Irish Independent February 16th 2008

Hivemind187

Folks,

This appears in todays Indo and the second appears on Liz McManus' wesbite under press releases, please do not lose the cool and start banging off letters to the editor or to Ms McManus, the IAA is handling it.

Can a Moderator lock this thread immediately please.

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SHOP BOSS UNDER FIRE OVER PLANS FOR REPLICA GUN SALES

by PAUL MELIA

CHILDREN as young as five can buy realistic-looking toy guns including pistols, sniper rifles and shot guns because there is no law preventing their sale.

And residents in north Wicklow are up in arms over plans to open a shop selling the replica firearms for use in in a combat warfare game.

Go Tactical Ltd is due to open a shop on the Dargle Road in Bray, where customers will be able to buy equipment for use in the sport called airsoft.

Akin to paintballing, it involves opponents firing 6mm plastic pellets at each other from special replica guns.

The Criminal Justice Act 2006 says that weapons which fire ammunition at speeds less than one joule - as airsoft guns do - can be legally sold as they are not firearms, but using the replicas in criminal activity is an offense.

RULES

The company behind the shop, Go Tactical Ltd, says it will only sell to over-18's.

Peter Sharpe, who has been selling airsoft equipment online for since last year, offers assault rifles priced from €200 to €550.

"We can sell them to anybody, even a five-year-old who walks in off the street, but we in the Irish Airsoft Association have our own rules and won't sell to anyone who is under-18", he said.

He called for the law to be changed so that it is illegal to sell the guns to anyone other than adults.

But local TD Liz McManus (Lab) has vowed to stop the shop from opening.

She said: "These guns could be used in criminal activity. Any guard in any town would not welcome this. I think it's unacceptable to have a shop like this in a residential area."

The Department of Justice were unavailable for comment last night.
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From McManus Press Releases

Proposals to open a shop in Bray selling tactical weapons such as pistols, sniper rifles and shot guns, must not be allowed to proceed.

These weapons are airguns that discharge pellets, and as such, can only be sold by registered retailers, under Section 26 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. This shop is not registered with Gardai and I will be strenuously opposing it.

The weapons on sale are designed to look identical to weapons that discharge live ammunition, and if they become widely available they will inevitably end up being used for criminal purposes. They are also inherently dangerous themselves and in theory, are only supposed to used if people are wearing heavy-duty protective equipment.

I am also very concerned that this company is selling these weapons over the internet and I’m calling on the Minister for Justice to clamp down on these kinds of operations.

This shop is the last thing that the people of Bray need and I will be pursuing every legal avenue to ensure that it does not open.

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Just so you all know that this is already being handled and not to worry. We will correct the misconceptions and tackle the issue in our usual manner.

Go Tactical is operated by an individual member of the IAA and has been contacted in regard to this.

kdouglas

The below is taken from today's star newspaper, it's basically a summary of the article from the Independent.

Residents of a Wicklow town are up in arms over plans to open a shop selling toy guns for use in a combat warfare game.
Go Tactical is due to open in Bray later this month, with customer able to buy an array of weaponry for use in the sport, Airsoft.
It is legal to sell such weapons but local Labour TD Liz McManus said reseidents were concerned the imitation guns could be used in crime.

kdouglas

Below is the article from todays mirror, thanks to iceage for informing us of this.

Town all fired up over guns

HORRIFIED residents are up in arms over plans for a shop selling replica toy guns for use in a combat warfare game.

Go Tactical is to open on Bray's Dargle road in Wicklow this month, selling weapons for the sport airsoft.

It involves opponents dressing in camouflage gear and firing 6mm plastic pellets at each other from special guns.