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Again, I made the horrible mistake here of not posting an entire encyclopedia of reasons.
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No, you've argued a point of view that is simply wrong and you continue to do so and I won't concede your point on this no matter how you restate it. I've taken the time to explain my reasoning because I think this is an important point to get straight going forward.
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Originally Posted by Greylocks
This now gets said every day to people who say we're wrong. I'd love a solution.
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Good, thats constructive, I can work with that.
Using replica laws as a way of saying you have to be 18+ to play airsoft is bypassing the real reasons for discouraging the under 18 from obtaining or pursing airsoft. I think it hurts the sport when we do that. We need to be encouraging and mentoring new players, not dissuading them from pursing the sport as a past time. Myself and many of my older teammates have brought to the team and mentored many under 18 year olds, even met with their parents to discuss airsoft with them - we've brought them to public and private games, vouched for them and they've ultimately ended up being valuable members of the team and the airsoft community. In fact, ask Zapples, he can tell you all about that. At one game last year at Wolfpack field Atreyu brought a crew of younger guys with him which he pre-arranged with us and that we then cleared with the field owner. We spent extra time with them and Atreyu has been mentoring them in the game and to their credit they were some of the best, most responsible players on the field that weekend. Had we stuck to our blanket policy on 18, we would have not had the pleasure of their company or their enthusiasm during the game. I am sure these guys will go on to play airsoft in their early adulthood.
Being under 18 years old is not the problem. Being irresponsible and immature is. Making bad decisions is. I've met many an over 18 year old who needed a kick in the pants in this department. So age might be a factor, it isn't the only factor and it shouldn't be drilled down to just that.
I also think making blanket statements about what cops will do to you when they find you breaking the replica law bypasses all of the much more serious charges a youth can get themselves into that they need to be educated on, like the ones in my prior post - those charges and reasons are far more life changing than hanging the entire under 18 argument on the replica law and simple seizure.
People come to this board for accurate information. Yes the whole under 18 issue is complex, but in simplifying it by making blanket statements about the replica law as it relates to airsoft and age, which it doesn't, isn't accurate and is a disservice to those seeking information on the sport.
Your desire to help is laudable but if you're going to go to that effort, it should be with accurate and truthful information. Redirecting to an explanation already on the board is probably the best thing you can do if someone starts getting into a discussion about something that's be FAQ'd already. Beyond that its your choice to engage, and all I am saying is that if you do, you should also commit to not giving them an inaccurate watered down version on replica law as the gospel.