Airsoft is an extremely popular sport and is enjoyed by millions of people worldwide. However in Australia, even attempting to import an airsoft gun of any type will result in that person being contacted by police. I do not see any reason as to why airsoft and airsoft guns should be banned. I have heard of arguments ranging from immature kids to armed robbery. I will explain how this can be resolved further into my argument.
The main argument I hear against the legalisation of airsoft and airsoft guns, is that the guns look ‘too realistic’ and will be mistaken as a real gun. I can understand the point. Yes, from a distance, most airsoft guns look like a real gun. So does replica firearms, which are completely legal in Australia. Gell ball blasters are also almost identical to airsoft guns. The difference is that gell blasters shoot gell balls, while airsoft guns shoot BBs. So why would the government legalise both replica guns, and gell blasters when they ban airsoft guns because they are too realistic?
If airsoft guns look very similar to a real gun, treat them very similar to how you would treat a real gun. In Australia, there are very strict laws regarding all aspects of owning any type of firearm. Firstly, both the gun and ammunition must be stored inside a locked gun safe, with the gun and ammunition in seperate compartments. If you have the gun in your car to take it to the range, repair shop, ect. You are not permitted to make a detour such as going shopping on the way there or back. If you do, you must have another person who has a gun licence to keep an eye on the gun at all times. Leaving the gun unattended may result in a suspension of your gun licence. Finally, as you must do with all guns, the owner of an airsoft gun must have a valid gun licence. You must be over the age of 18 to have the licence, however you are permitted to allow anyone, that you believe is responsible enough, to use it while under your supervision.
If someone thinks it would be a funny idea to walk around the street pointing an airsoft gun at random cars and pedestrians, or attempt to rop a store. The police would act accordingly. Like I said, the guns do look realistic, therefore the police would act as if the gun is a real one. One argument is that the police would immediately shoot the person holding the gun. This is not true. In fact, there was a terrorist attack in Melbourne last year. The police spent several minutes dancing around the attacker before even considering drawing their guns. If a kid was to carry even a real gun around a public area. The police would draw their guns, but they would not shoot unless the kid does something to give them an excuse to shoot such as pointing the gun in their direction. However, common sense would kick in when you are surrounded by police officers, all pointing a gun in your direction. When the police officers find out it was an airsoft gun, they would have a short investigation and appropriate charges would be made.
As you can see. There is no reason as to why airsoft should continue to be banned. Airsoft provides a fun, enjoyable sport which should not be banned because a small minority does not have common sense. I have already seen millions of people in support of legalising airsoft in Australia, and a member of parliament will soon be speaking to the government, attempting to legalise the sport. Thank you for accepting the debate. Good luck, and have fun for the remainder of the debate.
"So far, my first impressions of this website are not what I was expecting.". If you want to debate a higher rank, make the rating higher.
Nice job. Sorry that the debate didn't go as planned.
Please remake this saying 'airsoft guns' instead of 'airsoft' because currently you have an unfair semantic-legal-loophole to argue that airsoft be legal while the guns remain illegal (which is genuinely how the laws were/are constructed).
Skimming around, the reason is apparently the Port Arthur massacre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur_massacre_(Australia)
Anyway your debate is not over if there is no reason, but should they legalize it. You'll just need to show flaws with the status quo, and some benefit. Con will probably have a counter argument along the lines of police shooting people for having toy guns, but if you keep your cool you'll find the obvious counterpoints to that and win.
I agree with you on this.
He wants it legal for under-18
The only reasonable argument I can see against legalising an enjoyable sport is that some might use the guns to harm animals. However, if someone really wants to harm animals, they could just as well do so without softair guns. Softair is legal in the UK and I don't see why you guys shouldn't be permitted to enjoy the same privileges as us, airsoft probably makes people handle weapons more responsible rather than less.
I'll vote later (without considering my slightly biased views obv.), good luck in the debate.
you seem like you would be into Electronic music (yeah being ageist here) https://www.debateart.com/debates/557 please give a vote if you got time (any scoring system will do, just explain it please thanks)
Once someone accepts the debate, you will have an option to publish your arguments.
You have to wait, google-docs is a free way to begin formatting it (but paste it without formatting and reformat inside the argument section as formatting takes up a lot of characters somehow if you just paste it)
Quick question. How do I post my argument? I am new to this site and I cannot find an option for me to post it. Or do I have to wait for someone to accept before I have the option?
This looks quite interesting. I'm not Australian so I'll sit back and watch. Hope you get a good opponent!!
Heck, let's leave it at 18+ to avoid too much hoo-ha
But, I do agree with you that this is a bit silly if the owner is say 16+ and held responsible for the injuries caused, it's pretty safe for a social democracy with sane citizens like Australia to legalise.
I was kind of asking you what's the issue with it being illegal. Also, if you use the 'gel ball blasters are similar' argument, then a skill Con-sided debater here will say 'and that is proof that gel ball blasters should be outlawed as well' and reverse your dynamic to cancel that argument out.
Yes, paintball is legal in all parts of Australia. Gell ball blasters are also legal in the eastern parts of Australia. The only reason that I know of as to why airsoft is illegal is because the guns look ‘too realistic.’ That statement can be easily mad invalid because gell ball blasters and replica style weapons are legal.
Isn't paintball legal? What's the issue then?