My Freedom Could Be In Your Hands - Up and Coming Court Case (re: specarms)

[Endymion]

Originally Posted by diamond_SEA

couldnt his lawyer refer to this community. since our conversations are text-based, it provides written proof of the existence and intentions of the airsoft community. Not to mention that we are made up of ~2500 active members who are respectful citizens.

The number of active members who post is far fewer, and the number of those who don't post like asshats is fewer still. Probably not the shiniest example to use in a legal case.

[Tankdude]

Originally Posted by diamond_SEA

couldnt his lawyer refer to this community.

Where is that gun with the dildo attached to it?

[The Saint]

Guys, Will asked for 2 local witnesses for maximum credibility, not a bunch of internet peanut gallery.

[kalnaren]

Originally Posted by diamond_SEA

couldnt his lawyer refer to this community. since our conversations are text-based, it provides written proof of the existence and intentions of the airsoft community. Not to mention that we are made up of ~2500 active members who are respectful citizens.

Nope. Negative stuff has WAY more impact on court than positive. Like e-mail it's all heresay anyway, and thus would be inadmissable..

[Scarecrow]

Originally Posted by The Saint

Guys, Will asked for 2 local witnesses for maximum credibility, not a bunch of internet peanut gallery.

Hopefully he's been PM'd.

[swatt13]

will sorry to get off topic, but this would be a perfect opportunity to use what the uk has done with retailing and the sport to defend yourself, or at least get them to understan. i would get some info on that and give it to your lawyer and see what he can do with it.

[The Saint]

1. Will has already pleaded guilty to a number of the charges.
2. The defences for airsoft laid out in VRCA regulation is for UK law. We're in Canada.
3. The effort by the UK airsofters was directed against a new piece of legislation. It was not a court battle.

[Brian McIlmoyle]

Originally Posted by swatt13

will sorry to get off topic, but this would be a perfect opportunity to use what the uk has done with retailing and the sport to defend yourself, or at least get them to understan. i would get some info on that and give it to your lawyer and see what he can do with it.

that would muddy the waters.. this is not a national case for legalizing airsoft.. It is a personal case for one individual to avoid a statute sentence of 5 years in prison for weapon trafficing offenses.

the issue is .. what community benefited from his actions... the presumption is replica firearms are used by criminals..(because they are) ... the evidence needed is he was selling toys to gamers.. not guns to gang members.

In the larger scale if the defense is sucessful .. its a point of law in favour of future cases also being successfuly defended ... Every former retailer facing charges that beats such a charge adds to the case law that charging retailers serving the AS community wastes Judicial resources better spent prosecuting "real" criminals reducing the likelyhood of future charges .. and increasing the tolerance of retail of AS guns to Hobbiests.

In this case he has already been found guilty... now its a matter of applying a reasonable penalty for selling toy guns to gamers.

[Lawdog]

Will, best of luck. If your lawyer has a big pair till him to argue: De minimis non curat lex.

Ld

[Lisa]

I'm all in favour of criminals having easier access to replicas than real guns. why? they're still going to commit the crime whether they're using a knife, gun, toy replica or a pipe bomb (yes, pretty fatalistic view). If they're using a toy replica then the chances of some one being accidently hurt are lowered. Toy replica's can not kill people and if LEO's encounter a criminal with a toy replica the only person getting hurt is the criminal who put himself in the situation in the first place.

[The Saint]

In the Canadian legal system, the possible punishments for committing most major crimes using a firearm is the same, whether that firearm is real or not.

[mcguyver]

Originally Posted by Lisa

I'm all in favour of criminals having easier access to replicas than real guns. why? they're still going to commit the crime whether they're using a knife, gun, toy replica or a pipe bomb (yes, pretty fatalistic view). If they're using a toy replica then the chances of some one being accidently hurt are lowered. Toy replica's can not kill people and if LEO's encounter a criminal with a toy replica the only person getting hurt is the criminal who put himself in the situation in the first place.

But then the other side of that argument is ban ammunition but let the crooks have their real guns. If you can't shoot the gun (because ammunition is banned), then real guns can't hurt people, right? Neither is really realistic, and who wants to use a gun for crime when it's a fake one that costs 1/2 as much as a real one and is much harder to get? And even if there were no replicas for sale in Canada, you could always pull a John Dillinger and widdle one out of a block of wood. And ammunition (even stuff that's "supposedly" prohibited) is still available if you really want it.

The issue is not to let criminals have any guns at all, real or not. That's the reason we have such strict laws on replicas and even stricter laws on real guns.

I'm sure there's lots of Op-For guys still around, although Matt has his own issues with the courts from what I understand.

[604DA9]

Thank you everyone for the support and concern! I am very grateful and appreciative of what everyone wants to try and do to help my situation.

If any of you are willing to do so, my lawyer and I are looking for support letters from the Airsoft Community across Canada that have had shared their Airsoft experiences with me (on the field, off the field, and on a retail level).

The purpose of these letters are to inform the Judge of what the sport of Airsoft is, what the community is all about, and what type of people are part of this community. For all they (the Judge and the Crown) know, they think that all these airsoft items are used for is for criminal activities.

What should NOT be included in the letters are any feelings/opinions that you have about the legality of Airsoft; we are trying to educate the Judge as to what our sport is all about and my specific participation in it.

Helping me write that letter would be of tremendous help towards my case.

----

In the letter of reference you would need to include the following:

Full name and address, and a contact number.

1) an introduction of yourself (it is important to describe yourself so that the judge knows the kind of person who is writing this letter), marital status, current and some past jobs. Some background info in regards to your education. You should list any involvement you have in community or volunteer groups. And finally to confirm that you do not have a criminal record

2) your participation in the airsoft community and your experiences. It could be about anything really, the judge needs a sense of what the airsoft sport is, what kind of people participate, etc.

3) your knowledge and experiences you've had with me in airsoft.

Other than that I don't think there is much else, unless you would like to expand on anything else, it is up to you. The main thing is that we are focusing on what airsoft is and my participation in it.

These reference letters can be emailed to wong.will@shaw.ca

Thank you so much for reaching out to me and lending a helping hand. I really appreciate all of this help I am receiving.

Please email me or call me any time. If I do not answer, please leave me a detailed message and I will definately call you back.

Sincerely,

Will W.
Email: wong.will@shaw.ca
Phone #778 898 2056

[jesster202]

wow i never though of the future ramifications if this court case doesn’t go in your favour!!!! that’s pure insanity that some one whom is merely dealing toys could face 5 year of jail time!!! please keep us updated i know i will be watching this one, please update us about updates thanks and good luck to you i hope some one shows up in his defence and also to stop them form getting a win that could be cited for future prosecutions

[arman]

bring in some youtube videos... that will show them whats up...

and sorry to hear this shit is happning to you man! its fking bullshit they are toys!!!