Total paintball ban in Baltimore

[FalconGuy016]

Copied from warpig.com


"PB Ban Planned for Baltimore





Plans are brewing in the city of Baltimore, MD for a ban not only on shooting a paintgun, but also of ownership or possession of a paintgun.

The proposed amendment to Article 19 of the city Police Ordinances deals with changes to Subtitle 59 – Weapons. The edisting ordinances deal with airguns, and while its prohibition on firing paintguns within the city, or of selling them to persons under 21 years of age applies to paintguns, the major concern to paintballers in the area is the specific addition of Paintguns to the ordinance.

The proposed changes include the following new restriction - “No person may discharge, possess, sell, buy, give away, or otherwise transfer any paintball gun in Baltimore City.”

The proposed ordinance also includes the following punishment. “Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, is subject to a fine or not more than $500 or to imprisonment for not more than 60 days or to both fine and imprisonment for each offense.”

The proposed ordinance would not only affect paintball playing residents of Baltimore who would no longer be able to keep their paintguns in their own home, but it would also impact regional paintball businesses (one store owner located outside of the city confided in WARPIG.com that he regularly transports rental paintguns through the city to his field on the other side). The proposed ordinance also lacks an exclusion for freight and courier services, passing through the city.

The proposed changes are scheduled to be reviewed in a hearing at 1pm on Thursday, September 12th.

Paintball players directly affected by the proposed ordinance, as well as those concerned with it becoming a “model” of legislation to be followed by other communities are encouraged to politely contact the members of the Baltimore City Council and express their concern. Additionall the American Paintball Player’s Association (http://www.paintball-players.org/) is gathering names in a petition to the Baltimore City Council against the changes.

Baltimore City Council web site:
http://www.baltimorecitycouncil.com/la.htm

A copy of the proposed changes my be obtained through Executive Secretary to the Baltimore City Council, Karen Randle. Ms. Randle may be reached by telephone at 410-396-4804.

City Offices 410-396-3100

City Council Members:
President of the Council
Sheila Dixon
Vice President:
Stephanie Rawlings Blake
District One:
Nicholas C. D'Adamo, Jr., John L. Cain, Lois A. Garey
District Two:
Paula Johnson Branch, Bernard C. "Jack" Young, Pamela V. Carter
District Three:
Robert W. Curran, Kenneth N. Harris, Sr., Lisa Joi Stancil
District Four:
Agnes Welch, Keiffer J. Mitchell, Jr., Catherine E. Pugh
District Five:
Rochelle "Rikki" Spector, Helen L. Holton, Stephanie Rawlings Blake
District Six:
Melvin L. Stukes, Kwame Abayomi, Edward L. Reisinger

EMAIL ADDRESSES:
Note, please consider the tone of any e-mails you send. Insulting or harassing e-mails will not help with this issue.
Baltimore City Council e-mail addresses:

sdixon@baltimorecitycouncil.com
jcain@baltimorecitycouncil.com
ndadamo@baltimorecitycouncil.com
lgarey@baltimorecitycouncil.com
pbranch@baltimorecitycouncil.com
bgaddy@baltimorecitycouncil.com
byoung@baltimorecitycouncil.com
rcurran@baltimorecitycouncil.com
kharris@baltimorecitycouncil.com
istancil@baltimorecitycouncil.com
kmitchell@baltimorecitycouncil.com
cpugh@baltimorecitycouncil.com
awelch@baltimorecitycouncil.com
hholton@baltimorecitycouncil.com
srawlings@baltimorecitycouncil.com
rspector@baltimorecitycouncil.com
nhandy@baltimorecitycouncil.com
ereisinger@baltimorecitycouncil.com
mstukes@baltimorecitycouncil.com

TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
President of City Council 410-396-4804
1st District 410-396-4806
2nd District 410-396-4809
3rd District 410-396-4814
4th District 410-396-4817
5th District 410-396-4820
6th District 410-396-4823
Mayor's Office 410-396-4892 "

http://www.warpig.com/paintball/arti...imoreban.shtml

We have to contact these people.

[FalconGuy016]

Spread this to other forums if you can

[magman007]

ok, the date happened already for the hearing, what can we do now? what was the rulling?

[than205]

For some reading:
http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.p...threadid=65918


And a page to keep up on.
http://www.paintball-players.org/

[Blazingace]

The liberals strike again!!!!!! Soon all your super soakers will be illegal too. What a crock of poop. The best way they know how to deal with an issue is to ban it. Of course they know better than you. They want to protect you from the evil paintball guns. You are of course not responsible enough to own a paintball gun, let alone a real gun.

[LittMag]

From http://www.paintball-players.org/
"APPA's Phillip Craig was at the hearing in Baltimore today. He reports that many people came out against the bills while none came out to support it. The committee seemed set to revise the legistlation to avoid adversely affecting legitimate paintball players, so score one for Paintball today. Phillip should have a complete report in the next day or two - watch for it here."

