Laws

[justa' bum]

I"m at school in philly... I want to bring my marker down to my dorm so I can play down here. Just to play by the books I asked the school if I was allowed to bring it down and have it in my dorm. They said "um... NO!" I asked why and they said it was against the rules... so I looked through the rule book and there is nadda about paintball guns. THe only rule that I might see them use would be that there is a regional/city/federal law prohibiting the posession of paintball guns. I don't think its out there... anyone know of anything (I know in Baltamore they were thinking of passing a law).

If there is/isn't a law... anyone have some good arguments to explain how a paintball marker is sporting equipment and not a weapon?

thanks

[Emmit]

If there is a city law as you're stating then the school simply is abiding by local laws. If there is no such law, and there is nothing in the school's rules for Dorm occupants then you have grounds to argue on. However look closely, do the Dorm Rules, and Regs say anything about "Air Guns"? Many places consider Paintball guns to be Air Guns. You might be able to simply write a letter to the Rules Committee or the like at your school, and get an official ruling on this. Until then I'd say play it safe, and leave it at home. When I was living in the barracks in the Navy we weren't supposed to have them either, so we just snuck them in in our bags.

[vinrock]

Type up a formal letter explaining that it's not a firearm and blah blah blah... make sure it's properly written in proper format.

Contact your local Police Dept. and ask if they would be able to provide information on paintball gun laws (don't just go showing up down there with the thing...) and if there would be a detective willing to evaluate it and sign the written statement you provided.

The school should be hard pressed to ignore something like that. I have a whiny neighbor who likes to call 5-0 on us all the time, so i'm buddies with this one cop chick and she got one of the detectives here to verify that it's not illegal and I can go ape§§§§ with it in my backyard without worrying about her. If she calls the police about it they know what to do now.

[justa' bum]

Originally posted by vinrock
Type up a formal letter explaining that it's not a firearm and blah blah blah... make sure it's properly written in proper format.

Contact your local Police Dept. and ask if they would be able to provide information on paintball gun laws (don't just go showing up down there with the thing...) and if there would be a detective willing to evaluate it and sign the written statement you provided.

The school should be hard pressed to ignore something like that. I have a whiny neighbor who likes to call 5-0 on us all the time, so i'm buddies with this one cop chick and she got one of the detectives here to verify that it's not illegal and I can go ape§§§§ with it in my backyard without worrying about her. If she calls the police about it they know what to do now.


Lots of good ideas... thanks. I'll contact the police about laws. As for the formal letter... sure as hell they can ignore that. They can and will ignore anything they want. But hey, thats the nature of medium/large universities. Anyway... there are no rules agains airguns in the rule book. I guess the only possible rule that can hold me back would be the existance of a local law.

[vinrock]

Yeah I was thinking of it as leverage/proof for you though. It'd suck if you faced disciplinary action if someone cought you bringing the thing to school, even though it's not really against the rules or any local applicable laws.

[justa' bum]

it sure would

[kevine]

This is not necessarily advice, but just what I would do if I were in your shoes.

1. Read through the school policy manual and/or rules/regulations again. I guarantee that they have some rule in there prohibiting guns. I know, a paintball marker is not a gun, but arguably, it is. Also, there's probably a rule prohibiting things that pose a danger to people. Arguable, the marker and tank can be considered dangerous.

2. If it's a private school, they can make whatever rules they want. If it's a state sponsored school, then there may be additional rules that apply.

At thist time, these are the only technical things that come to mind. However, if having the marker in your dorm room is going to raise a big issue, and you can avoid it by just leaving it at home, then leave it at home. Paintball has enough black eyes in the media. I can see this getting blown out of proportion with you, your marker and your dorm room right in the middle!

Kevin Eng
Attorney at Law

[freeloader12345]

It's a big hassle, but the question is how far is home from school. Also who are you talking to at the school, if your talking to the wrong people you are wasting your time. local cops are good but campus officers are good also. Are you known in the courts, if not give these suggestions posted above a shot and i'll bet you will come out with a solid answer from a reputibale source either way.

[justa' bum]

got my answer....

its a private school so they can do what they want...

they don't restrict against paintball guns by name, but to not allow "anything that can project an object by means of compressed air, gas or mechanical means"

now argualby I could take my gun apart and it should not be restricted... but after talking to people in the student judicial service, "the spirt of the law restricts paintball guns working or not."

well thats it for me, no keeping the gun in school, whatever the rule is, it doesn't really matter cuz its a private school so they can do what they want.

[KappDye2235]

lol, i just bring my baby to school, wrapped in 5 towels of course. i go to a tech highschool. so when i need something done with it or if i'm bringin' somewhere i just bring it in on shop week. i've taken it out in shop (CAD/ 3D drafting) and my shop teachers looked at it and asked me a bunch of questions.