The Airsoft ban., Solving your problems! Options

[GIJOE94]

Evryone these days are beliving the roumer that airsoft/air guns will be banned in the United kingdom. Hopefully this will solve all your problems.They are not banning airsoft and air guns in the UK (Not including Ireland and land.) The police have said it's legal to own an airsoft gun of any tipe or an air rifle/pistol (Excluding Co2 guns which are illigle in the UK) if you keep it on YOUR property! You can fire it in your garden or your house and no one can do anything, but if it goes off your property: Your nicked. It will be leagle to buy them to, but you'd probably need a liscence for high powered AEG's. If it does come to only being able to buy transparent airsoft guns- Big Deal! spray it black! Hopefully this has explained the airsoft problem in england and stoped evryone fretting that the police will be knocking at thier door at 3 o'clock in the morning.

[D@V£]

Which is like saying "You can own a football, but you can't go to a football field with it".

As far as I can see, this law isn't about preventing violent crime or reducing gun crime or anything like that. It's another attempt by an unchecked government to remove what they would consider to be an "undesirable" practice. To be honest, I've been shot with an Airsoft gun, and, frankley you could do more damage with your bare hands.

The problem with violent crime is that the government believes it can be stopped simpley passing a load of, frankly, preposterous legislation as a pose to actually increasing the funding of the deparments responsible for curbing such behaviour. When it comes down to it, this ban is nothing more than a bunch of "representatives" (and I use that term in the loosest sense, because most of them wouldn't know the common man if he ot she tripped over them) squeezing as much money out of the system as they can to line their pockets with.

[GIJOE94]

And no one will listen to the ban anyway like when nobody listens to thegoverment. It was all going nicely until some berks had to go and shoot some little kids in a school and some 11 year old boy was shot. Why're they're banning harmless weapons is stupid, but then again our goverment is always doing stupid things. I'd say the main reason to stopping "Realisitic" airsoft weapons is to stop threats taking place.

[DaRat]

I'm not for the airsoft ban at all- far from it in fact - but you guys seem to be missing the supposed point of the ban;
The ban is not to stop people being shot with airsoft pellets, it's to curb the sale and trade of easily obtainable, realistic looking airsoft weapons which are used by some who pretend them to be real.
Eg: You run into a shop with a £5 airsoft pistol from the market with a balaclava on, screaming: "Give me the money or I'll shoot you!" - You honestly think the person behind the counter could tell if it was real? I doubt it very much..

Once again, I'm not for the ban, but can seriously see where the government is coming from (for once, at least).

However, I also acknowledge that it's a pretty piss poor way of reducing violent crime if you don't back it up with better funding for police and so on. It will definatley not stop people from obtaining them, in fact, because people know that the ban is in force, it will make people who have managed to obtain them much better at doing their crimes - "f*ck, there's an airsoft ban so this one must be real!"

[D@V£]

I think the problem isn't that too many bad guys have guns... it's that not enough good guys do.

[Elliot Carver]

To be honest this is one of ten versions of the new laws i have heard over the past 6 months or so. 10 years in prison for a class 1 firearms offence is too bigger risk to not get the law right on oct 1st.

I cannot stress this enough...Get in touch with your local community support officer or your counties firearms squad and find out...know what you should be doing on oct 1st.

[JdB]

I cannot stress this enough...Get in touch with your local community support officer or your counties firearms squad and find out...know what you should be doing on oct 1st.

Gathering gunpowder to blow up parliament like in the good ol' days?

[D@V£]

I've been rumbled! To the shelters!

(I'm wondering if that'd actually work... only... perhaps something a tad more... potent than gunpowder )

[JdB]

I've been rumbled! To the shelters!

(I'm wondering if that'd actually work... only... perhaps something a tad more... potent than gunpowder )

Of course a better way would be to just tie detonator cord around the neck of every politician, no need for a statement towards a symbol of authority, everyone knows it's the politicians themselves that is the real problem

[D@V£]

Yes, but as an anarchist I recognise that enlightenment will not merely occur with the deaths of our self proclaimed leaders, but also with the destruction of their precious monuments

[BigglesTrevor]

Which is like saying "You can own a football, but you can't go to a football field with it".

