The following is an open letter from paintball manufactures and paintball field operators concerning the Anti-Paintball and Airsoft proposal that is in the process of becoming law. We at ProPaintball encourage those of you in the state of California and across the United States to take this issue very seriously. This bill will have far reaching effects and if passed. This is not a drill.
Dear Paintball Manufactures, operators, and enthusiasts
As you may or may not know California State government is looking to pass a new law that will affect paintball in California. Bill SB798 is intended to eliminate an exemption to the current “imitation firearms” law. Currently this exemption allows the Airsoft, BB, and Paintball industry to manufacture black markers/guns that could be considered “look-a-like” firearms; and depending who you talk to, anything that is black with a barrel is a “look-a-like” firearm. A small group of manufactures and operators have become aware of the law and have pulled together to begin fighting the passage of the law or having it amended to exclude paintball from Bill SB798.
Current Working Group:
The current industry group has formed into the California Paintball Safety Coalition (CPSC), which includes following companies: KEE Action Sports, Tippmann, DYE, Kingman, Giant Paintball/Hollywood Sports, and Mercury Public Affairs. Mercury is an outside lobbying firm that the group has retained to help us navigate our complex political system. The owners, CEO’s, and senior executives of the group are all dedicated to making sure paintball is protected and continues to be played in the exciting manner we have all come to love. Add your own business name to the bottom of this letter to show your support and then please forward this letter on.
We need your help
In order for our voice to be heard we need to take the following actions together: first we have developed two generic letters that you as a paintball operator or player can fill out and send into your local representative and state senator. We also have an active Facebook page “Save Paintball in California” please become a friend and pass the link to other players and operators. Also on this page is information on how to find your local representative to mail the letter to as well as a link to the actual bill. The links and info will also be available on the websites of each of the paintball companies listed above. We are also creating posters and handouts that will be available to all California paintball businesses for display.
Is this a real threat?
The answer is yes. The bill has been fast tracked through multiple levels of state legislature and is preparing to go up for a vote on June 14th. Once it passes there will be no going back and a new era of recession will hit both industries, which is why we must issue a call to action to players and industry members alike.
What not to do
It is important that we conduct ourselves in a professional manner as we deal with this issue. This is why we have gone to great lengths to create a form letter for all parties which everyone can use. Our message must be clear and concise if it is to be effective. We are portraying paintball as a recreational game and sport in order to make sure we have a strong position that the political system can stand behind.
Resources:
Sincerely,
Arthur Chang (Kingman Corp.), Billy Ceranski (KEE Action Sports), Dave DeHaan (DYE Precision), Dennis Bukowski & Giovanni D’Egidio (SC Village, Hollywood Sports Park, California Paintball Park, Giant Paintball Alpine and Giant Paintball Lakeside), Howard Kosick (Tippmann Sports, LLC.), John Robinson (KEE Action Sports)