Germany to Outlaw Paintball

Originally posted by OhZone
Serious eye injuries, including blindness, are the primary catastrophic injury from paintball, a sport played by approximately 6 million people from age 10 to over 70, with the bulk of the players from age 12 to 34.

Blinding eye injuries can occur, and these incidents occur largely (a) when a person in an area where paintball is being played fails to wear or removes his or her paintball goggles, particularly in unsupervised situations, or fails to wear proper eye protection, and (b) in criminal assault circumstances outside the sport, such as in a drive-by assault shooting. Please note that existing criminal laws are readily applied to those who misuse paintball markers, as in a drive-by shooting, with felony assault being among the crimes that can be charged."
eye injury"

"The injuries were often quite severe:

rupture of the eyeball in 28 per cent of patients
detached retina in 19 per cent
surgery was required in 81 per cent of patients
removal of the eye (enucleation) in 22 per cent"

serious eye injuries

"Ear Injury:
A paintball in the ear is about as scary and devastating as one to the eye. Permanent and partial deafness has occurred with these types of injuries. It is also extremely painful if a paintball pellet becomes lodged in the ear causing a rupture to the eardrum and other internal damage. It is important to remember that paintball pellets are shot with significant force and the ear is the perfect size for a paintball to make its way into. In many cases, paintball injuries to the ear have also rendered players unconscious and with a concussion."

Throat Injury:
"Although most players of paintball wear masks and gloves, they often fail to protect their throat and neck which can be very dangerous. With enough force and at close range, a paintball could crush your trachea and prevent you from breathing. Other parts of the neck are also susceptible to injury if not protected. Yet, the neck and throat usually remain the only part of exposed skin and one of the most painful areas of the body to take a hit."

Death:
These people were killed when a CO2 cylinder
unintentionally disengaged from the paintball gun

Paintball dangers

****You violent types are a worry. Exactly what is it about you that makes you think that it is fun to play at killing??????????????????????
Kill, kill, kill.....and you think wars will ever end?

When it is you who loses and eye, is the game still worth it?
How about your son losing an eye...after all you thought it was such a safe game? And it is rated for safety.... A game of killing non-the-less.
Why don't you just go for the real thing and join the Army and request service in the war zones?

Need I list the dangers of soccer, basketball, golf, softball, tennis, track & field, horse racing...see where this leads? You are NOT addressing the problem of violent crime.

The problem begins in the home: how they were raised and taught to respect life and deal with anger and frustration - not because people want to get together and have a little fun.



I agree - this isn't so much about "eliminating violent games" as it is about creating a docile populous. Genius.