To be honest, I've been shot with an Airsoft gun, and, frankley you could do more damage with your bare hands.

id like to see you say that to the face of thousands of people who have been blinded by airsoft rifles.

[Elliot Carver]

actualy trev, the few people who have lost an eye to a .22 chalk BB deserve it thought their own stupidity for not wearing eye protection. Its well documented, signed for and stated at the start of an airsoft match (at good sites) that a full face mask is reccomened. Its your fault if you recive a facial injury from a BB if you opt out of a fase mask.

Ive nearly been a cropper to this myself...to cut a long story short the female member of our team straddled me on the floor, pointed her m9 in my face and pulled the trigger, shot me on the bridge of my nose and then remembered to put the safty on rofl! Spent the rest of the day looking like id been shot with blood everywhere and "omg your face" remarks ^^

The worst ive seen is someone chipping a tooth after an accidental point blank shot from a 500fps sniper rifle cos the silly bugger forgot to put it on safty to clean it...

[JdB]

In Holland someone even died (freak accident though, the pellet going straight through his ear and penetrating his brain) through airsoft.

[Wittmann]

Protection is ones own responsibility. Easier way to do it is ban airsoft ammunition outside certified ranges or something, so you go buy the ammo from the range and use it there, and need safety gear or can hire it to get in...would make more sense to me than banning the weapons themselves.

[BigglesTrevor]

the problem is not with sencible users though, its with kids running around with them on estates. sure BB guns can do damage if not used correctly.

eg

Evening Star, 31 August 2007

A male cyclist was taken to hospital following an incident in Lowestoft, Suffolk, when he was shot with a BB gun. A ball bearing penetrated his skin and became lodged close to his spine, requiring an operation to remove it. In another incident in the town four teenagers were arrested and an imitation firearm recovered after a number of vehicles were damaged by youths firing paintball gun pellets (Lowestoft Journal, 31 August 2007).

BBC, 25 August 2007

A 10-year-old girl suffered minor facial injuries after being shot at with a BB gun in Cannock, Staffordshire. Earlier in the month police had also received reports of a passenger in a car firing pellets from the vehicle in the town.

Arran Banner, 3 August 2007

A 9-year-old boy has lost part of a front tooth after being shot in the face with a plastic pellet from a ball-bearing gun. The boy, who was on holiday, was playing with other children at a caravan park on Arran where they were shooting at each other with toy guns. The guns were on sale in a shop in Brodick for £3.99 but had a sticker saying over 18s only. They have now been removed from the shelves.

News Shopper, 21 August 2007

A man has been given a two year rehabilitation order for child cruelty and assaulting his wife. Among various actions, the man from Crayford, Kent, had shot his daughter in both knees with a ball-bearing gun, claiming it was an accidents.

BBC, 1 August 2007

Paul Pitcairn, 21, shot a 13-year-old schoolgirl in the leg while he was high on drink and drugs in August 2006. He had chased the girl down the street in Blackford, Perthshire, before pinning her against a fence and shooting her with a ball-bearing gun. The victim had bruising on her leg which was painful for a time. Pitcairn was jailed for 100 days.

and these are just from last month.

also, http://www.gun-control-network.org/GF05.htm, this shows just how many crimes and injuries come at the hands of air weapons yearly in Britian. With a averige of 1 person per year being killed by them.

[D@V£]

id like to see you say that to the face of thousands of people who have been blinded by airsoft rifles.

You can blind someone by driving your middle and index fingers into their eyes. It's not that these "weapons" are dangerous, it's that certain areas of the human body are essentially weak.

Like I said before, I support the idea of a license for this, but because a few people get injured by these things doesn't mean they're dangerous, because people get injured regardless.

Let's look at some of your examples, shall we?

Paul Pitcairn, 21, shot a 13-year-old schoolgirl in the leg while he was high on drink and drugs in August 2006. He had chased the girl down the street in Blackford, Perthshire, before pinning her against a fence and shooting her with a ball-bearing gun. The victim had bruising on her leg which was painful for a time. Pitcairn was jailed for 100 days.

