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A Sport or Training for Deadly Rampages? -- Why Paintball May Be Banned in Germany

Paintball is a modern way to play cops and robbers, only here the guns used to eliminate opponents fire paint pellets. People who play paintball, also known as gotcha, say it's a harmless sport. However, a working group composed of experts from Germany's state and federal interior ministries say paintball is dehumanizing and encourages violence. They want politicians to draw consequences from the school massacre in Winnenden and ban games like paintball.

Our Question is:

"Should games like 'Paintball' be banned?"

Frank Linden of Germany draws on his own experience with paintball:

"As a former archer and airgun shooter, I "naturally" often come up against Germany’s weapons laws and related topics ... Last Saturday I was playing "Gotcha!" And in the end, I realized that I came into the game with a lot of preconceived notions! But it’s also important to be aware of the following: The first thing you learn as a sport shooter is how to handle your weapon safely. The main premise being, never point the arrow or barrel of a gun toward a living thing – whether the weapon is loaded or not. Moreover, an unloaded and secured weapon should always be handled as if it were loaded. I’ve been shooting for about 15 years in different disciplines and have internalized this ground rule of our sport so much that, in the truest sense of the word, my hair stood on end when I got my paintball marker for shooting the opposing team on the field ... The most surprising lesson of the day was that our types of sport have absolutely nothing in common! Earlier, that would have been absolutely unimaginable, but paintball players aren’t shooters in the traditional sense ... In any event, I had a lot of fun and think it would really be a shame for this small fringe group of sports enthusiasts to be the target of a law banning paintball. Should paintball be banned? No! In my opinion, there’s absolutely no reason for it. The main argument of paintball opponents – the risk of injury and the much-discussed greater propensity toward violence – seem utterly unfounded ... and upon a closer look, the sport provides, if anything, a kind of outlet. Elements of rising aggression among those who play paintball are simply nonexistent ..."

Timo Zaal, in the USA, says social issues are the key:

"....The politicians are seeking an easy scapegoat, but this is a slippery slope. If they ban paintball, then ban first-shooter video games and content on television, rap music, etc. This is a social problem, and education is the key. In many school shooting incidents, there were major warning signs and intervention should have taken place. The shooters are often loners who were bullied by their classmates. We must change the way we treat others and stop bullying, and you will stop shootings on school campuses in Germany, Europe, North America, and worldwide."

Horst Schumm of Thailand says there are other ways to tackle the problems posed by firearms:

"That’s just typical for politicians: Taking action, but God forbid you anger the gun lobby. Paintball doesn’t kill people – firearms do, and will continue to do so. Fingerprint security is a far better proposal if you don’t want to hurt gun clubs."

Tom Clyde, China, draws a clear line between game and reality:

"Any kind of game is just a type of entertainment – it can relax people's minds. No matter how strange the form of game is, people can distinguish between illusory things and real things. So it's unnecessary to ban games like paintball."

Venezuela’s Martin Burmeister points to paintball’s limited reach:

"Banning paintball would be very excessive. I’m not of the opinion that this game leads to violent acts later on, especially as it isn’t all that popular and comes with certain costs that not everyone can afford."

Koosha Seivani in Iran says banning paintball could have the opposite effect:

"Banning paintball is the most useless thing you can do to prevent killing sprees! Actually, I think that banning paintball would even cause more sprees ... I mean, it will anger a lot of youth and they have enough stress already! On the other hand, I think that people can simulate shooting in a completely harmless way so they won't go on a real-life rampage and kill real people!"

For Lee S. Davis, USA, the game is just that:

"No, people need a way to let off steam. Would you rather they use a firearm with live ammunition?"

Erwin Scholz of Costa Rica takes a poetic approach:

"We must work to stop the violence.

But banning paintball makes no sense,

Where the militant set, instead of lead

Gets a dash of color on the head."

A suggestion turned down by an exasperated Wolfgang Strauss, in Thailand:

"The ´Paintball` scene has never produced anyone who later went on a shooting rampage.The game is harmless, like cowboys and Indians that we used to play when we were kids.Video killer games should be banned. But if you prohibit ´Paintball" then you might as well do away with the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces. The play pretend warfare every day, even on German soil."

In Finland, Barry Rowland also puts up a pro-Paintball fight:

"Paintball is about avoiding being hit, where there is real pain to your body, and being part of a team. This is completely unlike the really dehumanising computer games, which are played in solitude, without human contact... ´Paintball`,in my experience, makes it clear just how easy it is to die in a real gunfight!"

Tommy Diependaal, in Laos, wonders whether sports would also face their demise:

"I think it is wrong to ban ´Paintball` with the idea that no more excessive shootings will happen, because then you could also ban martial arts sports and other shooting sports which are now Olympic."

Wilson Penafiel, in the Philippines, says there are other ways::

"I believe that a stricter and more proper gun control will be more effective in avoiding gun violence than banning ´Paintball` or similar simulation games."

Gerhard Seeger of the Philippines argues that a ban is useless:

"Banning paintball would really be the epitome of nonsensical government regulation. It wouldn’t prevent a future shooting spree and certainly isn’t the driving cause of the problem."

René Junghans, Brazil, says there’s no harm in paintball:

"I think paintball is a harmless game that has absolutely nothing to do with those who perpetrate shooting rampages. People enjoy these kinds of sports – they burn off steam – but none of the players would actually go through with a shooting spree afterwards. It would be similar to banning soccer just because it leads to violent acts between spectators every now and then. Rather, the government should recognize and rid us of the real causes of spree killers: Lack of parental support, overstressed students, drugs, alcohol, but most of all, youth who lack future prospects and just snap. And these young people don’t play paintball, they’ll resort to real weapons instead. Let the players have their fun – paintball is great and harmless."

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