Baltimore PB Ban

**Hemlock86** · 03-09-2002, 06:16 PM

Thats sooooo weak.......

**MikeCouves** · 03-09-2002, 06:18 PM

That sucks!! OMG what a stupid city!! how dumb could you be!!!

**Bluntman** · 03-09-2002, 06:24 PM

If they just bring it down to discharge then it would be alright, cause you don't need to use a paintball gun in a city.

**Riotz** · 03-09-2002, 08:51 PM

Even discharge would be bad. That would mean no indoor fields in the city ever.

My aunt may have some political friends in Baltimore, shes a big shot down there. I'll send her this link.

One of those bills says "to minors" though. Its a little confusing...

This is THordic posting from Riotz house, by the way

**nutz** · 03-09-2002, 09:04 PM

omg that is not cool

**headcase** · 03-09-2002, 09:57 PM

Originally posted by Riotz
Even discharge would be bad. That would mean no indoor fields in the city ever.

My aunt may have some political friends in Baltimore, shes a big shot down there. I'll send her this link.

One of those bills says "to minors" though. Its a little confusing...

This is THordic posting from Riotz house, by the way

In a nut shell it say the following.

It is OK to own a bb/pellet gun as long as it is only used on properly constructed private ranges. And minors are not allowed to own them.

Paintball markers are not allowed at all. Under this bill NO ONE would be allowed to own a paintball marker, never mind shoot it.

**liigod** · 03-09-2002, 10:01 PM

thats why i live in california

dream of califonication....

**HoppysMag** · 03-10-2002, 11:08 AM

If they ever tried this in MA i would fight them tooth and nail.....till the bitter end. Thats it they need to make a law AGAINST bannin paintball guns.. Im SICK of this.. Uninformed people making uninformed decisions.

**Stinger** · 03-10-2002, 12:01 PM

OK fellas we have to fight this, please write to the council members expressing your opinion on the matter. It would be extremely harmful to the sport to have this happen.

**bratch** · 03-10-2002, 12:34 PM

In case anyone was too lazy to read the whole email please remember to keep you opinions civil. It will look very bad on us if everone is telling them how stupid they are to ban paintball guns. Try to find facts such as injuries per person or annual revenue from paintball to add into your comments. This will show the council we are educated and the positive sides of the sport.

**Aranarth** · 03-10-2002, 01:14 PM

Baltimore people!

I suggest we rally efforts to fill their emails with legitimate points. Those who are local or close, I would suggest calling and attempting to speak to the representatives in person. If you can, see what you can do about attending the meeting itself. Have the local business owners contact the council, and not just paintball distributers, but sports shop owners, the people you buy your clothes from to paintball in, the people who fill your shop owners' fill stations, the realtors who lease the land to the paintball field owner, the insurance agencies that insure paintball parks. Have them all contact the city council. The business owners are the key. Money talks.
My email to council members:

