Airsoft in the news
AirsoftgunHelp advocates responsible airsoft gun use and encourages all players to understand and follow safety guidelines whenever using airsoft guns.
Please read our section on Airsoft Gun Safety.
6-10-05
AirsoftGunHelp.com
Following our launch of the first Airsoft E-mail Newsletter (that I am aware of) we are revamping Airsoft Gun Help. Old articles are being edited for readability. For example, Airsoft vs Paintball used to be on on page. It has been cut up to 5 pages. Original paragraphs were 5 sentances or more; these have been shortened. Headlines have also been added.
5-07-05
The Weekly Standard
The most prominent of these game sites is CombatGames in Sai Kung Country Park. It's owned and operated by a few retired Special Forces soldiers. But those diehard war-gamers call the battle off for rain, making me wonder how tough they can be.
Full Story
4-19-05
The Arizona Republic (opinion/editorial column)
Yet Chandler feels it necessary to have on its books the recently publicized ordinance 11-6, a law that makes it a crime merely to possess such an instrument. I say instrument because the law states that the possession of any instrument capable of firing a projectile qualifies. You do not actually have to fire it, harm anyone, harass anyone or damage anything. If your 7-year-old goes into a store and buys a Nerf gun, unwraps it, and emerges into a public place, then 11-6 has been violated.
Full Story
4-16-05
"eTruth.com"
There also are school-related ramifications for possessing a toy gun, Duell said, regardless of whether any threats are made. Any student who possesses a look-alike gun in Goshen schools will be subject to an expulsion hearing, he said.
Full Story
4-13-05
The Daily Review
He said parents have told his officers they welcomed having their children's toy guns taken from them by the police. "They have no problems with us seizing the guns, but that they weren't able to tell their kids 'no' when they wanted to buy one because all their friends had them," Richard said.
Full Story
3-14-05
The Chicago Tribune
"Wilmette has stopped short of banning air rifles, but display or possession of them in public is now prohibited. The Wilmette Village Board voted for the new restrictions last month. The fine for displaying an air rifle starts at $50 for the first offense and can run as high as $500. A second offense starts at $100."
Full Story
AirsoftGunHelp.com Editor's Note: This article makes incorrect statements about airsoft guns which may mislead readers. specifically - this statement made by
Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter
"The `Airsoft' guns aren't soft at all. An air rifle discharges a pellet, BB or paintball using compressed air or a spring, and the velocity is much higher than in the past. It can be the same as an actual firearm." This statement makes a blatently false distinction between BB guns and airsoft gun. Airsoft gun velocities are not the same, or close, to those of an actual firearm.
Airsoft guns should never be displayed or used in public and should always be carried in a gun case.
3-05-05
The Telegraph (UK)
"But it is not just boyhood fantasies that are being fulfilled. The number of women joining the game is growing quickly and, to the disgust of some males, when it comes to combat, they are pretty good. 'Women pick it up really quickly, make good listeners, are able to multi-task, finding cover and good firing positions,' says Nick."
Full Story
2-28-05
WATE 6 Knoxville
"A student from West Valley Middle School got in trouble for brining a toy gun to school but his punishment won't come from the system's zero tolerance policy. However, the gun's manufacturer sends out warnings about possible dangers."
Full Story
This article has direct quotes from our section on airsoft gun safety -- the first I've seen yet. Unfortunately they just refered to us as "a web site dedicated to Airsoft guns"
2-25-05
WXYZ 7 (TV)
"According to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, the teacher in question is 49-year-old Louis Burch. He is a 22-year veteran at Rochester Hills Christian School, and the school says up to this point, he's had a spotless record...'At that point in time, he reached in his drawer and grabbed one of these Airsoft guns, which shoots hard plastic pellets. He then started shooting I think it was 5-8 times at a student, who then ducked behind the desk until the firing ended,' he added."
