California Paintball Safety Coalition – Consumer Letter
[Date]
The Honorable ____________
State CapitolRoom ____
Sacramento, CA 94249-____
RE: California Senate Bill 798
The Honorable ___________________,
My name is ___________________ and I am a paintball player living in ____________________. I am writing in opposition to California Senate Bill 798 as written.
The bill calls for imitation firearms, a classification which would include paintball markers, to be brightly colored (e.g., orange) in order to distinguish them from real firearms.
Paintball markers are already different from real firearms in appearance. Paintball markers don’t work unless they have an attached hopper (where the paintballs are stored) and an attached air / CO2 tank. I know that paintball markers are not toys, and that a paintball marker should only be pointed at another player wearing the necessary protective goggles and gear on a paintball field.
Paintball is a great team sport that gets me outside playing with my friends instead of sitting inside watching TV, playing videogames or surfing the internet. It’s great exercise and lets me experience the rush of being in the action instead of just playing with a video controller.
There are two types of paintball played. The first is speedball, where teams are indoors or outdoors on a field about the size of a hockey rink, with bunkers to hide behind. The object in speedball is to shoot the other team’s players until no one is left on the field. Ultimately, the goal is to capture the other team’s flag and return it to your side without being shot yourself. The second type of paintball is scenario, where people are playing on a much larger outdoor field that may look like a bunch of different things – an abandoned town, a wrecked car lot, a military operation, etc. Using the existing kinds of paintball markers enhances my experience on a scenario field, making it more realistic and closer to a video game. If I had to play with an orange or pink paintball marker, I would probably lose interest in the game.
Please reconsider SB 798 and its effect on paintball in California.
Sincerely,
Name: ________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________
Phone number: _________________________________________________
Email address: _________________________________________________
Voter registration number: ________________________________________
Select one:
- I confirm that I am 18 years or older.
- I am ______________________, the parent of the person named above, and I support this letter.