But I don't see any report.

[Hemlock86]

Paintball guns should be illegal... Look at all the deaths, drug addictions and crime it causes. Every paintballer I know usually sells smack on the side to fuel their speedball habits. When I cant get my dose of PB for the day, I take my aggressions out by beating up old ladies at the grocery store. Paintball is the devil! Roar!!

[than205]

Originally posted by Blazingace
The liberals strike again!!!!!! Soon all your super soakers will be illegal too. What a crock of poop. The best way they know how to deal with an issue is to ban it. Of course they know better than you. They want to protect you from the evil paintball guns. You are of course not responsible enough to own a paintball gun, let alone a real gun.

They are/were trying to preempt a potential problem. Is the legislation overboard, likely. It is our responsability to make things clear and try to ensure that others don't ruin it for us, again likely. Will throwing your hands in the air and blaming a political group for the acts of one over-zealous person accomplish anything but more ignorance?

I believe it is one person who is/was leading the legislation (if you can call it that). Whether its gone anywhere in the last few months I'm not sure. That would be a great question for raehl.

Here's what we can do in the meantime. (I have said this before)

Lead by example.

1. Train the newbies you meet. Explain to them that all the safety you can. ie... don't shoot random stuff, signs etc.

2. Play fair and have fun.

3. Don't whine or cry or be a baby when things don't go your way in a game. Someones parent may be watching. Or better yet a civil servant who is trying to get grasp on our sport.

4. Police the wrong things you see yourself. Don't get yourself hurt but if you see or hear of someone being stupid with paintball gear use your peer pressure.

5. When asked by someone "What's paintball like?". Take your time and answer them.

No, it's not military training.
Yes, it is very safe.
Is it for everyone? No, not necessarily.
I play for reason "x".

Most people who don't know are just that, ignorant of the scene. And being arrogant to these people doesn't help things, it establishes prejudices.

I think some of the coolest things I've heard of is guys in high school asking for info for thier paintball reports.

Let me throw this at you. The high school where my son goes had a problem with smoking on the grounds and in the bathrooms. The faculty found over the years that trying to curb this is a daunting if not futile effort. So they went to the kids and said "You have a voice in this." Now the kids take care of this issue. By telling the smokers to smoke somewhere else and not in their bathroom.

Anyway, be involved where you can. You do have a voice in this.

[Blazingace]

Naturally I agree with you. I like in Jersey and I know alittle about how things like this work. I live about 5 miles for a large Regional airport. It has 2 Jetways in a very small terminal. It services mostly Corporate and General aviation aircraft. There have been a number of carriers that tried to service this airport in the past. None of the majors but startup airlines flying to a few cities in the northeast.

Not to long ago the county decided that it would like to renovate and expand the aging terminal. It atracted the attention of a major airline (Southwest). One thing you must understand is this airport has been there for over 70 years. A very small group of vocal "People" that just moved into new, very expensive homes off the departure end of the runway started making trouble. They didn't want the airport to grow, infact they wanted to make it a stripmall. They spread lies about the airport, how low the planes are when they land, how much noise the little Cessnas and Pipers make. They even went so far as to go to the schools and lie about the many "toxins" that airplane engines spew out. They say they simply don't want expansion when in their ultimatum that they passed out they wanted all flight training to stop, all cargo to stop and a severe restriction on corporate air taxi. This has been going on for almost 2 years now. When will it stop?

I understand that they want to be proactive about the miss use of PB guns. What I don't understand is why the concern over something so benign? Lets comcentrate on things like Drugs in the schools, Teen pregnancy, Rape Murder, poverty, hunger.....should I go on? These people may think that they have everyones best interests at heart, but I don't think they are focused on whats important. I know that there are a lot of people that miss use paintball guns, real guns, knives, cars, plastic spoons. You see what I am getting at? Banning these items will not make their miss use any less frequent. There are already laws on the books that support punishment for using these things in a manner they were not intended for, why ban them? Is there not already a law against assault? Vandalism?

You know this has come out all wrong, I am sorry. I am surrounded by people who would ban almost everything here in Jersey and I get alittle edgy when it comes to that kind of stuff. It always seems that all the things that I like are wrong and I don't think that is right. Your logic is sound and your methods are sure.

[aaron_mag]

Yeah I agree with than205.

Blazingace....you sound really paranoid when you talk about "the liberals striking again". Then you go into this airport thing. I don't care if you are "liberal" or "conservative" (whatever those labels mean) people are going to freak out if they think that there are going to be jets over their house. Not only is it where you live but it is a major investment for people. If they feel the value is going to drop significantly because of expansions that really can really make people mad.

We have the same thing going on in Portland. The largest research hospital in Oregon wants to put in a tram system. The people that have the tram going over their house really don't like it. Is it a good thing for the community or a bad thing in the long run? Who knows.....but I can definetely understand why they are freaking out. It is their home and they have a right to fight for it. My point is you label one group as the "them". Before war is declared be willing to try some diplomacy first.

