Wicklow up in arms over replica guns store plan
Residents of a north Wicklow town are up in arms over plans to open a shop selling realistic looking toy guns for use in a combat warfare game.
Go Tactical is due to open on Bray’s Dargle Road later this month with customers able to buy rifles, shotguns, pistols and an array of other weaponry for use in the sport airsoft.
Similar to paintballing, it involves opponents dressing in camouflage gear and firing 6mm plastic pellets at each other from special guns which are detailed replicas of the real thing.
Under Irish law it is legal to sell such weapons but local Labour Party TD Liz McManus said residents were concerned the imitation guns could be used for criminality.
“If they [customers] come in with rings on their fingers and tattoos across their knuckles, they most certainly won’t be getting a weapon off us,” Go Tactical proprietor Peter Sharpe, 30, said.
“But there is no licence required.
“To be honest with you you could go in and hold up a shop with a screwdriver or hammer.
“Yes they [airsoft guns] certainly could be used in the likes of hold-ups, but as a responsible retailer we will pretty much select who we will sell to,” he said.
Mr Sharpe has been selling airsoft weapons and associated gear online since December, with customers able to buy anything from assault riles priced from around 60 euro up to 550 euro high-tech sniper guns.
The sport is regarded as harmless fun by its proponents who claim players suffer less pain if shot than in paintballing.
According to the Irish Airsoft Association (IAA) website it is becoming more popular but with that growth comes responsibility.
“Responsible behaviour is the most important factor in airsoft.
“It is imperative that these devices are handled responsibly and stored, transported and used in such a manner as not to cause alarm to anyone else who may see them.
“An Garda Siochana will treat any replica firearm with the same prejudice as the real thing. This is a stance which the IAA fully supports.”
Under the Criminal Justice Act 2006 weapons that fire ammunition at speeds under one joule can be legally sold as they are deemed not to be a physical threat.
But Labour’s Liz McManus, who lives in Bray, said she would fight to ensure the store would not open.
“Numerous residents have contacted me to express their horror over the prospect of this shop opening.
“The shop is the last thing that the people of Bray need and I will be pursuing every legal avenue to ensure that it does not open.
“The weapons on sale are designed to look identical to weapons that discharge live ammunition,” she said.
Mr Sharpe said he would support a law restricting the sale of the weapons to members of airsoft associations only if one was introduced and that only people over 18 years of age would be able to buy in the shop.
