ALBANY COUNTY — On Tuesday, the Albany County Legislature unanimously passed a bill that will treat the sale of flare guns like traditional firearms.

The bill needs to be signed into law by Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, which is likely since in October he signed an executive order setting 21 as the minimum age to buy a flare gun in Albany County, the same age stipulated by the bill.

A signal pistol or flare gun discharges blanks, flares, and smoke and is designed to produce a distress signal in emergencies.

The legislature, in proposing the bill, cited Albany Police statistics, saying 13 flare-gun incidents had occurred between July 1, 2024 and July 7, 2025, with at least half involving a minor, adding that some of the incidents involved flare guns modified to fire traditional ammunition but, even when unmodified, it said, incidents can still be chaotic and violent.

The bill, sponsored by Joanne Cunningham, who chairs the legislature, and by Merton Simpson, does not prohibit the purchase or use of flare guns on boats, for official military or government purposes, or for individuals under 21 participating in recognized and supervised training programs.

“The Legislature finds that, unlike similar potentially hazardous products such as alcohol, tobacco, and firearms, flare guns are currently available for purchase by any individual over eighteen (18) years of age, which significantly increases the likelihood of acquisition of flare guns by those who would misuse or abuse them,” says the bill.

It also says that “injuries from flares are equivalent to those of an actual firearm, and can easily set combustible materials on fire. Further, flare guns can be modified to discharge live ammunition.”

The fine for someone selling a flare gun to a person younger than 21 is $500 for the first violation, and up to $1,000 for each subsequent violation.

The bill sets a fine of $1,000 and a sentence of up to 364 days in jail for someone who possesses a flare gun with the intent of using it “unlawfully against the person or property of another” or for someone who “has been convicted of a felony or serious offense.”

Both violations would be misdemeanors.

The law will be void “on the day that a statewide law is in effect, incorporating either the same or substantially similar provisions.”

State proposals

An incident last summer prompted three Capital District Democrats — Senator Patricia Fahy, and assemblymembers Gabriella Romero and John McDonald — to propose two bills to control flare guns.

On July 4, as crowds were dispersing in Albany following a fireworks display, a teenager fired a flare gun, setting a house on fire.

The Albany Police Department said in a July 10 release that two 15-year-olds were then arrested.

The two were arguing when one fired a flare gun and the other fired a handgun, police said. The projectile from the flare gun struck 333 Madison Ave., causing the fire, while the rounds fired from the handgun struck four victims who were attending the fireworks event, none of whom were involved in the altercation.

The teen who police say fired the handgun was charged with second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and three counts of first-degree assault.

The teen who police say fired the flare gun was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree attempted assault, second-degree arson, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

One of the proposed bills would prohibit the sale and distribution of flare guns to anyone younger than 21, with the buyer’s age verified by a government-issued ID. The bill creates two new criminal offenses when selling to those under 21: Criminal Sale of a Flare Gun in the Second Degree, a violation punishable by a fine of up to $500 for first-time offenders, and Criminal Sale of a Flare Gun in the First Degree, a class A misdemeanor for repeat offenders.

The second bill defines a “flare gun” and criminalizes its use as a weapon, adding it to the list of weapons that, when possessed with intent to use unlawfully against another, constitute a criminal offense, Criminal Possession of a Weapon. If the bill passes, police officers would be able to charge someone who uses a flare gun as a weapon, even if the flare gun is not modified, under the existing weapons statute.