Quote:
Originally Posted by Ricochet
There is no such thing as breaking the law responsibly.
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I think this is an overly-broad and simplistic characterization of the situation. Perhaps you meant to caution the OP with some strong words, and that's fine with me, but some realities remain that we all have to deal with:
Firstly, breaking the rules often forms the basis for many laws to be changed, repealed, or outright improved. We've seen it happen. To turn around and issue a binary statement like the above now is to take for granted subtle shifts that have allowed our sport to gain legitimacy.
Secondly, most people on this forum have ample experience with operating within grey areas of the law. Just ask all the people that have dealt with the gradual importation since The Old Days. Again, things change.
Third, you have plenty of examples of people who are operating in these grey areas with the blessings of authorities. You guys may not realize this... but city limits in some areas can be HUGE. In the GTA, nobody can play airsoft legally if they are playing on private land anywhere within 100km of the city. Don't believe me? Feast your eyes on just the tip of the city limits iceberg, a portion of the west end of the GTA:
Hamilton:
Milton:
Guelph:
Burlington:
etc etc.. As you can see you quickly end up with nowhere to play milsims or anything like that unless you enjoy playing only 4 times a year, 3-4 hours away from home. I could go on with the map examples, but I'm sure you get the point here, which is that a lot of people in my area have had to reach out to the authorities to legitimize their activity.
This is, quite literally, "
breaking the law responsibly".The fact that it complicates liability and insurance claims doesn't change anything. People are doing it. There's no basis for the dramatic growth of airsoft retail if they weren't doing it. We *have* to deal with it. You don't see anyone charging boxers with assault.
Things may be different in BC, I don't know, but I'd rather not be feeding youngsters and newbies this fiction that we're all perfectly straight edge when it comes to this particular aspect of our sport...