Should replica weapons be banned?

Xaccers · 21-02-2005, 21:30

Whenever parliment has attempted to create a law banning imitation firearms, they have stumbled on the legal definitition of what one is, as in certain circumstances even a twiglet can be used as an imitation firearm.
There are however rumours that the new home secretary is planning on tackling the issue again.
The majorty of "gun" crime is actually commited with non-bullet firing weapons, either air guns, deactivated guns, blank firing guns, or airsoft weapons, so if these were banned, there would be a huge reduction in gun crime, although statisticly there would be a huge increase in the percentage of gun crime involving real weapons.

A recent amnesty claimed to have received over 40,000 "guns", however, only 6,000 were illegally owned firearms, the rest consisted of toys, deactivated guns, airsoft, air guns, blank firers etc.
So legally, only 6,000 were brought in under amnesty, as there rest were perfectly legal to own.

**Paul M** · 21-02-2005, 21:31

No.

Halcyon · 21-02-2005, 22:10

Some toys are so like the real thing they should be banned. They can promote violence and are in my opinion a bad influence on children.

Xaccers · 21-02-2005, 22:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Some toys are so like the real thing they should be banned. They can promote violence and are in my opinion a bad influence on children.

Could you please define "bad influence" for us?

bopdude · 21-02-2005, 22:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Some toys are so like the real thing they should be banned. They can promote violence and are in my opinion a bad influence on children.

Rubbish, I like many others grew up playing ' war games ' with no problems at all

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Could you please define "bad influence" for us?

Ditto

And NO, replicas should not be banned, but if your gonna do the crime be prepared to do the time, IF YOU LIVE, coz then the big boys a gonna come in

Xaccers · 21-02-2005, 22:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by bopdude

And NO, replicas should not be banned, but if your gonna do the crime be prepared to do the time, IF YOU LIVE, coz then the big boys a gonna come in

That's the point, if someone commits a crime with a replica gun, they're a danger to themselves for when the police turn up with real MP5's
If someone commits a crime with a real gun they're a danger to everyone.

bopdude · 21-02-2005, 22:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xaccers

That's the point, if someone commits a crime with a replica gun, they're a danger to themselves for when the police turn up with real MP5's
If someone commits a crime with a real gun they're a danger to everyone.

Thats what I meant, replicas / toys are just that, toys

Halcyon · 21-02-2005, 22:32

Ok, I'm not saying all people will be affected.
I feel that guns, knives, etc are used for killing and murder and young kids shouldnt think of this as a game in my opinion.
By the words "bad influence" I mean it could lead kids to think of the use of wepons as a standard thing and accept their use of wepons as a normal way of life.
Im not saying everyone who plays with a toy gun will go and own one and shoot random people in their later life, I just feel that it might make them think differently to the use of real wepons if in later life they had the opurtonity to use one or own one.
I would much rather keep my future children away from such wepons wether they are real or fake.

EDIT: I guess this thing I have with guns is because I dont like them full stop. My uncle who worked in the carrabean for 8 years was held at gun point in the shop he worked in once and it scared the hell out of him and he was quite shaken up for several months after. It turned out only one of the guns used was real and the others were actually well built fake ones which must have been toys.
So it isnt really a good thing, real gun or fake.

21-02-2005, 22:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Some toys are so like the real thing they should be banned. They can promote violence and are in my opinion a bad influence on children.

welcome back from your holiday -

I note the earlier posts & remember that I had a 'cap gun' that made a noise & a 'potato gun' that fired a stinging pellet of wet potato - which one do you want to be hit with?

wow - the smell from the loops of encapsulated gunpowder exploding, no matter how small, in the 'cap gun' is one of those bring back the past, smells

dilligaf1701 · 21-02-2005, 22:37

MMMmmm - I wonder if I should hide my phaser.

On a more serious note - My boy keeps asking for a 'gun' to play with when we go down the market on a Friday, but I've not really thought about it yet. I guess I'll have to soon tho...

bopdude · 21-02-2005, 22:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by homealone

a 'potato gun' that fired a stinging pellet of wet potato -

I had one of those, great fun

Xaccers · 21-02-2005, 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by dilligaf1701

MMMmmm - I wonder if I should hide my phaser.

On a more serious note - My boy keeps asking for a 'gun' to play with when we go down the market on a Friday, but I've not really thought about it yet. I guess I'll have to soon tho...

Now bb guns from market stalls i'd like to ban! (not saying that's what your boy wants)
Well, not the guns themselves, but the sale of them from non-airsoft shops by people who don't know the law on their use or sale.
Also it would stop chav's getting hold of them!
__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by bopdude

I had one of those, great fun

spud guns rocked!
Had hundreds of holy potatoes because of them

dilligaf1701 · 21-02-2005, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Now bb guns from market stalls i'd like to ban! (not saying that's what your boy wants)
Well, not the guns themselves, but the sale of them from non-airsoft shops by people who don't know the law on their use or sale.
Also it would stop chav's getting hold of them!

No indeed he doesn't want a bb gun.... (He is only 3 and a bit) He just wants a cap gun - probably because of the noise I guess.

As for BB guns - I know only too well about chavs and their obsession with bb guns.

I am only REALLY wound up by the fact that I'm not allowed one at work so I could shoot the buggers back

21-02-2005, 22:43

No, they should not be banned. If some muppet wants to rob a bank with a ''toy'' gun, and ends up getting shot and killed by the police, tough t*tty. I grew up around real firearms, then spent five and a half years in the army, and know the damage that a bullet can inflict on the human body. A gun is nothing more than a mechanical device. It has no mind, feels no emotion, thus if someone wants to be ''big and bad'' and play with firearms, then they need to understand that ''if you live by the sword, you die by the sword''.

Xaccers · 21-02-2005, 22:49

I remember a darwin award where some spaniards had held up a bar.
Not wanting to actually hurt anyone they loaded blanks.
When the police turned up because the barmen hit the alarm button, things started to go downhill.
The robbers decided to come out shooting....