Paintball community says it’s about time gel blasters were regulated
SA’s paintball community says it’s high time gel blasters were regulated, with one operator adding he never understood how they were “getting away with it”.
SA News
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While the gel blaster community is up in arms about new regulations that require owners to obtain a firearms licence, members of the state’s paintball community say it’s high time the sport is brought into line with their rules.
Rohan, who only wished to use his first name, owns Paintball Park at Edinburgh North and runs the South Australian Paintball League.
He said he had always classed gel blasters as firearms and never allowed them at Paintball Park because of their lack of regulation.
“It doesn’t surprise me one bit that they’re classed as a firearm now,” Rohan said.
“I was always confused at how they were getting away with it (owning gel blasters without a firearms licence), it always baffled me.”
Paintball gun operators are required to have a firearms licence and can fire devices only at an authorised premises.
The rules, which came in to effect on October 1, class gel blasters under the Firearms Act, meaning people who wish to own an imitation gun will have to apply for a firearms licence or surrender their devices at police stations.
A six-month amnesty period has been offered, and more than 100 gel blasters have already been surrendered – with at least 62,000 to go, police say.
Around 11 applications have been put forward by gel blaster owners since regulations were introduced.
The gel blaster sport will now be modelled in the same way paintball, where you can fire a device only in an authorised venue where an operator is licensed.
Another paintball venue operator in Adelaide, who wished to remain nameless, said “it was about time” the new laws were introduced.
“I think it’s brilliant,” she said of the new laws.
“You don’t see people running around causing havoc (with paintball guns) like you do with gel blasters.”
She said the fact that gel blaster guns looked like real guns was dangerous.
“We’re not allowed to make our guns look realistic.”
She said gel blaster players should not have been surprised by the change.
“I think they should have seen it coming, everyone’s known it (the sport) was a loop hole to begin with.”
Kale Portlock, the president of the South Australian Paintball Association, said he thought the new rules were a bit harsh.
Mr Portlock said gel blaster and paintball gun owners should need a permit to operate the devices, not a firearms licence.