California SB 798? Be Responsible for your Airsoft and those who around you!

tekkenman

dont know if you are aware of this and i have no idea if this will affect Irish Airsoft, but please take your time and have a read.

California Senate Bill 798 was introduced by Senator Kevin de Leon(http://sd22.senate.ca.gov/) and passed the Senate Public Safety Committee by a 3 to 2 vote on March 26. This bill, if passed, would prohibit "the sale, manufacture, transportation, receipt, or distribution of imitation firearms for commercial purposes" unless "the entire exterior surface of the device is
white, bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright
blue, bright pink, or bright purple, either singly or as the
predominant color in combination with other colors in any pattern,
as provided by federal regulations governing imitation firearms,
or where the entire device is constructed of transparent or
translucent materials which permits unmistakable observation of
the device's complete contents, as provided by federal regulations
governing imitation firearms."

Senator de Leon worked with the Los Angeles Chief of Police, Charlie Beck, to create this bill. They think that it will "protect Californians." Their perceived need for the bill is based on an event that was reported in December, 2010, in the Los Angeles Times. The story was about a 13-year-old Glassell Park boy who was shot and injured by a Los Angele Police Department officer. Officer Victor Abarca shot the boy, thinking that the boy was producing a real gun when ordered to surrender. According to the LA Times article, Lt. John Romero, police spokesman, "said the youth pulled the gun from his clothing in a motion consistent with drawing a weapon." It also said that the event occured after 7:50 PM in December, and that the officer was shining a flashlight on the boy.


I have not been able to find out if Officer Abarca thinks that he would have acted differently if the boy had pulled a brightly colored or clear gun from his clothing in a motion consistent with drawing a weapon. This is a tragedy. It very easily could have resulted in a death. I cannot imagine what Officer Abarca is going through, or how terrible it would be for a police officer to find out they killed a child with an airsoft gun in a similar incident. I would be willing to completely give up playing airsoft if it would mean keeping such an event from occuring. That brings us to the question, "What would keep this from occuring again?" Would SB 798 keep this from occuring? Would compliance with current legislation and enforcement of already existing laws keep it from occuring. I noticed that no charges were filled against the injured boy or his two companions, despite the following:
Current law provides that sale of any BB device to a minor is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. (Penal Code § 19910.)
Current law provides that every person who furnishes any BB device to any minor, without the express or implied permission of a parent or legal guardian of the minor, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. (Penal Code § 19915.)
Current law provides that no person may openly display or expose any imitation firearm in a public place, as defined. (Penal Code § 20170.) A violation is an infraction punishable by a fine of $100 for the first offense, and $300 for a second offense. A third or subsequent violation is punishable as a misdemeanor. (Penal Code § 20180.) http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0751-0800/sb_798_cfa_20110427_154959_sen_comm.html

In addition to these infractions, the youth did not comply with the insructions of the police officer. Would requiring adult airsoft players in mil-sim games, out of view of the public, to use brightly colored or clear guns result in the above laws being enforced or prevent an officer from firing when a dark figure in the night pulls a "gun from his clothing in a motion consistent with drawing a weapon" after being ordered to surrender? If it will, then please pass SB 798. Do we want police who are trained to act quickly in response to threatening movements to hesitate while acting based on the color of the weapon they may not be able to see? Some have even called this bill a "Cop Killer" bill. It seems the author of the bill is unaware of the many brightly colored real steel guns that exist (http://www.thegunsource.com/category/2580_Pink_Pistols.aspx?w=%2BCJWDALnoPg%3D). We already have the laws in place that are obviously not enforced. More laws only hurt those of us citizens and parents who are repsonsible and law-abiding. We already have the laws in place that are obviously not enforced. More laws only hurt those of us citizens and parents who are repsonsible and law-abiding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwxUx06yf8I

ronan keane

I don't understand how this will effect Ireland

Firekitten

A, It won't, the UK 'VCRA' May, but this, no.
B, We already know.

Stercus Accidit

The IAA discussed coloring guns with the DOJ before and it was dropped as an idea as paint is not a security tool when it comes in a can for €10 in the local shop.
You end up shafting legitimate players and scumbags won't think twice about using a spray can to make it look real again.
Instead laws against the inappropriate use of replica guns and brandishing were introduced, protecting legal players and the public from scumbags.

Here in Cali things seem to be going well from what I have read on the local forum and the above argument and others are being used. The NRA is involved as are local retailer Evike and I imagine others too.

Lemming

ronan keane wrote: »

I don't understand how this will effect Ireland

Firekitten wrote: »

A, It won't, the UK 'VCRA' May, but this, no.
B, We already know.

