Victory for paintball game chief over Democrat proposal
The Border Watch
13 August 1999
Skirmish Down Under proprietor, Trevor Long, won a battle of his own last week when the Firearms Amendment Bill was thrown out of Parliament.
Introduced to parliament by Member of the Legislative Council and Australian Democrats, Ian Gilfillan, the Firearms Amendment Bill proposed to ban firearm games such as paintball - but it was thrown out at the second reading.
Mr Gilfillan believed South Australia should lead the way in gun control and reform in the wake of the 1996 massacre.
His amendment Bill also proposed to make a firearms' licence unobtainable for anyone convicted of intentional acts of violence or for people under the age of 18.
Personal protection would not be a suitable reason for acquiring a firearm and anyone convicted of a violent crime would automatically lose their licence under the Bill.
Mr Long, who lobbied against the proposal on behalf of the State's paintball industry, said the entire Bill was thrown out.
"The politicians thought we in South Australia had the best gun laws in Australia," Mr Long said.
"When I first heard about the Bill I was quite concerned because I did not know what clout he (Mr Gilfillan) would have or what support."
"But when the Bill was thrown out it was a good feeling, it was a relief but I had not seriously thought it could be passed due to the ridiculousness of what he was trying to do so it did not come as a big shock."
Mr Long learned Mr Gilfillan had not played or watched a full paintball game and from then he lost creditability with the sport's enthusiast.
The game had an impeccable safety record and Australia was one of the only countries in the world, which needed the paintball markers to be registered as a firearm.
In Australia the sport was continuing to grow and in Mount Gambier plans were underway to establish a field at the Old Mount Gambier Jail.
Mr Long thanked the community and businesses, which had supported the paintball industry. Legislative Councillor, Mr Gilfillan, believed paintball was dangerous because it created a mind-set for people to deliberately try and hit others through firing a firearm.
"My point is that although paintball may appear to be an innocuous pastime, ideally it is the training that modern trainers of armed forces use to condition their personnel to use firearms with serious intent," Mr Gilfillan said.
"If that mental process occurs in the so-called game of paintball, the effect is unavoidable.
"It may be that only a very small percentage of people will be affected by it, but you do not need very many people with firearms and a mind-set to kill to wreak the havoc of the massacres we in Australia have endured over the last decade."
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