"The victim had bruising on her leg which was painful for a time."
I'm sorry, but that is the most pathetic arguement I have ever heard. That's even worse than when JdB said he wouldn't buy ArmA 2 because tiscali games got the words "helicopter" and "plane" mixed up. I've had brusing on my leg from falling over that was painful for some time.

A man has been given a two year rehabilitation order for child cruelty and assaulting his wife. Among various actions, the man from Crayford, Kent, had shot his daughter in both knees with a ball-bearing gun, claiming it was an accidents.

And, some people beat their wives after going to the pub each night. Some people kill their own children. Some people even go as far as to commit genocide for reasons that are flimsy at best. Some people thrive off death, violence and disorder for reasons (usually themselves being victims of abusive parents or past trauma).

A 9-year-old boy has lost part of a front tooth after being shot in the face with a plastic pellet from a ball-bearing gun. The boy, who was on holiday, was playing with other children at a caravan park on Arran where they were shooting at each other with toy guns. The guns were on sale in a shop in Brodick for £3.99 but had a sticker saying over 18s only. They have now been removed from the shelves.

This is clearly the fault of the gun, and the clerk responsible for selling a 9 year old a device claerly labels for over 18s has no blame in the matter what so ever, right?

If you can't tell, that's sarcasm. This is exactly the same as people moaning because their 6 year old child got disturbed after watching a movie with an 18 rating.

A 10-year-old girl suffered minor facial injuries after being shot at with a BB gun in Cannock, Staffordshire. Earlier in the month police had also received reports of a passenger in a car firing pellets from the vehicle in the town.

"minor facial injuries"
I love these deceptive phrases! They're clearly propaganda! I suffered "minor mouth burns" last night eating corn on the cob, let's ban corn!

A male cyclist was taken to hospital following an incident in Lowestoft, Suffolk, when he was shot with a BB gun. A ball bearing penetrated his skin and became lodged close to his spine, requiring an operation to remove it. In another incident in the town four teenagers were arrested and an imitation firearm recovered after a number of vehicles were damaged by youths firing paintball gun pellets (Lowestoft Journal, 31 August 2007).

A few weeks ago a man was killed by youths throwing stones at him and his son. Stones are easily found on most pathways in Great Britian. I don't see any movement to ban stones, do you?



I support the idea of a license for owning airsoft devices. But let's face it, it won't stop people being stupid, will it? If people want to do damage they do it with what they can get they're hands on. Ban airsoft rifles and they'll use something else like a hammer, or a baseball bat. Ban one way for people to do mindless damage and they'll find another.

[Elliot Carver]

Id like to take this moment to point out that a BB gun is not an Airsoft Eletric Gun (AEG). .2 compressed chalk bbs are the only ammunition the sport of airsoft uses. Ball Bearing guns are condoned by airsofters and we support a full ban on them. The use of an AEG is covered by velocity regulations, ammo size regulations, and where you can use them. If you follow the law to the letter you will know that AEGs are to be stored in their cases, dismantled, in a locked room at all times.

99% of the time imitation firearm crime is committed with a "springer". A springer is the crappy plastic £3 gun off the market that shoots yellow bbs about 3 meters. Again these are condoned by airsofters and we support a full ban on them as well.
No criminal is going to spend £300 on an AEG when he can get a real gun for £150 from his local pub!
Also it has been tried and proven false the myth that it is possible to convert an AEG to fire live rounds.

[D@V£]

...

I clearly don't go to my local pub enough!

[pMASTER]

Which is like saying "You can own a football, but you can't go to a football field with it".

That's actually the case here. It's called the "semblance paragraph" which says that every Airsoft looking like a real gun is to be treated like a real gun, and to carry an arm outside of your property is illegal. I remember the case of a guy who lives not far from here... two years ago he was convicted because he used his air pistol when a looter tried to attack him on his way back from the shooting club.

[JdB]

Also it has been tried and proven false the myth that it is possible to convert an AEG to fire live rounds.

I disagree, it is very much possible. Just replace some parts by real ones (about 99,9% ) and it'll work.