Airsoft makes front page of Guelph's local paper... and not because the cops like it

[yanhchan]

Originally Posted by Rukus

If you rub your fireman's helmet he spits in your eye.

Eric Cartman

And yes anyone dumb enough to bring a replica out in the open deserves what he gets, be it the weapon gets taken away from him, or the dumbass get shot. That's just plain stupidity.

Jesus christ i fell laughing

Originally Posted by Rukus

And yes anyone dumb enough to bring a replica out in the open deserves what he gets, be it the weapon gets taken away from him, or the dumbass get shot. That's just plain stupidity.

Ok, although I understand the sentiment behind this, i DON'T believe that someone should be presumed guilty, the police called, and the individual SHOT or taken into custody at gun point for the simple "offence" of being in possession of a firearm or something that looks like one.

If I substituted the word "hammer" with the word firearm, would it be justified? Any object is only a weapon if used as such.

I'm a legal gun owner. If i'm walking around in my house with my pistol in a holster on my hip, which is perfectly legal in my residence, and I walk past a window and someone calls the police, is it right that I can be thrown on the ground and handcuffed or worse SHOT by a cop with less trigger time then me who gets scared and thinks I'm reaching? Think about it...I've broken no law but having something on my hip or in my hand is enough to presume guilt or impending violence and warrants arrest at gunpoint or worse.

Now, if you point a gun (real or otherwise) at a police officer, you better expect to get shot. That being said, I don't support demonizing anyone who happens to have a replica OR a real firearm in their hand when some nosey neighbor peeks over the fence. Firearms ownership is NOT A CRIME. Replica possession is NOT A CRIME.

Don't let political correct determine what's criminal and what's not folks. Remember you have RIGHTS, despite what's "socially acceptable" or not.

[Manaconda]

the simplest of answers is to kill the kids. If we from now on kill all children so they cannot grow up and jeapordise our sport then we will be living a utopia. So band together hold hands sing at the top of your lungs and start a band of ravening idiots going house to house killing all the lil children. We can only hope that one day our streets will be clean and never again will we have to deal with stupid kids.

Who's with me?

[Rumpel Felt]

Well said. (Edit: Morb) ^

Luckily for people who do the stupid act of being in the wrong place with a "gun", cops are usually as sensible as per described above.

You must also question the motive of someone who points something they obviously know is "scarey" at someone. If the kid knows what he is holding will be considered the real deal, there's no difference in his mindset. He/she still intends to scare whether or not they actually have the ability to kill. I know it's a premature conclusion but anyone who points a weapon at someone in this situation should be assumed to have done the same with a real one.

[crosby87]

airsoft would turn into wheelchairsoft

[Rukus]

Sorry substitue weapon with using Real rifle/pistole or Replica irresponsibly, ie waving it around in public like it's a real one. Mistakes happen true, and I'm not out to get those whom just happened to be a minor mis understanding, but those who are obvious about it, that's another thing.

[Lisa]

Any one that can wave a fireman around has my respect and admiration... If they can wave two or more... well there's freaks in all sorts of places...

Originally Posted by Rukus

Sorry substitue weapon with using Real rifle/pistole or Replica irresponsibly, ie waving it around in public like it's a real one. Mistakes happen true, and I'm not out to get those whom just happened to be a minor mis understanding, but those who are obvious about it, that's another thing.

Yeah that's cool, and i'm not singling you out specifically.

The issue, primarily, is that REAL guns are too prevalent in criminal hands these days so the Police can't reasonably dismiss a child playing with a replica as such. Give a toy gun to a 5-year old and I GUARANTEE he'll pull it on a police officer if he's given the chance, because the police officer is carrying a gun too and the child wants to play with him because of the commonality and his imagination.

The existence of REAL guns on the street makes that cop wonder if the kid got his brother's crime pistol or his dad's registered Glock. If it's pointed at him, he'll assume it's real and shoot, and he will be entirely justified in doing so, even if the memory lasts a lifetime and the moral justification is lost.

That's the world we live in. Because law enforcement and soccer moms fear the possibility that little Johnny might get shot when he's out playing with his toys, nobody should be permitted to have them.

Unfortunately for the cops and the soccer moms, the bad guys have real guns despite the laws to the contrary, will continue to have them, and the problem they're trying to avert won't go away. The difference is, when replica's are illegal, the police can claim that ANY shooting is justified; if replica's are illegal, then it must have been a real firearm. Even if it wasn't.

[ujiro]

you would think that someone getting shot because they were waving a replica firearm like an airsoft gun around in public might actually knock some sense into the people of the airsoft community who would ever think of taking them out into public. however, it has never been the style of police officers, at least in canada, to shoot first and ask questions later. they always try to stop the person first, so if that person has any sense, they'll comply...

[WilliamS]

that makes me mad!

[Sgt_Lynch]

Wow... firemen, bands and crapsoft.

You could almost mistake this place for ASC..... almost.

[Voodoo]

doesnt matter if its 18+, we had an article in the Calgary Herald and Sun about gang kids using them. Calgary has experienced a HUGE gang related crime increas and i guess cops are finding more and more replicals when they do their raids.

[BDoubleG]

Originally Posted by MadMorbius

If I substituted the word "hammer" with the word firearm, would it be justified? Any object is only a weapon if used as such.

I realize what you are saying here, but it's kind of splitting hairs. One could keep going in that direction by saying "well, what if he had a 2x4" or "what if he had a glass bottle". The fact of the matter is that a gun is created specifically to kill or wound another living thing.

Don't get me wrong, I agree about your arguments on being on your own personal property, but in public, it simply cannot be socially acceptable for people to be waving firearms around, real or fake, regardless of if they plan on using it.

[tony123]

Originally Posted by Greylocks

I'll repeat what I wrote in an almost identical thread; has anyone else noticed that those who are worried are under-aged or not verified yet?

That may be but those who are under-aged have a reason to worry. All of you guys who play right now and have your guns don't have to worry about it. For the under-aged people who plan on getting in to airsoft we have a reason to worry. What happens if there is a ban on airsoft guns? I know that all the Age-verified members will say well get age verified and buy off the classifieds, but guns only last so long and im sure if there is a ban on airsoft guns it will be extremly hard to get parts across the boarder too.

[BDoubleG]

What do you mean? Those who aren't age verified are in no worse a position than those who are...retailers' access to goods is down, and as you said, an airsoft gun may potentially have a good, long life, but it's by no means endless...all members of the airsoft community would suffer if a ban were put on airsoft!