by Matt » Fri Nov 04, 2011 12:11 pm
Stupid minors have stupid parents too. That's why you see 12 year old kids playing Airsoft in the suburbs with no eye protection. If I did something like that, my dad would have kicked my a$$ and taken those guns away. The problem with minors and Airsoft in the US - is that we have an abundance of REAL firearms that Airsoft guns replicate.
In other countries where most folks cannot own guns, it's fine to classify airsoft guns as "toys" because only the military or police can even have the real thing. They're only classified as toys to get cheaper rates on import anyway. So it's lost in translation, it's a culture difference. China says they are toys, Japan says they are toys - so your average dumber than a brick American parent thinks they are toys. Despite the fact you could hold up a bank with one of these or permanently damage your vision.
The problem has nothing to do with age and everything to do with a total lack of correct classification of what Airsoft is. Most retailers are too busy counting money to care. Stupid moms and dads have wallets. I actually think that being required to be part of a club or organization to own an Airsoft gun is a good idea - we need that type of regulation in the United States to survive as a hobby, otherwise we are just pumping out 100s and 1000s of realistic replica firearms and giving them to children. Having to be 18 to buy them doesn't solve anything, because the parents are buying them and then failing to supervise their kids. Some sort of regulation beyond that takes it to the next level, and may be the only thing that keeps Airsoft legal in the long run.