A Detroit-area mayor is seeking to ban flamethrowers amid the growing popularity of a new handheld model soon to be released by a local company.
"I’m very concerned about it. It’s very dangerous in a lot of situations," said Warren Mayor Jim Fouts,
the Detroit Free Press reported this week. "The pain and death it could impose is overwhelming."
The Warren City Council proposed an ordinance to ban the storage, use, and possession of flamethrowers on Aug. 11, and discussed it during a committee meeting on Monday. The ordinance makes exceptions for the Armed Forces, law enforcement, fire department or other trained personnel working on behalf of local, state or federal government.
Flamethrowers were defined as any transportable device that could hurl fire more than two feet. Violations of the proposed law would constitute a misdemeanor.
Concerns came to a head after metro Detroit company Ion Productions Team announced plans to release its XM42 flamethrower in September, prompting some to call the mayor's office, the mayor said.
Ion Productions claims the XM42 is the world's first commercially available handheld flamethrower, and will go on sale for $900.
The model weighs about 10 pounds when loaded with fuel, and does not require a backpack like many other flamethrowers.
Ion Productions CEO Chris Byars pushed back against the proposed ordinance, saying, "It’s how a product is used that determines punishment for the operator. Simply owning a particular product should not be a punishable offense. It’s a matter of education and respect for safety."
"Vehicles have been used to run people over, hammers and tools have been used as weapons, knives have been employed to cause harm instead of utility, but all of these products have practical uses," he added.
Byars said pratical uses for the flamethrower include controlling weeds, removing insect hives, clearing snow, or starting a bonfire.
Council members have said further discussion of the proposed ban should include a more clear definition of what constitutes an illegal flame throwing device.
According to Ion Productions, flamethrowers are legal in most states with the exception of Maryland and California, which restrict or ban their use.
Corey Ray, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said flamethrowers are currently unregulated at the federal level, and do not qualify as firearms under the National Firearms Act.