Liscensing Paintball

[DasBaldDog]

This question came up in a recent Tennessee State Congress hearing. The question of whether or not you should have to take a class or a test to be able to own and use a paintball gun.

[Cheapdog]

I think there should be licenses, but no age limit. I think if you are not an adult and still want one, a parent should have to sign that he/she/they have gone over safety w/ their child, and that the child knows how to act responsibly. The adults and children/teens alike should both have to take a test nonetheless.

[DasBaldDog]

Well said. I think the liscense should apply more towards buying the gun than playing. If you are renting equipment then you can't run around shooting up cars at Wal-Mart. My friend's little brother who plays with us is like 13, walked into Wal-Mart and bought one of those Sheridan XTS's and the guy at the counter gave him no grief what so ever. I find the fact that a 13 year old has like $120 and is buying a item that is possibly dangerous to pose a bit of a warning flare. I don't think there should be like a 5 day waiting limit but I think you should have to have a card with your picture saying that you have taken the class/test and you aren't a 3 time convicted murderer who just escaped. I know that won't work completely but I think it will make little hooligans a bit more careful about what they do with their markers.

[cranberynvodka]

i think thats *** how king wally doesnt let u buy paintballs unless u are over 18 first of all if u buy paintballs that means thats u have a paintball gun which ur parents bought

[DasBaldDog]

Legally, if the child(and I use that word specificlly) damages someone's property with said paintballs, then Wal-Mart can be charged with "aiding in the delequincy of a minor", which can be pretty harsh. Besides, if a child got his parents to buy a paintball gun, then he should get them to buy the paintballs too.

[Jake]

How old are you dude? Its bull**** that I as a 17 year old can't just sign a waiver form but have to have my parents sign it as well. It is also *** if my parents have to buy my paint as well. I don't buy alot of paint at Wal-Mart so i've never had a lot of trouble but that is ***. If a kid paintballs a car or something he should pay to fix it, if he has no money he works it off with the owner.

[Lord Delta]

I think it should be a combination of the two answers. I don't think the morons should be wasting time making laws on this, but I also think morons who would use paintball markers for anything other than what they should be used for should not be allowed to even look at a marker. Seriously though, I like the idea of having only responsible players, but I think also that this might be an example of the gov. going too far in controlling a non lethal game like paintball. I think that the individuals should be held liable if they mess up. Too often people who do stupid things and get caught end up blaming somebody else and not getting the punishment they deserve. of course this is just imho, which i wish carried more weight!

[DasBaldDog]

First to Jake: I'm 18. Now guess what? You're only 17? Deal with it. Millions of people around the world were 17 too and we all had to wait so stop acting like you are the only person on earth who has ever had to wait on anything. Also guess what, if a kid under age damges anything, the parents are the ones who suffer under the law? Not fair? Guess what, no one ever said the world was fair. If the parents want to take the risk of their kid damaging stuff, then let them make that decision. Also, as someone with a atleast decent maturity level, please refrain from profanity, it only shows how limited your synaptic pathways are. The idea, dude, is that as much as you think you are just as responsible as the rest of us, there are 45 year olds that are as irresponsible as 5 year olds. I, nor the law, nor anyone else really care how many days til you're 18. Look at it this way, you can go buy gasoline at age 16 when you get a liscense or even before that (as young as 14 with hardship lisense) but you have to be 18 to buy paintballs. It may not be fair but that's the way it is. In my opinion (which is ignored by 90% of everyone) this is a good thing. If you want to play and play fair then your parents will help out but if you want to mess around then you must wait until it is you and not your parents that take the heat.