[hitech]

Originally posted by aaron_mag
... people are going to freak out if they think that there are going to be jets over their house.

Then WHY did they buy a house at the end of an airport runway?

[einhander619]

Oh man, Baltimore too has fallen to the kind of psuedo-intellectual bleeding-heart liberal drivel that is has ruined this country. It seems that we, the paintball community, are a favorite target of the soy milk and pro-choice crowd. Why? Are we that hard to understand? And why is it so hard to rally support? I have an idea that will turn the tides of the battle in Baltimore. We need to drop the the D-bomb. DISCRIMINATION. Maybe we should tell them we're all black, gay or poor or something, that way we could turn them against themselves! Really though, why can't they just leave us the hell alone?

Note:

If this has offended you, email me and I will provide you with the definition of sarcasm.

[Evil Bob]

This is right up there with Greece banning all electronic games (computer, arcade, home consoles, all electronic games period) because of fear that they are being used for gambling.

If you are visiting Greece, the travel authority advises that you don't take your cell phone if it has a game on it. Immigration control has been given instructions to confiscate and fine/imprision anyone bringing electronic game media of any type into Greece.

Its a shame there is so much ignorance today in the information age. Unfortunately, it's usually perpetrated by those who are in positions of power and authority.

"There is nothing more dangerous then ignorance in action." - Aristotle

How prophetic and ironic...

-Evil Bob

[aaron_mag]

Didn't want to start a debate on this but if you read his description he says it was a small airport that they are thinking of expanding. There is a difference between small planes flying over and a commercial jet zooming over head.

That is all besides the point. He wanted to dismiss the people behind the ban as those darn liberals. Then he goes off onto this tangent about an airport. My point is that not everything is that simple.

[hitech]

Originally posted by aaron_mag
My point is that not everything is that simple.

I'll give you that. And I don't want to hijack his thread so...I'll stop.

[FeelTheRT]

old old news

its already been banned weeks ago.

My dad was acutally at one of the hearings a few months back. He did what he could i guess.

[Blazingace]

The "tangent" that I went off on is the the same people that want to ban Paintball are the same type of people that don't like my airport. We are not talking about Newark international in Trenton. We are talking about a few flights using smaller planes like EMB-145 regional Jets and 737's ,not 767s, Airbus 340s or 777s. The airport has been there for decades and was always a part of the community. Now the rich Holier-than-thou people have moved in in the last 5 years. Aviation is safer than driving, walking, riding a bike, you name it.


It is this same mentality that wants to ban paintball. Punish the law abiding citizen that lives in the city because law abiding citizens assault people with there guns and vandalize. But whether you are a law abiding citizen or someone that shoots old people to get your jollies doesn't make a difference to these people. If you punish the law breakers, the ones that do the crimes with the guns instead of everybody that has a PB gun that is OK. These type of "feel good" laws hurt the good people more than the criminals. If someone really wanted to vandalize or shoot someone in the city with a PB gun, would a ban in the city really help? 99% of the people that own PB guns are good, upright citizens. Why should they be punished along with the 1%? This is a battle that we will have to go though time and again if we don't take these people seriously. Once they put one law on the books watch out because the floodgates will open and that will be that. We will be like Australia, have to turn our guns in at night, only play in designated areas and really high performance guns will be outlawed entirely. Do you want to be lableled a criminal just because you play paintball? I don't!!!!! I hunt, I shoot recreationally, I fly and I play paintball. All the things I like to do are LABELED as antisocial and violent and dangerous. To some people I am personally responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people, Because I own a GUN!!!!!!! If you don't belong to the NRA or hunt or shoot you don't knowwhat it is like. The Olympic shooting teams of England and Australia can't practice their sport in their own COUNTRY. Think about it.

[aaron_mag]

Originally posted by hitech


I'll give you that. And I don't want to hijack his thread so...I'll stop.

Neither do I. Especially since now we have people going into soy milk, and pro choice. Not even going to touch those.....but I do want to say that has it occured to you people talking about those darn liberals that paintball attracts a very diverse group of people?

[LittMag]

Originally posted by FeelTheRT
old old news

its already been banned weeks ago.

My dad was acutally at one of the hearings a few months back. He did what he could i guess.

What exactly happened? I read that they had proposed to rewrite it "The committee seemed set to revise the legistlation to avoid adversely affecting legitimate paintball players, so score one for Paintball today." Please clarify your statement FeelTheRT

[FalconGuy016]

Paintball was actually BANNED?? I really didnt think that could work out... we should get at least a million out of the 7 million paintball players to email them about it. That would be cool to overload their servers

Now that I think about it though, probably nothing could stop them.

Baltimore is pretty much the most liberal city in the US.

Does anyone know where I can read about this ban?