"I’m a huge supporter of personal freedom and personal responsibility,” said Chris Byars, CEO of The Ion Productions Team, one of the companies selling cheap flamethrowers to the public. "Own whatever you like, unless you use it in a manner that is harmful to another or other’s property. We’ve received a large amount of support from police, fire, our customers and interested parties regarding keeping them legal."
Ars Technica reported that there are no federal laws regulating the sale and use of such a weapon, because they don’t qualify as firearms, despite the fact that they emit fire.
Jim Fouts, mayor of Warren, Mich., isn’t sure the loophole is such a great thing.
"If our own military doesn't use it and it's been banned by the Geneva Convention, then why would someone think this should be sold to the general public?" he told Ars Technica. "I think it's too risky to gamble with people's lives. I can't think of something more horrific than to burn somebody alive, and that's what this would do."