Next to Delta: Yes, I like the no morons in paintball idea very much but I am sensible enough to realize that it will probably never happen. I'm not talking about national laws here, I'm talking about NPL, GWS, NPPL and other league registered fields and associated stores getting together and saying, "Hey, if you don't know what you're doing, we're not gonna let you try it" If you don't think paintball guns in untrained hands isn't dangerous, go to the FBI Insurance and Statisitcs page. Several people have been killed (not directly) by use of paintball guns. Robbing stores and shooting and Police and such. Once again, if the child is under age, the parent will suffer under the law. You opinion always carries weight, you just have to express it at the right time like say around November (ie election time). When it comes to my safety, I don't think that most safety requirements go far enough. Do you honestly think that alot of people with "locked" velocity adjusters can't unlock them? On my Eclipse, the judge can "lock" it and as soon as I get out on the field, I can unlock it and preset it so that when I leave the field it goes back to original field. If anyone calls a speed check, I can set it back in less than 5 seconds. It should be noted that I don't do this but I'm saying that if I can do it, then many people ARE doing it. Well, that's my Rant for today.

[cranberynvodka]

geez calm down im just sayin if ur parents bought u a paintball marker then they already excepted the fact that they are held responsible so i think u should be able to buy paintballs at my local shop i walk in there alone and can buy a whole case without being yelled at why would u buy paintballs if u didnt have a marker?

[Doctorstox]

ok, being 16 i hate the idea. i could easily have one or both of my parents sign that thing, and i could pass any of their dumb tests with flying colors. however, it would piss me off if my parents had to buy all my supllies for me, and if they had to sign permission ever time i wanted to play. also, what if one of my buddies wants to play and i give him my back-up, he cant cause he hasn't passed some idiotic test that a four year old could pass blind-folded. the number of people playing would be cut down madly and it would just cause more problems. just today we were playing and one of me friends said to me, "if it aint broke, dont fix it". the game of paintball has been doing fine without any laws the government wants to pull out of its a$$. i admit there have been problems with civlians shooting on halloween and stuff, but those doing that should go to hell cause they will end up give good and fair players a bad rap and cuase lots of problems.

[Jake]

Hey DasBaldDog, chill out man. There was no disrespect meant to you. If you notice there was no profanity aimed at you it was merely to show the level to which it upsets me. I was just trying to say there are good parents who shouldn't have to pay for having stupid kids. I agree it helps to have some laws but it doesn't make it any less of an annoyance. If you notice I stated that these laws are often not followed so it upsets me that legislation might allow it to become a constant problem. I am also fully aware of the fact that 17 comes before 18, however, that does not mean that I have to like it. These posts are definetly not something to get angry over so just calm down.

[ghillie-man]

Well now for the older generation... I'm 32, a parent, play paintball and I think the idea stinks. This is the same argument used for handguns and rifles and if you don't watch it the govt. will legislate them away. It is a parents job to give their kids guidance and set the rules and yes, make sure that they do the right things. If kids want to play paintball, under supervision, there should be no problem. Parents have to take responsibility for their kids. If this means locking up the paintball gun when they aren't going to a field, so be it.

My two cents and a couple of dimes....

[cranberynvodka]

thats not right man ur the kinda dad i dont want i think as long as they dont vandalize or shoot civillians then they can do whatever they want with there marker

[DasBaldDog]

Let me start off with, I wasn't mad, sorry if it sounded like I was. It's just that I have personal expierence resulting from stupid people who didnt know what they were doing and hurting people (more later). Well, when I lived with mine parental units it was "This is my house and as long as you live in it you will follow the rules" and I was cool with that cause well.....they're my parents. Well, in my expierence, I have seen many injuries resulting from kids who didn't know what they were doing on the field. To the person who talked about Govt talking them away: No disrespect but I still have my car and they have been regulating those for almost 100 years. Heck they've only gotten better since then. You need a liscense to drive one of those and no one has a problem with it. They've been regulating hunting and it still continues. I hear that opinion alot and I can understand where it comes from but it's a tad bit paranoid. My point in agreeing with the regs are that (this deals with leagues and sensible fields only) if you are going to play in a tournement or whatnot you should have a card showing that you have been educated as to safety measures. I have not, do not and will NOT play against anyone not wearing a goggle system. Would you? It's common sense but alot of people don't know it. Just like alot of people don't know what a redlight means (that's like 3/4 of the people around here) so we need to make sure that they DO know, or atleast from a legal standpoint that they do. As for the kid borrowing your backup for the weekend, just as you have to get the waiver signed, take him to the 30 min or so class, it's just another box to check off on your "to do list". I DO NOT believe that this should apply to all paintball usuage however. If you want to play on private land with privately owned equipment and you trust the other people playing, then I say "Have fun". But if you want to play in a NPPL, NPL, GWS or league game against me, I want to know that you know the rules well. Before every game my teams plays, me and my co-captain go and watch the team we are going to play, play. Not just to get some strategy but also to make sure that they know the gig and that we are not taking a serious health risk. For the record, I am not upset. I apologize to anyone who thinks I am. It's just that sometimes I take many words to make a simple point. Here goes. I AM FOR SAFETY MEASURES! peace out.

