Every year, nearly 3000 children and teens die from gunfire, and nearly 14,000 are injured.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Airsoft gun arena proposed in Thousand Oaks, CA

A couple is trying to create an Airsoft pellet gun shooting arena in Thousand Oaks, California, where kids and adults can shoot at each other.

http://www.toacorn.com/news/2012-02-02/Front_Page/Air_gun_arena_proposed.html

Last week, the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission recommended the City Council grant the T.O. couple a special use permit to open an indoor recreation facility at 1260 Rancho Conejo Boulevard in Newbury Park where children and adults can do battle with air guns.
“Obviously, we’re very excited and grateful for that,” Jennifer Weak said after the commission’s unanimous vote.
The final decision rests with the City Council, which could hear the matter at its Feb. 7 meeting. If the council approves the permit, Weak said, she and her husband plan to open Patriot Airsoft within two months inside an 11,600-squarefoot building at the industrial complex near the Amgen campus.
Airsoft is a brand of air-pellet guns and assault weapons that look, feel and often weigh the same as real guns.
....
City law prohibits the discharge of firearms, even imitation ones, within city limits unless it’s within a sanctioned facility. In order to open a paintball or air gun range, a special use permit is required.
No such permits are currently in use in T.O.
Shooting a gun, even an imitation one, outdoors constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, City Attorney Chris Norman said.
Thousand Oaks Police Capt. Bill Ayub said his department has no problem with the Weaks’ proposed business. But he does warn Airsoft gun owners against carrying the guns in public; he said it’s illegal for someone to handle an imitation gun in a threatening manner.
“It is a very big concern that these are very realistic guns out there in the hands of some teenagers . . . that’s definitely of concern,” Ayub said.
Ayub said this brand of air gun looks so realistic that T.O. police train with them.
State law requires the barrel of an imitation firearm to have an orange tip, although some users remove it. Those who do could be found guilty of a misdemeanor. The court sets the penalty for a misdemeanor.
“You could put one of those things next to a real gun and take a step back and your best gun expert’s not going to tell the difference,” he said.

This is very disconcerting. As we have shown in cases posted here in just the last month at Kid Shootings, pellet guns can be dangerous, even deadly. Children have died after being shot by them. And their intentionally-realistic appearance has led to the scaring of citizens and even the recent death of a boy in Texas by police who thought he had a real handgun in school.

Whatever happened to the idea of paint ball? Or laser tag? Do people really need to knock it up a notch and shoot at each other with metal projectiles which have been shown to injure and even kill?

Right now the arena is in the approval phase. If you live in the area, we strongly urge you to weigh in on the dangers of these Airsoft weapons.

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for being concerned!
    That is the reason that we want to open Patriot Airsoft. We need to teach the children proper handeling of guns. These kids that get their guns from Big 5 and Sports Chalet are not properly trained when they are purchased. These are the kids running around the neighborhood shooting at each other.
    Patriot Airsoft is owned by a local law enforcement agent who is properly trained in handeling weapons. This knowledge will be passed on to all players in order to give everyone a safe place to play, in a controlled environment.

    Airsoft guns DO NOT shoot metal projectiles. They are plastic bb's. They do not cause anymore injury than paint ball guns would, in fact according to studies, Airsoft is safer than paint ball.

    Please note that we both grew up in the community and we are also concerned with injuries related to guns. We will be providing training courses as well as all precautions will be taken while inside the arena to insure a safe and educational experience for anyone.

    We did of course receive unanimous favorable decisions from both the City Planning Dept and the City Council. We didn't have a single person at either meeting objecting the safe experience we plan to bring to our community.

    If you have any further questions, please don't hestitate to contact us at patriotairsoft@hotmail.com

    Thank you,
    Jennifer and Anthony Weak
    Patriot Airsoft

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  2. I think you need to do some research on Airsoft Guns, not pellet guns. Pellet guns are not used in any Airsoft facility. An outdoors airsoft arena has a maximum PLASTIC BB speed of 400 FPS which cannot pierce through the body. The bullet wound leaves a mark equivalent or less than to that of a paintball gun. The indoors facility that is proposed (and now open) will have a maximum bullet speed of 350. Again, do some research before exaggeratedly blabbing about "kid shootings."

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  3. @ Shaxed and Patriot Airsoft: Before you write off Airsoft guns and other BB or pellet guns as being of no concern for the safety of children, we invite you to click on the "Pellet and BB Guns" and the "Pellet Guns in School" keywords, in the "Labels" column to the right. There you will find plenty of examples where these guns have been used to wound, threaten, and even kill children. I assure you that these are only a small proportion of the stories we come across. If you then feel that our concern is unwarranted, I can only say that you are blinding yourselves to the danger.

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  4. I am a Therapist, mental health, and I have a 15 year old client that insists it is legal to shoot a pellet gun, not air soft, in his back yard. True or false?

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Jennifer, laws differ depending on the municipality. You'll have to consult your local law enforcement. If he lives in a rural area, there's a pretty good chance it's legal.

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  5. Just came across this posting, the ignorance here is astounding. A BB gun shoots a 177 caliber metal BB projectile usually powered by a co2 cartridge. A pellet gun fires a lead pellet and is most commonly used for hunting and target plinking. AN AIRSOFT GUN FIRES A PLASTIC BB AND ACTUALLY IS SAFER THAN PAINTBALL. THEY WILL NOT PENETRATE SKIN OR KILL ANY CHILDREN. I invite you to present some acts that dispute what I have just stated.

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  6. @dtephoto: then you haven't paid attention. Here at Kid Shootings we have published scores of examples of kids being injured or killed by them, and many more where these guns have been used to rob and threaten. If you doubt it, see just a few examples below:
    http://kidshootings.blogspot.com/2013/10/1-year-old-georgia-toddler-dead-of.html

    http://kidshootings.blogspot.com/2013/06/15-year-old-pennsylvania-boy-dies-in.html

    http://kidshootings.blogspot.com/2013/03/5-year-old-boy-shot-in-head-penetrating.html

    http://kidshootings.blogspot.com/2013/01/10-year-old-california-boy.html

    http://kidshootings.blogspot.com/2012/10/9-year-alaska-old-boy-shot-and-killed.html

    http://kidshootings.blogspot.com/2012/09/10-year-old-michigan-girl-in-critical.html

    http://kidshootings.blogspot.com/2012/08/12-year-old-boy-seriously-injured-by.html

    http://kidshootings.blogspot.com/2012/08/7-year-old-west-virginia-boy-fights-for.html

    See also the many, many more here:
    http://kidshootings.blogspot.com/search/label/Pellet%20and%20BB%20Guns

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