Why would you want to shoot someone?

I wish someone could really explain to me the attraction of things like "gel blasters" and "paintball guns". I just don't understand the attraction of "shooting" anyone - even in "fun". It isn't in the least funny.

There was a change to the legislation in this state which caused these gel blasters to be labelled as imitation fire-arms. It meant people had to register to be able to legally use them. 

There was an outcry from the uses of these "recreational toys". To me there is nothing "recreational" about them and they are not "toys" either. They are weapons. They can potentially do a great deal of harm.

An owner of a business selling these weapons has taken the government to court to try and get the legislation overturned. He has been encouraging people not to register their "toys" and not to hand them in under the amnesty which ends in April. I might once have sympathised with him over losing his business but I most certainly don't over his actions. Yes, there are some changes afoot but I don't think he should be allowed to get away with encouraging people to break the law.

The issue was of sufficient concern for this morning's paper to run an extensive piece about the issue - starting on the front page. People might sympathise with the owners of these things. Turn over a few pages though and there is another story - a story about Martin Bryant. 

Most people outside this country have probably forgotten Martin Bryant - if they ever knew about him in the first place. Martin Bryant is the man responsible for the Port Arthur massacre twenty-five years ago. He killed thirty-five people that day and he injured many others. There are people who are scarred for life, indeed a country which was scarred for life. 

The Prime Minister of the day brought in gun laws that some have attempted to water down ever since. Why? Why would you want to support anything which makes that sort of act easier to carry out?

The Senior Cat is as close to "pacifist" as it is possible to get. He has always said he would hurt someone else only to protect his family. He brought us up to believe the same. My siblings have brought their children up to believe that and they are bring their own children up the same way. You do physical harm to another person only if they are a real and present danger to others around you who need to be protected. It's not perfect, nothing is. It would be better to be able to say that you never do harm but the reality of the world is different.

But gel blasters and paintball guns are the opposite of this. The idea that they are some sort of toy is wrong. The idea that they are harmless is wrong. They aren't. They are weapons. The so-called "games" which are played using these things can be vicious and harmful. They can hurt people - psychologically if not physically. 

Hand your "weapons" in and find something more positive to do?