New York Paintball Ban?

[Dern]

In my opinion I think that it is not what a paintball marker looks like really hurts paintball much. What hurts paintball is the ways people use their paintball guns. For instance, just yesterday on Halloween, all over my school (lots of paintball players) I hear "Yeah, I'm going to sit in the bushes and shoot little kids with my marker." Of course they are the same people who totally object to the ban of paintball markers; i am against it mostly too. But many paintball players are too immature to handle the responsibility of a paintball gun. Shooting your neighor's annoying dog or their window DOES NOT HELP THE SPORTS REPUTATION AT ALL. It pains me to hear of people doing things like that because I don't want paintball banned anywhere.

[Dern]

What really tics me off is how many people are concerned about the safety of paintball and how it is "such a bad sport," yet they don't hesitate to think of how often they do things in unsafe ways. Take for instance one of the leading causes of deaths in our country: Drunk Driving. Every 30 minutes someone dies from drunk driving and every 3/5 people (average) drive under influence regularly. That is way more dangerous than paintball has ever been. But people do not see this- it is instinctual that we only think of how other people affect US not how WE affect other people. Same goes for smoking. And lighting illegal fireworks. And driving too fast on roads.

Paintball is just a new thing and every small incident that happens related to it is going to show up massively in the media and hurt the sport. If people stop doing stupid thigns with their markers and show some respect for their neighboors perhaps paintball will earn a better reputation.

[raehl]

Originally posted by Rooster

[cough]collegepaintball[coughcough]



- Chris

[Brian68mag]

First i will make clear i live in a smaller, more "old school" town.
In my town durung hunting season you will see people walking down the street with REAL rifles on there back, noone looks twice. Everyone owns a large arsenal around here of real firearms and almost all adults will have a gun in their car or a concelled one with a license. One of my freinds parents own a staggering 280 firearms including sks's, ak-47's and ar-15's. I have regularly gone downtown, to the shop with my gun in a bag, or out in plain view, people dont look, or care.
In my city its legal to carry around a firearm, anywhere. If im walking people will ask about it, most people just say, thats cool, or does it hurt? Also we never have shootings here, people respect each other. Also i think people know that if they try to shoot someone everyone in the area is going to have a gun aimed on them. I want to know how a person can convince people paintball is dangerous by claiming "this gun looks real" or " what would happen if someone carried this into the subway". Prehaps it is just where i am from and how i was raised, but im confused, i really am. We are taught how to use firearms, in a responsible manner. I know how to shoot and clean every gun in my house. We think the world is a safer place when everyone is a responsible gun owner. Take 9/11 for example. If everyone on the planes had a gun would the terrorists been able to do anything? no, they would have got dropped in seconds. Why in New York are people worried about guns so much? Are there that many disrespectful *******s shooting people? What has our country come to if they are banning non-lethal firearms. I understood automatics being banned, but this is rediculous.
I hope some of you understand my point of view, im sure some will think we are crazy.

[raehl]

The answer is simple.

Your town doesn't have any democrats.

- Chris

[shartley]

Doesn't anyone even look on the FIRST page of posts before posting things? Come on folks.

[raehl]

Waste of your time.

Online petitions are worth the paper they're printed on.


- Chris

[shartley]

Re: Waste of your time.

Originally posted by raehl
Online petitions are worth the paper they're printed on.


- Chris

Don't you mean they are NOT worth?

And I still find it funny that some folks think otherwise.

[raehl]

No, I meant worth.

Because they're not printed on paper, thus being worth the paper they're printed on means they're worth nothing.

And it's a pat-yourself-on-the-back feel good excercise. People like to feel like they're contributing, even if they're really not.


- Chris

[shartley]

LOL Well, it IS printed in the end if used to show anything. I don't think they would take a computer into a meeting to discuss this.

But feel good... yup. And I actually strongly encourage it. Look what happened with quite a few of the letters sent to the Michigan "ban".

First rule.. do no harm.

[MagDog68]

Originally posted by Vendetta


Where do you play in Brooklyn ilegally? Is there a game in Greenwood Cemetary i'm missing

Gerritsen Beach! I have been playing in the Beach since I was 12!

~Fred

[ogre55]

What ever happened to the Michigan ban? What were they trying to ban? Was it upheld?

I find it interesting that Michigan tried to impose restrictions on paintball, when, to the best of my knowledge, they still have "open carry" laws on the books.

Ogre

[MagDog68]

Shartley/Ogre55

The only thing you all forget with your Motorcycle/Firearm/Automobile analogies is that all those pieces of equipment require a test which determines your knowledge and ability to operate the equipment safely.

~Fred

PS You know I am just busting balls now, right?

[MagDog68]

Re: Re: Waste of your time.

Originally posted by shartley

Don't you mean they are NOT worth?

And I still find it funny that some folks think otherwise.

I think he was trying to be ironic with the use of "online" and "paper," but once he threw the word "printed" it ruined everything.

~Fred

[ogre55]

Personal responsibility

Considering how much of this discussion revolved around lawsuits and personal responsibiity, I would like to introduce you to the Stella Awards.

I cannot vouch for the veracity of these cases, as I received these in an e-mail. However, if even 50% of these are true, can you imagine what sorts of lawsuits manufacturers of paintball markers could face?

The mind staggers (at the sheer stupidity of it all)

--------------------------

The "Stella" awards rank up there with the Darwin Awards. In 1994, a New Mexico jury awarded $2.9 million US in damages to 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who suffered third-degree burns to her legs, groin and buttocks after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself.

This case inspired an annual award - The "Stella" Award - for the most frivolous lawsuits in the US. The ones listed below are clear candidates.

1. January 2000: Kathleen Robertson of Austin Texas was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little bastard was Ms. Robertson's son.

2. June 1998: A 19 year old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car, when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

3. October 1998: A Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re enter the house, because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation. Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance, claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of half a million dollars.

4. October 1999: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas was awarded $14,500 and medical expenses, after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in it's owner's fenced-in yard. The award was less than sought, because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams, who was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.

5. May 2000: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her coccyx. The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson threw it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier, during an argument.

6. December 1997: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city, when she fell from the bathroom window, to the floor, and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses.

And the winner is:

Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City. In November 2000 Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having joined the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the Winnie left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the handbook that he couldn't actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie! (Winnebago actually changed their handbooks on the back of this court case, just in case there are any other complete morons buying their vehicles.)