Full Story
2-22-05
The Seattle Times
"Haskins rents space for the class in the N.W. Tactical Urban Training Center, a fake city tucked inside a plain-Jane white warehouse in a Kent office park. The facility opened last year to provide space for police SWAT training. A gumball machine dispenses plastic BBs that serve as ammo for these 'airsoft' guns - replicas of real weapons that can be safely fired at people in protective gear."
Full Story
1-30-05
Daily Southtown
"'These things are starting to look more and more real,' said Larry Hammer, deputy police chief of Elk Grove Village, where the sale and use of BB guns has been outlawed since the mid-1990s."
Full Story
AirsoftGunHelp.com Editor's Note: This article makes a very poor distinction between BB guns and airsoft guns which may mislead readers. This paragraph stands out the most "About 3.2 million BB guns are sold every year, and children use the guns as they always have, for target practice, petty vandalism or ill-advised yet quite-common games of shooting tag.
The replica guns use cartridges of compressed carbon dioxide to shoot small metal BBs or plastic pellets.
The gas-powered guns can shoot a metal BB at as much as 350 feet per second, about half the speed of a real bullet." BB guns are never intended to be shot at other people. Airsoft guns are -- as long as all of the proper safety precautions are taken. I have been impressed by the level of quality journalism other writers have taken when approaching airsoft guns. After reading this article it is clear that this writer failed to properly research the subject.
1-28-05
Contra Costa Sun
"So as it turns out it was illegal to do Airsofting, and it is also illegal to fire anything like that in Lafayette. This includes airsoft guns, paintball guns, rubber band guns, and even spit balls."
Full Story
12-28-04
St. Petersburg Times Tampa Bay
"..many parents say the game teaches teamwork and strategy, like other sports. When used responsibly, the guns don't harm, they say. The plastic pellets injure less than a hit from a linebacker on the junior varsity football squad. "
Full Story
12-20-04
Milwaukee Journal Sentinal
"Don't let the name fool you. There is no "soft" when you're hit by an Airsoft BB. Morgan Evans, 22, of Marshall says: "If you don't mind getting shot, it's the sport for you. However, if you mind BB's flying at you, then maybe you want to stick with the X-box or the PlayStation 2."
Full Story
12-05-04
Milwaukee Journal Sentinal
"..The effort seems to have paid off, Brookfield police Capt. Phil Horter said, because police have received few complaints lately. Horter even purchased Airsofts for both his sons, 8 and 10, who are allowed to bring the toys on family outings to a vacation spot in northern Wisconsin. An avid hunter, Horter said the toys show kids the importance of gun safety before they are old enough for the real thing."
Full Story
11-23-04
Asbury Park Press
"'It doesn't change the charge of armed robbery,' Lawson said yesterday. "Whether it's an imitation gun or make-believe, or if a guy stuck his finger in his pocket and pointed it at the victim, it would still be armed robbery. As long as (victims) believe there's a weapon involved, it remains armed robbery." Full Story
11-23-04
Marin Independant Journal
"..the suspect was showing the handgun-style BB gun to friends at the school, police said. Police said he fired the weapon to demonstrate how it worked. The pellet ricocheted off a wall, striking a nearby student in the back. The victim, who was uninjured, alerted school officials, who called police, Boehle said." Full Story
10-13-04
The Ann Arbor News
"Washtenaw County appeared to be one of the only counties where prosecutors believed airsoft guns qualified as firearms. Several other county prosecutors and the Michigan State Police disagreed, saying the plastic pellets they shoot are not a dangerous projectile, as defined by the law." Full Story
There are many sites which cover news pertaining to new airsoft guns and airsoft players. I am unaware of any sites that actively keep track of news about airsoft from non-airsoft sources. It is critical that airsoft players be aware of incidents and new laws which may pertain to them. AirsoftgunHelp advocates responsible airsoft gun use and encourages all players to understand and follow safety guidelines whenever using airsoft guns.
Please read our section on Airsoft Gun Safety.
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