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[Rellik]

Someone did a drive by on me with one of those here in the UK. It was a metal pellet too, but he was a shit aim and hit the wall.

If I was American id have probably pissed my pants thinking it was real.

 

[tkscz]

CO2 guns should have some sort of regulation, at least need an ID and be 21 to buy one. They aren't as dangerous as real guns, but still can do harm. There are spring loaded BB guns that shoot plastic soft pellets though. Those I don't believe should have any regulations (they are essentially toys).

Circumstances under which an airsoft gun can be deadly:

• You threaten someone with it and they shoot you in response
• Someone beats you to death with it
• You trip and fall with your eye socket onto the barrel, and your weight drives the barrel into your brain
• Point blank shot to an unprotected eye with a particularly high powered type of airsoft gun like a sniper rifle. If the angle is just right, it might go into the brain.
• You accidentally ingest a part of the gun while maintaining it and choke to death
• An explosion propels the airsoft gun at high velocity into your body

The bolded ones are pretty much "this can happen with anything", but I think that was the point.

 

[Ambient80]

These should be illegal since they look like real guns. Not because they are non-deadly.

I'm not sure if it's federal or state regulations, but all that I've seen have a bright orange barrel or muzzle or slide to signify that it's fake.

 

[Vyer]

yeah, the plastic pellet airsoft guns are pretty harmless for the most part. bb guns are a different story

 

[Akuun]

Some BB guns are powerful enough to cause serious harm or kill at close range. They should probably be regulated, and probably are.

Weaker airsoft guns are okay, aside from the ones that look too realistic and might cause cops to mistake them for real guns. That's why the orange barrel thing is important.

 

[ZOONAMI]

Here's my issue, the law considers them the equivalent of an actual firearm if you were to let's say commit an armed robbery with a replica or an air soft gun that looked like a real gun and does not have an orange tip.

Thus, they should be regulated in the same way as actual firearms.

I understand it's about the perception of threat on the victims of the robbery, but if they found out after the fact the gun was unloaded, using blanks, or a replica, I would think most victims would not take the stance that the weapon should be treated as an actual firearm for the purposes of punishment.

You are actually making a conscious decision to mininimize potential damage by not using an actual gun, and that should have some weight as far as charges/sentencing.

So yeah it shouldn't be a weird double standard, either regulate them in the same way as actual firearms or don't treat them as actual firearms when they are used in a crime.

 

[inner-G]

Some stupid fucking responses in this thread.
A pencil isn't the same as an airsoft gun because nobody is going to mistake a pencil for a real gun and blow your fucking brains out for carrying one.

People mistake cellphones and wallets for guns and shoot people. Son't know why a pencil would be so different.

 

[NervousXtian]

Which one did you buy for $12 that you say looks real?

 

[Royal_Phalanx]

The UK has a fairly decent compromise - you can go online or go into a hobbyist store and buy airsoft guns 'off the peg' but they are always coloured bright orange or neon green or whatever. Not just the nib, all the way through.

If you want untouched guns that are realistic colours (not even the nib) or high-powered gas/electric airsoft guns, you have to have a 'license' to prove you have a good reason to do so - you can get this through proof of working in film or whatever, or by getting approval from an airsoft gaming site or war recreation society. If you've been several times and are something they can put you onto a register of players/enthuisasts that the government keeps, and when you then go to the store the store can check this database, see you're valid to buy the realistic stuff, and open their full stock to you.

I think this is a decent compromise, and stops teenagers from running around with guns that resemble the real deal very, very closely (which is how it used to be).

I find our laws annoying as an airsofter. Going to fields to play for enough times to get membership is a pain in the ass when your time is limited. I mean, other countries do fine without them, and it's not like people couldn't spray them black or anything. Talked to a Swedish guy playing airsoft here for a day and he told me "your laws are ridiculous". At least it's not like Australia where it's banned or the Netherlands where you need full background checks, etc. to even buy an airsoft gun to play airsoft with.

I actually have a pellet firing revolver with fake shells that you put .177 pellets into that's more powerful than airsoft yet I simply walked into an airgun store and bought it with ID.

 

[Moose Biscuits]

I find our laws annoying as an airsofter. Going to fields to play for enough times to get membership is a pain in the ass when your time is limited. I mean, other countries do fine without them, and it's not like people couldn't spray them black or anything. Talked to a Swedish guy playing airsoft here for a day and he told me "your laws are ridiculous". At least it's not like Australia where it's banned or the Netherlands where you need full background checks, etc. to even buy an airsoft gun to play airsoft with.

I actually have a pellet firing revolver with fake shells that you put .177 pellets into that's more powerful than airsoft yet I simply walked into an airgun store and bought it with ID.

I think it's actually easier to get a shotgun certificate in the UK than an airsoft licence.

Of course, you can't go running about in a forest with your friends firing shotguns at each other. Well, not more than once. But you could go clay pigeon/trap shooting.

 

[PSqueak]

I would think they would be regulated, just not by the same department as the firearms one.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

They're not capable of harm the way a gun is. So no, regulating them is pointless. Just bureaucracy for the sake of itself.

 

[muteki]

It is a bit silly to think that if you want to sell a G1 Megatron in the US it has to have a orange tip attached but airsoft guns that look a lot more realistic are A-OK.

 

[One Eyed Willy]

They're not capable of harm the way a gun is. So no, regulating them is pointless. Just bureaucracy for the sake of itself.

 

[Tenck]

Imagine my surprise when I learned I could kick someone's head in, and the government just lets me walk without a permit to use my feet.

 

[Goldenroad]

I think most sane people are more worried about civilians walking around with regular guns. Let's work on getting those off the streets and out of peoples houses first, and then we can worry about the toy guns.