Roleplayers Seek Removal of Nerf Gun Ban 547
An anonymous reader writes "LARP fans at Bowling Green State University may have to contend with a crippled game of Humans vs. Zombies after the University banned Nerf guns on campus. In the live-action game, players are either humans or zombies. The goal of the game is to change all the humans into zombies, or for the humans to evade capture by zombies for a certain amount of time. To defend themselves against zombies, humans may use Nerf guns. Players (most likely the human ones) are petitioning the University to lift the ban. The game had troubles back in 2006, when participating students were arrested. That issue has since been cleared up."
Why? (Score:5, Interesting)
What are we now, "Land of the fee, home of the scared?"
parents complaining? (Score:2, Interesting)
Better than Uzi Water Guns (Score:5, Interesting)
Nerf should be fine as long as it's obvious that it IS a Nerf weapon. If not, or if it's taking place at night. be sure you play in a place where everyone knows you're in a game, or be prepared for some Very Bad Consequences if you're not careful.
Re:Why would anyone ban nerf guns? (Score:5, Interesting)
A few years ago (can't remember when exactly) some dumb kid in Boston shot at another dumb kid with Silly String. The kid with Silly String all over him then took out a real gun, and shot the first kid dead. Mayor Menino's response to this was a proposal to ban Silly String within city limits.
This isn't exactly the same situation, but the political logic seems strangely reminiscent.
Re:The wussification of a people is complete.... (Score:5, Interesting)
My cousin can make ANYTHING a hazard. It's a gift (from the devil).
But this isn't about that, this is about appearances: Can't have people playing guns on a university campus! Think of the children!
I'm playing right now, and HvZ is awesome (Score:5, Interesting)
It's the best game ever. Hope they get the issues cleared up, as nerf guns and the associated modifications (yeah, I'm an engineering student) are a really fun aspect of it. If your college doesn't play, go get it started. I recommend talking it over w/ the campus cops first though, just to make sure you won't have problems like this.
Re:Better than Uzi Water Guns (Score:3, Interesting)
There are WAY too many dangerously unhinged individuals with the attitude of "I AM THE LAW!" running around in uniform.
So... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:parents complaining? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's all about the money, and the school that can most effectively provide the illusion that the kids are safe and secure, reality be damned, gets a big chunk of it.
Re:Why? (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, Stephen King's Carrie was allowed more opportunities for fun. If fanatically obsessive parents could be called "helicopter parents", she's the AH-64 gunship parent. Someone similar to her was undoubtedly responsible for this anti-nerf hullabaloo. If the quantity of pirates in the world is inversely related to global warming, I contend that this is possible: the number of school shootings could be proportional to the quantity of obsessive and dominating parents.
Silly String aka Mine Detection Apparatus (Score:3, Interesting)
The army does. I read several years ago that silly string was being used in Iraq. The lightweight strings, and the propulsion device, are ideal for detecting tripwires.
Re:Help me out here (Score:3, Interesting)
When I was 18, and visiting a university campus getting ready to start, my father came along with me. Along with the group were several other 18-year-olds and their parents. During the tour, the guide mentioned that report cards were sent to the students' addresses (not the parents), and also that the students' cafeteria account was not accessible by the parents. Several of the parents expressed concern and surprise that they would not be able to monitor their childrens' grades or spending. The tour guide said, "Well, they are 18 and adults after all." I remember one or two parents actually getting angry that they would have to ASK THEIR CHILDREN to see their report cards.
My father chuckled at this, and later on he said to me, "Son, you're 18 now, so this is YOUR life. Your report grades, your money, your responsibility. Don't screw it up and then come whining to me."
Obviously, my father's attitude is in the minority nowadays.
Re:Why? (Score:5, Interesting)
To say that it's obscene to teach a child about guns, or let them fire them, is a real stretch though. Guns serve a purpose. Perhaps that purpose has eroded into something less than it once was, but it's still there at least in part. Many people still use guns to get their food. Some people legitimately use them for safety, not from other people, but from large animals. (If you've ever been to Alaska, you'll know most of the population there carry weapons for scaring off bears etc.)