[Richy_C]

i say, yes. But all it would have to be is a basic barrel plug/mask/tank/responsiblity lecutre, 10 minutes at the most, and after that you can buy whatever the hell you want, sound justifable.

[cranberynvodka]

how do u post a picture

[Lord Delta]

Originally posted by cranberynvodka
how do u post a picture

That was random, did you get lost? Jk.
I don't know how either

[iipaintballer]

As a someone who works in a pb store and a owner of several firearms , I would like to give another persective on this debate.

1. As a responsible firearm owner in California, I am sick and tired of filling out forms, waiting 10 days, having background checks into my personal life, and registering my firearms to the government. Now, if the goverment wants to regulate the sale of paintball Markers, I think that is going too far. I am for the responsible ownership and sale of firearms. Paintball does not fall into the firearm category. I dont want to wait a week and a half to purchase a paintball marker.

2. Take a test or class on proper paintball marker ownership. I think that this is a valuable tool for paintball owners. A tool to teach indiviuals how to clean, maintain and play safely. But to make that mandatory something given and regulated by the state? Waste. Its like taking a test to go fishing. Yeah it would be cool to learn how to tie a hook onto a line, clean and gut a fish, and know what fish is legal to catch. But to make that mandatory before you get a fishing license? Too much.

3. What am I for? I am for having a parent or legal guardian sign a waiver for the purchase of a paintball marker. I am for the stores to give some basic safety advice for paintball owners. I am for the responsible use of Paintball markers. I am for parents taking responsibility for their children's actions. Why? I am for individuals taking responsibility for their actions so we dont need to have the government get involved in our lives like this. To give them an excuse to regulate parts of our lives that dont need govenment intervention.

If we take a step back from all the problems in the world and stop blaming other people and just take responsibility for our own actions, live honorably, and play with honor, we wont need to have debates like this.

whew... I am now stepping off my soapbox... If I offended anyone, it was not my intention to. I understand that this is a touchy subject.

[ghillie-man]

Very nicely stated.

[Mad Ogre]

It could along the lines of hunting liscenses... Take a safety class, prove you wont put yours or anyone elses eye out and your good to go.

I dont have a problem with that.
I DO have a problem with the JACKHOLE that shot horses on next to my favorite field - If I get my hands on that fool... :mad:

[DasBaldDog]

True, shooting of livestock, ESPECIALLY HORSIES, is not proper at all. I agree with IIPAINTBALLER's statement about the hunting liscense thing. That's basically what the bill in the Congress here was. That's all I'm saying. Just make the players take a class before you let them play anywhere but private land cause if you want to shoot your eye out on your own land, I've got two words for you.......have fun.

[DIRTY HARRY]

My only problem with such a law is that it will attract undue attention from people who know nothing and have nothing to do with the sport, the NRA and politicians. I wouldn't want either of them anywhere near this thing of ours.

[pr0kch0p]

yeah, i think you should need a liscense

i walked into my local pro shop with a credit card and payed $300 for a spyder xtra package, i am 16 BTW and showed NO ID whatsoever.

[VeNoM]

you should have to get approved from a paintball field that you are using ot for paintball and not to raise trouble. or sumthin like that, a way to make sure its being used to pla paintball and not to vandalize or shoot people.