Council members of Baltimore:
I am a paintball player. Currently I reside in Washington, though I maintain my status of voting resident in Arizona. I have played paintball all over the United States. Recently it was brought to my attention that you are considering a bill to ban paintball in your city. This bill distrubs me greatly.
Paintball is a sport. It has been shown that it is one of the safest sports that people can engage in today, safer than tennis and even golf. Paintball can be played by all ages of people. I have seen children six years old playing, and I have seen grown men nearing fifty years old playing. Men and women both play, and they play together on equal terms. Paintball encourages teamwork, builds responsibility, and promotes exercise. Its benefits are numerous, and I have not listed them all by far. It seems that all I ever hear about is the negatives, though. A majority of the time, these negatives are based on misunderstanding, and lack of knowledge. Occassionally, they are based on fact, and improper usage of the equipment that is part of a the sport of paintball.
Many people who have not participated in a game of paintball have litter understanding regarding it. They view it as some sort of war game, most of the time. This view is incorrect. Paintball is an elaborate form of tag, but tag where instead of one person being 'it', it is one team versus the other. Rules and safety equipment ensure that nobody is injured, both the people playing and the people observing. These rules are enforced by both the field officials, and the players themselves. The level of enforcement is so strict that paintball has become known to have that level of safety greater than that of so many other sports.
Yet, this lack of experience and understanding is very prevelant in the community today. It seems that the topic I hear more and more often is that of regulating and banning paintball, and every time I hear it it is spoken from the point of someone who has little understanding of what paintball is. This lack of understanding, by people who are in the position to create and enforce laws, can cause the sport of paintball, the people who play, and many others, to suffer. This suffering would would encompass those able to compete in their sport. It would be all of the sports stores and paintball stores in the baltimore city limits. This would also affect those companies that own the equipment used to fill nitrogen tanks and co2 tanks, and to hydrotest the tanks that the paintball player uses. It would be the employees of these companies, and their families. Banning paintball guns would mean that people would have to get rid of thousands of dollars, in some cases, of gear. And they would not be able to sell this in their area. Most people who possess these items would have almost no means of getting rid of this gear. Is the city council going to buy every single gun? Are they going to provide a means of getting rid of these? What will they do when they realize that the people who follow their regulations are the ones that use paintballs correctly, and the people who don't follow their regulations are those that will keep their now outlawed 'weapons' and use them for the same purposes that gave paintball a bad repuation in the first place. What will they do about the people that buy over the internet and have paintball equipment shipped to them, thus bypassing their law enforced shutdown of local business? Are the shipping authorities to screen every package that crosses the boundary of the city limits? Your law will just increase the problems you seem to be having with misuse of paintball equipment. You will eliminate your ally in policing their use: you will eliminate the paintball player. You will be left with two types of people: those that use paintball markers wrongly for illegal means, and those that decide to keep their equipment so they can take it to places where they can use it legally. The first type are the very small minority that you already have a problem with. The second type will be a small fraction of what is right now the majority of a very large group. This second group will most likely become dis-illusioned with helping to police the use of paintball. Evidently, the help they already offer is spurned. Evidently, you do not care for them, so why should they care to help you? Do not make the mistake of losing the support and help you already have.
Paintball markers can be used wrongly, as can baseball bats, and hockey pucks. The solution is not to remove the arm to treat the infected fingernail. The solution is to sterilize the fingernail. Deal with people that abuse the equipment. The paintball community already has a harsh view of those that use their equipment in ways it should not be used. In other words, YOU already have our enthusiastic support in your efforts to deal with any problem that stems from misuse of our sport. Why not attempt to use this support you have, instead of turning it against you?
It is my sincere hope that you listen to the content of my words, and that you understand my position in this matter. Though I am not a voter in your district, or even your state, and your laws would not affect me, they would affect my fellow paintballers. Paintball is a team sport, and a community of teammates besides. I can go to any part of the country, and find people who are friendly, and welcoming. I ask that you do not destroy the good of paintball in your city, for the sake of attempting to remove the evil.

Respectfully,
Daniel McCutchan
[email protected]

**HoppysMag** · 03-10-2002, 01:46 PM

"If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns" that meaning the people who give reason to outlaw something are doing somthing illegal to begin with. What makes you think that a piece of paper that says "you cant have those" will make them stop?

My father says that all the time. its the same as "Locks only keep honest people honest"... if you are willin to give enough time money and resources, anything can be done

**Top Secret** · 03-10-2002, 07:09 PM

Originally posted by liigod
thats why i live in california

dream of califonication....

Dude, you realize you live in the liberal haven of America? You're next.

Gun control = paintball control. You allow gun control to pass, you are opening the door for anti-paintball legisation to pass. Plain and simple. The "government" of Assachusetts has deemed that "citizens" cannot protect themselves with firearms. The Citizen of the Year is not allowed to carry a gun because of a misdemeanor that he commited in his youth. Real common sense in these legislator's heads, no? If you are writing your legislators to not ban paintball, it's already too late. Get out of there. Move to one of the few remaining "free states" that still recognizes our Constitution.

**rifleman** · 03-10-2002, 07:36 PM

I'm going to send a copy of this to the NRA and see what they think.

Adam

Baltimore PB Ban

Baltimore PB Ban

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