I'm not a big gun proponent, I gave all of mine to my brother a few years after my first child was born because I simply wasn't shooting them enough to bother keeping them and her mom didn't want them around her. Not a big issue to me, but I still have access to every one of my weapons should I ever feel the need.
I grew up shooting guns. The first time I remember shooting, I was 5 years old and the gun was longer than I was tall. It was a 22 caliber rifle used for hunting rabbits and small game to have food. We're not all lucky enough to have enough money to buy all our food.
What would be obscene would be allowing your children to go hungry because you never taught them how to take care of themselves. What would be obscene is pretending that guns don't exist and being irresponsible enough not to teach your children about how to treat guns with respect and safety.
Re:Why? (Score:5, Interesting)
Amen. As kids we got sat down and explained exactly what the two 9mm pistols in the house were, what it did, how to handle ammo, how to load it, how to check that the chamber IS empty, and how not to. They were hardly ever locked up, and I could easily get to one were my parents not home. Much like any child. (Kids know how locks work and where the keys are anyway). But it didn't intrigue me, because now I knew exactly what it was, I'd held it, unlocked it, etc. So, no more mystery, it was just a pistol, big deal.
Much like how I was taught to deal with alcohol. It was never "kept" from me and my brother, and we were allowed to drink small amounts of alcohol early on and more as we got older. When university hit, we weren't out binging, because it had been discovered, been done, nothing new to see here, move along..... From that perspective, students who had finally "slipped the bonds" and were out partying hard, looked pretty silly.
Re:Why? (Score:2, Interesting)
Thank You, I feel quite vindicated.
I would like to make then the statement that strict gun control laws allow situations like Virgina Tech to happen with greater ease than would otherwise be possible. there now i shall be modded into hell.
My Apologies to Rostin for using his fact finding to make an argument for the 2nd Amendment advocating individual rights being a Good Thing(TM) (which I advocate, call me crazy)
Re:Why? (Score:5, Interesting)
It's not all about "you have enough money for food if you have enough money for bullets", it's about making choices on how to spend your money. He reloads his bullets (actually usually shotgun shells) so the cost is almost zero compared to what he gains from being able to hunt for his food. Look at your grocery bill sometime and figure out how much you spend on meat every month. My brother can feed his family meat every day for 6 months for about 15 cents in bullets and another $50 in his gas and time spent hunting with his sons. I'm guessing you can't do that. Spending his money on things other than meat also allows his family to get a more balanced diet of meat and vegetables and not eat "popcorn for dinner" like he had to do for several years so his children could eat real food.
Yes, guns are always dangerous; that was the point of my post. Pretending they're not dangerous or "nonexistent" is far more dangerous to children than teaching them about the real dangers. Just because we don't all need them, however doesn't mean they're not needed, no matter how much you yell about it.
You can't compare the US to Switzerland. (Score:3, Interesting)
In Switzerland owning a gun is a duty, a duty for which you bear entire responsibility.
Re:Why? (Score:3, Interesting)
What I don't respect are people who live in cities their whole lives and buy a gun by claiming to protect themselves. Out in the country? Yes; if an animal charges you, you may need a gun. In the city? I think the odds of person A being "mentally unstable" (to be P.C. Or we could just say "fucked up") enough to go in to a store and fire a gun at someone because they did nothing more than brush shoulders without apologizing, than it is for a person to:
A) Have the pistol they purchased legally on them
B) Be aware of a specific threat
C) Be able to withdraw said legal gun safely
D) Neutralize the threat without damage to anyone/anything around the threat
I say this because if the person is aware of the specific threat, odds are that they're probably being mugged or held up in some other fashion. In this event, the person who is the assaulter would be able to see the victim reach for a weapon and neutralize the victim before being attacked.
I also say the above because a very large number of victims of gun violence are innocent bystanders. Them packing a gun is not going to make them any safer, either.