Post by rap4paintball on Aug 7, 2005 19:08:52 GMT -5
I can across a link about a week ago to a newspaper that would put their storys on the internet. The link I got took me to a page with a woman bashing paintball and saying it should be illegal. I will not post the link to the site because I do not want the website to be flooded with emails about paintball. But here is what this woman said:
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Paint ball guns
There ought to be a law ... Against paint ball guns. These little weapons are considered "toys" and can be legally handled and mishandled by children. They are guns ... weapons!
We do not give our children rifles and shotguns to play with, so why paint ball guns?
I know of two boys who recently were shot in the eye. In both cases the eyeball was blown in half. They will each be blind in one eye now. And these things are toys?
Instead of our legislators busying themselves with frivolous and sometimes redundant laws, maybe they should look at this situation. A politician could probably win office by using this in his platform.
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I read that and I thought "wow this Woman didnt really know anything about paintball does she?"
so I wrote a letter to the newpaper and so did another reader and here are our responces. Here is the first letter:
Paint ball guns
Ms. Wakley,
You have brought up a valid point about the dangers of paint ball guns. They can be used incorrectly, and dangerously.
But let us not stop with laws banning paint ball guns, let us ban or make laws covering everything that can cause children to blind themselves or another.
Let's ban bows and arrows, BB guns, pellet guns, sticks, fireworks, scissors, pencils, fingers. Why, the list is astounding in its length of all the things that children have used to poke out either their eye or the eye of
another.
Or perhaps we could resort to having parents supervise their children?
Maybe they could even use good judgment about when a child is responsible enough to handle the item.
I am sorry the two youngsters you mention suffered injury. I feel badly when any child suffers an injury.
The positive side is that they frequently learn from them, and sometimes others learn the lesson from learning about the incident. Protecting our children from everything in life that could possibly harm them does not prepare them for life.
Lonalee A. Hamlin Jr. ,
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And here is my letter:
Paintball guns
I am writing this letter in conclusion to the letter on paint ball guns written by Lila ######. I was sad to hear what was being said about the sport of paintball.
"These little weapons are considered 'toys' and can be legally handled and mishandled by children," as quoted by Lila is a uneducated and ignorant statement.
I am a owner of a paintball business and I am not allowed to sell paintball markers to anyone under the age of 18, and every paintball marker since 1990 has this statement printed on the gun itself, "Warning, This is not a toy. Misuse may cause serious injury or death. Eye protection designed for paintball use must be worn by the user and any person within range. Read operation manual before using."
I just wanted to bring this issue to light as uneducated parents and citizens talk bad about the sport without even knowing the facts. Statistically, paintball is a safer sport than the sport of bowling. In most states paintball markers, paintballs, and the propellant cannot be purchased by anyone under the age of 18, in some states 21.
Since a parent is the one who has to buy the paintball marker for their kids, shouldn't they know if their own kid is responsible enough to use it?
Devin Wolfe,
Canton, Ohio
If you do know what website this came from please keep it to yourself to prevent the flooding of emails and letters to this newpaper. Thanks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paint ball guns
There ought to be a law ... Against paint ball guns. These little weapons are considered "toys" and can be legally handled and mishandled by children. They are guns ... weapons!
We do not give our children rifles and shotguns to play with, so why paint ball guns?
I know of two boys who recently were shot in the eye. In both cases the eyeball was blown in half. They will each be blind in one eye now. And these things are toys?
Instead of our legislators busying themselves with frivolous and sometimes redundant laws, maybe they should look at this situation. A politician could probably win office by using this in his platform.
----------------------------------------------------------
I read that and I thought "wow this Woman didnt really know anything about paintball does she?"
so I wrote a letter to the newpaper and so did another reader and here are our responces. Here is the first letter:
Paint ball guns
Ms. Wakley,
You have brought up a valid point about the dangers of paint ball guns. They can be used incorrectly, and dangerously.
But let us not stop with laws banning paint ball guns, let us ban or make laws covering everything that can cause children to blind themselves or another.
Let's ban bows and arrows, BB guns, pellet guns, sticks, fireworks, scissors, pencils, fingers. Why, the list is astounding in its length of all the things that children have used to poke out either their eye or the eye of
another.
Or perhaps we could resort to having parents supervise their children?
Maybe they could even use good judgment about when a child is responsible enough to handle the item.
I am sorry the two youngsters you mention suffered injury. I feel badly when any child suffers an injury.
The positive side is that they frequently learn from them, and sometimes others learn the lesson from learning about the incident. Protecting our children from everything in life that could possibly harm them does not prepare them for life.
Lonalee A. Hamlin Jr. ,
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
And here is my letter:
Paintball guns
I am writing this letter in conclusion to the letter on paint ball guns written by Lila ######. I was sad to hear what was being said about the sport of paintball.
"These little weapons are considered 'toys' and can be legally handled and mishandled by children," as quoted by Lila is a uneducated and ignorant statement.
I am a owner of a paintball business and I am not allowed to sell paintball markers to anyone under the age of 18, and every paintball marker since 1990 has this statement printed on the gun itself, "Warning, This is not a toy. Misuse may cause serious injury or death. Eye protection designed for paintball use must be worn by the user and any person within range. Read operation manual before using."
I just wanted to bring this issue to light as uneducated parents and citizens talk bad about the sport without even knowing the facts. Statistically, paintball is a safer sport than the sport of bowling. In most states paintball markers, paintballs, and the propellant cannot be purchased by anyone under the age of 18, in some states 21.
Since a parent is the one who has to buy the paintball marker for their kids, shouldn't they know if their own kid is responsible enough to use it?
Devin Wolfe,
Canton, Ohio
If you do know what website this came from please keep it to yourself to prevent the flooding of emails and letters to this newpaper. Thanks