It wont affect Irish airsoft directly. Where it may .... is assuming this bill goes through (and I'm not sure that it will for a number of reasons as Stercius has alluded to in part), one of two outcomes may occur that may affect Irish airsoft;

• Some Irish politician gets wind of the CA bill and tries to pilliory airsoft in Ireland for political agenda.
• Other countries adopt similar approach and some Irish politician gets wind of it all and tries to pilliory airsoft in Ireland for political agenda.

Both of the above possibilities will be clumsily applied and easily countered short of a darwin-award winner occuring in and around the time they try it on. Still relatively easily countered.

I can't help but feel there is a certain sense of karma in what's going on with this bill given the amount of smirking and snorting that went on from some quarters in America (via Arnies Airsoft) around the time that the VCRB was raised and later became the VCRA in the UK. Regardless, it should be opposed not just on grounds of bias towards airsoft but on pure logical application. The police themselves have even stated that they would be unsure of a repeat incident only with a brightly coloured RIF instead.

Hivemind187

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

The IAA discussed coloring guns with the DOJ before and it was dropped as an idea as paint is not a security tool when it comes in a can for €10 in the local shop.
You end up shafting legitimate players and scumbags won't think twice about using a spray can to make it look real again.
Instead laws against the inappropriate use of replica guns and brandishing were introduced, protecting legal players and the public from scumbags.

Here in Cali things seem to be going well from what I have read on the local forum and the above argument and others are being used. The NRA is involved as are local retailer Evike and I imagine others too.

This has come up before and I still think it could be a good opportunity for the IAA to make themselves available to the organised (official) effort in the states to combat this. Since we've already had this argument with our own authorities and are (by most accounts) the best organised country in the world in terms of politics (if you think the IAA are lacking you should see the bickering in other countries!) we may be able to offer advice.

Even if we can't, it would go a long way to encouraging a vital (and almost completely overlooked) area of the airsoft scene - international relations. Establishing connections between the international bodies can only benefit the airsoft community on a global level. Increased visiting between nations, movement of money etc. Such things help to lend a character of legitimacy (in other words the general publics perception) to the sport as a whole and, as a bonus, makes airsoft a harder target for opportunistic politicians and journalists.

Tommyboy71

An e-mail has been sent to offer the Irish Airsoft communities support and assistance (if requested) to the Californian Airsoft Community. This comes on the back of Hiveminds suggestion a couple of weeks ago. I just never got around to doing it.

Zomg Okay

It amazes me how thick some (most) politicians are.

Any Tom, Dick or Harry could take a bright spraypaint to his firearm and then no-one would bat an eyelid if he walked down the street with it until he pulled the trigger.

johnboysligo

Zomg Okay wrote: »

Any Tom, Dick or Harry could take a bright spraypaint to his firearm and then no-one would bat an eyelid if he walked down the street with it until he pulled the trigger.

the flip side of this is any Tom, Dick or Harry with a can of dark spray paint could turn a toy into a realistic looking firearm such a stupid "protection" law doesn't need to exist and waste everyone's time money and effort, I hope nothing as silly and backwards like this comes into Ireland.

Inari

johnboysligo wrote: »

the flip side of this is any Tom, Dick or Harry with a can of dark spray paint could turn a toy into a realistic looking firearm such a stupid "protection" law doesn't need to exist and waste everyone's time money and effort, I hope nothing as silly and backwards like this comes into Ireland.

Thanks to the IAA, it shouldn't. They argued the case about criminals using 'Two-toning' to disguise real guns as replicas, and the same for the Blaze Orange tip...so we should be fine in that regard.

NakedDex

It's true. I've resprayed and re-detailed a few Nerf rifles for a friend (long story) and they've ended up looking like a completely realistic rifle to anyone who hadn't seen it before treatment. If a Nerf gun can look plausible, anything can.
Hell, realistic looking water pistols have been around since I was a kid, and that wasn't today or yesterday.

Longsword_CZ

.. and there is proof, that if something is stupid, it stick. As is said before, bad guys easily disguise their guns with these colors lowered cops attention until moment when they start shooting. And vice versa, there is no problem paint harmless water pistol look as "real deal". As far as I remember, Ive been told (sometimes very loudly by my Drill Instructor) "Handle any weapon as weapon!" No law needed, just brain ... apparently this "device" isn't present in California as should be, especially in skull of elected officials ...
I just deeply hope, that situation changed to better, otherwise snowball effect can ruin our sport worldwide ...

bullets

Snippit copied and pasted from a facebook page in case anyone is interested.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-On-California-SB-798/220859654597216

"SB798 can be reconsidered for another hearing in the fall. We will keep you all informed. For now. THANK YOU FOR SAVING AIRSOFT AND THE HUNDREDS OF JOBS, CALIFORNIA ECONOMY AND SAVING EXISTING LAW FROM CORRUPTION. WE DID IT!!"