TexasCHLforum.com

http://www.groupbuilder.net/uploads/Cit ... irguns.pdf

Excerpt:

"SCENARIO: The Friendswood Police Department receives a frantic 911 call in the late evening hours of December 25, 2005. The caller states there is a male dressed in black actively shooting at an apartment building. Police respond preparing for the worst. Officers arrive on scene, and after a thorough investigation, it is determined that the male was shooting an air soft pellet rifle at his friend who was in a first floor apartment balcony. The air soft rifle very much resembled the military-style M-16 issued to the armed forces. After discussion with the Harris County DA’s office the male was arrested for Disorderly Conduct. It is calls of this nature that raise many concerns for police and citizens when it comes to the usage of air-soft pellet weapons. "

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Now, I'm not saying that whoever was playing airsoft wasn't asking for trouble... but it seems that the Harris County DA is playing fast and loose with the law here by charging him with Disorderly conduct. Airsoft guns are clearly not firearms or deadly weapons.

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"Friendswood City Ordinance Sec. 54-1 Discharging firearms; penalty. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge any gun, pistol or other firearm, or any air rifle or air pistol, of any description, within the corporate boundaries of the city. This section shall not be construed to prohibit an officer of the law from discharging a firearm when lawfully defending persons or property. Provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not be applicable to the discharge of firearms at bona fide gun clubs lawfully operating pursuant to the city zoning ordinance (appendix C to this Code).
(b) Any person who discharges any gun, pistol or other firearm, or any air rifle or air pistol of any description, by whatsoever name known, in violation of the provisions of the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be fined pursuant to section 1-14.
(Code 1974, § 12-1; Ord. No. 91-28, §§ 1, 2, 10-21-1991; Code 1994, § 54-1)
State law references: Municipal authority to regulate discharge of firearms in municipal limits, V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 229.001 (b); firearms, V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 229.001; offense of discharging weapons, V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 42.01 (9)- -(11).
What the city ordinance basically states is anybody who discharges a gun, pistol or other firearm, or any air rifle or air pistol within the city of Friendswood, is subject to a class C citation with a fine totaling $260.00. This ordinance also applies to all paintball, pellet, and BB guns.""

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Now this is a bunch of bull. Apparently Friendswood City Ordinance specifically makes execeptions for Law enforcement "discharging a firearm when lawfully defending persons or property" but not citizens??? I assume state law over-rides this?

Also who knew that technically it was illegal to discharge a paintball, pellet, BB, or airsoft guns in the city limits of Friendswood?

So does that mean all of these paintball arenas are now illegal???

Woooooooo, I smell stinky stuff on this one...

But me??? I have never been a big fan of these "airsoft" pellet devices in the first place...

I'm not much of a fan of them, but have used them as training aides so my Marines and I could do some training for clearing buildings and other close range scenarios. The command refused to provide the training, so we went and bought our own and used them off duty. They arent perfect, but they were close enough to where it was realistic, and everyone got to go home at the end of the day.

Having said that, while i have no problem with shooting one of those in my living room, or backyard, or anywhere else it's safe, well, these guys should have known better than to do what they did. At the same time, if the caller cant tell the difference between a pelletgun firing and a real rifle, well, nuff said.

For a while my 14 year old nephew has been bugging me about "lending" him my old Tippman "carbine" paintball marker...

Yeah, I got hooked into the "sport" a few years ago...And when I found out I could whip the pants off of the little whipper snappers with their exotic gas super-tricked-out race guns...I hung it up...It actually sits in the guns safe right now...

But I know how much these things can be abused and mis-used, so I have discouraged him for seeking this form of entertainment...

I have a much better plan for him...And made a deal that when he gets the urge to shoot at something, give me a call, and we'll head to the range that weekend to shoot the "real" thing...And do it for the right reasons...

I am having trouble thinking about what I want to do with that Tippman marker though...I might sell it to someone, but who'd actually want it...

I think it should be handled like any other firearm...And not sold to a person under 18...

in regards to paintball I'm a little more emotionally involved than most.

I was on a tournament team for a few years and I have a huge respect for the sport. I was probably one of the whipersnappers that you are talking about stevie...and I did have a race gun ( 18 bps).

Those that misuse paintball "markers" are a TINY minority. There are great aspects to the game that any adolescent can appreciate. While playing tourney ball you build up confidence in stressful situations (at least in speedball).

There is a rush in the game that I never got from doing Track or playing Baseball in high school. You learn to work well in a team. Also, just like we like to tinker with our guns (you 1911 guys know what I'm talking about), it is fun to learn the art of tinkering while adjusting/cleaning a regulator, or soldering a ramped up board onto the brain of an electronic marker. It's fun, and often times the sport gets a bad rap from media because of the misuses of the equipment.

This isn't a rant/flame, hopefully just an insight into the most fun, most extreme sport I've ever played, especially at a competitive level.

-nick

Hope i didnt give anyone the wrong impression. I know at least in my case, i was given a pelletgun and turned loose after being given the proper training to be safe with it. And i'm not talking at any recent time, i mean when i was a kid about 9 yrs old. I never once got in trouble with that gun. I know it was at least as capable as a paintball gun to do damage, but it was used properly and it was safe, with or without supervision. I know there was a comment made above about treating paintball guns "just like any other firearm". Not to step on anyones toes, but paintball guns arent firearms, and i dont believe they should be restricted as such. I think there's too many restrictions on firearms as it is. People either are, or arent responsible. It isnt a matter of age--at least within reason. A friends parents back in jr high and highschool had some land and we were allowed to take any weapon we chose out by ourselves and after years of doing that, and who knows how many thousands of rounds, we have never once had an accident of any type. We're talking about a couple 12 yr olds running around with SKSs, deer rifles, etc, and 9mm and .357 handguns strapped to our belts, with packs loaded with camping supplies and a minimum of 300 rds of ammo, being gone for a couple days at a time, with only our own good sense and the property line to restrain us. We hunted, and we trained, and we were safe at all times doing it. If we could do it with firearms, at that age, i know kids nowadays are just as capable of being safe and responsible with pelletguns and paintball guns. Afterall, it wasnt that long ago, i'm only 26.