and if we're available, you know, we can give you pointers and you know give you some additional uh tips and help you out with that. And then we actually are working on, and hopefully um by next month, we will have out uh a training program. It's like a four-week training program that kind of dives more into um uh using the burna, uh basic and advanced use of the burna, using it in self-defense situations, and also just kind of incorporating a lot of just regular self-defense uh aspects into it, you know, like all the other things that go around, you know, making sure, you know, keeping your awareness and like situational awareness, getting yourself out of situations, things like that, de-escalation techniques, all that kind of stuff is part of a um uh uh block of classes that we're gonna be offering that they're they'll be once a week and they'll be running over a four-week period. Yeah, that's really powerful to be able to have that burner and maybe not even have to use it, but the fact that you have it can intimidate a possible attacker. That's that's great. Well, thank thank you so much for what you do, Patrick. We appreciate you and your business and always your insight. Yeah, have a great day. You too. Thanks for spending time with us today on self-defense when it matters. At Paratis Self-Defense, we believe confidence comes from being prepared and from having options that protect lives without taking them. That's why we proudly offer Berna non-lethal launchers. They're not firearms, but they are incredibly powerful, effective, and easy to use when seconds count. If you'd like to learn more, visit ParatistSelfdefense.com. We ship to the lower 48 states because safety shouldn't be limited by geography. Until next time, stay aware, stay prepared, and remember designed to stop, not kill.