Thread: Mother wants Paintball guns regulated

Mothman, absolutely no problem, Bro. We all love these discussions.

FWIW, while noble, I think you're spinning your wheels here. A paintball to the eyeball literally explodes the orb due to the intense pressures generated when two objects try to occupy the same space at the same time. Gory? Yes. Avoidable? Absolutely. This is a tragic instance and something that should be reviewed by everyone even remotely connected to paintball. The more MOM distracts from her negligence, the better her chance for a jury to throw her the sympathy stakes.

But the big question still looms if she is successful... Who's going to be the first in line to "register" your paintball marker? Not I. I've spent countless hours teaching and writing about proper paintball safety techniques. I'm sure I'm not the only one around that can claim the same, including yourself, I'd guess. Thousands of players who have taken the time and effort to handle their equipment and play in a safe and responsible manner are now kicked in the ass because of one woman who CHOSE not to be responsible. It sucks that her son was ignorant to the situation, too. But at 15 years old, I kind of think he knew he shouldn't have removed the goggles. I'd say it's a case of, "Nah. It's ok. I won't get hit."

I'd let this mother play the hand she's been dealt. IMHO, her only reasoning for bringing anyone in paintball into it is to use them as a tool against the sport. (And that's not the paintballer talking, that's 25 years as a senior multi-line claims adjuster and supervisor... ) This baby has cha-ching power, a la habeus corpus stamped all over it. I don't know who made and/or sold the marker that he was using, but I'd certainly check the county suit filings about a year from the original incident, depending on when the statute runs...

What say Barrister Bobio? Opine? 2:

Great discussion!

GFGJESTER and MOTHMAN,

I live in the town next to Portland, CT. where this game took place and it is get very little attention, and paintball is big enough in CT. that I don't think any legislation will go anywhere, if they try, I promise you I will be on the floor of the state legislature, explaining how this is completely inane and ineffective.

Unfortunately I have seen the affects of a paintball to the eye. Back in 1990 I was working in VA., and playing ball at a field near Manasses, VA. I was on the field with several members of the LRRP's (1989 NSG World Champions) we all had SI Bushmasters that were VERY slick and smooth. This was before barrel plugs, so we normally walked of the field with guns uncocked and in a safe direction. As we all exited the field one of the guys (didn't know him before this, can't remember his name now) stumbled on a tree root. He was holding his gun by the pump and when he stumbled the gun cocked and fired and hit him just below the eye, from about 12" away. His eye ball was laying on his cheek, after crushing a syrofoam cup and adding wet paper towels, scupping the eye up and then wrapped his head with a bandage to hold the cup in place. After a cornia transplant and numerous other operations, he returned to the field and started playing again, with one eye, because it only saw shadows. He arrived at the field wearing his goggles, and didn't take them off until he left the field.

It isn't always negligence that cause accidents, but in the case of this kid in Portland, the parents of the victim and the shooter are to blame, not the paintball marker.

gnarly story. man, im glad cannibals dad and uncles played and showed us the ropes back when we were kids. we were forunate to start playing at 12-13 yrs old with grown ups who took the sport seriously. im glad there were safe and supervised places to play like splat 1 was here when we were young.

Parental responsibility people....and in this day of secular progressive socialism that is being crammed down our throats, the inclination towards litigation, I mean legislation (I can't tell the two apart anymore) makes me sick. Mr. Wizard summed this up rather well, but this is nothing more than a spin case from parental irresponsibility to some kind of sick martyrdom.

This is not MADD folks...an organization with merit against a social injustice that parents/anybody have no control over. With MADD, you are a victim of negligence, yet this woman, with her lack of skills is the source of the negligence, not the victim. Actually, Mothman's bullets should have been questions this mother should have carefully researched if no educated parental figure was around, especially if playing outlaw ball.

This situation is quite the opposite from the MADD example, but you get the feeling that such an unmerited grassroots uprising of ill informed mothers could easily start with these emotional stories.... here comes MAPP (Mothers Against Paintball Players)

Seriously, lets take firearms since the obvious comparisons are underlying this argument. My Father, a police officer for years, educated me on the internal workings of firearms at a young age. His teaching not only comprised the mechanics, but also to respect the firearm and by target shooting/hunting, understanding the devastating firepower these weapons have. They were to be treated with RESPECT! Same goes for paintball, or guess what, you may sustain a fatal injury. If I did not hold those values reliably, then I was not going to have the "privilege" of using them. This rule applied to everything in my life as a young boy, not just weapons....

Quick analogy. I was teaching my now 3yr old months ago how to ride a bike. I instructed him on the proper safety equipment and to make completely clear not to approach the state highway or there would be some serious trouble coming his way. Now, if he does not wear the equipment on my watch, gets hurt, do I get to blame the bike manufacturer? Do we ban bicycles? If he knowledgeably goes to the highway and is injured (God forbid), do I get to make legislation/litigation against the DOT or car manufacturers....? This has no merit, but when the topic is a projectile device, somehow this line of thinking is thrown out by those who do not understand the overarching problem.....

Backyard ball and stupidity, sounds just as safe as a freshman congressman (sorry, not PC) congressperson with bright ideas!

There is no dumbass vaccine, hind sight is always 20/20. Poor Chris's mother obviously had no concerns before hand.

all i have to say to that dumb lady comes from my favorite cartoon robot,,,"She can bite my shiny metal A$$"... i hate people who have to blam everything else b/c they can't take the responciblity themselves