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Germany to ban paintball after massacre
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| Contributor | kal |
| Last Edited | kal May 10, 2009 02:21am |
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| Category | General |
| Media | Newspaper - Guardian |
| News Date | Sunday, May 10, 2009 08:20:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The German government is planning to ban paintball and laser shooting games in reaction to the recent school massacre in which 15 people died.
Under legislation agreed by the ruling coalition of the chancellor, Angela Merkel, using air rifles to shoot paint-filled pellets at opponents is likely to be made illegal, and would be punishable with fines of up to €5,000 (£4,480).
The decision, which is expected to be fast-tracked through the Bundestag before the summer recess, comes two months after 17-year-old Tim Kretschmar shot dead 15 people at his former school in Winnenden, south-west Germany, with a weapon he had taken from his father's bedroom. Kretschmar's love of paintball as well as violent video and computer games was widely publicised.
The government has found itself under pressure to tighten gun laws in Germany in what has become one of the main issues before a general election in September.
"This so-called game plays down violence, leading to the danger that people have fewer inhibitions about shooting each other," said Dieter Wiefelsputz, of the Social Democrats.
Owners of paintball arenas, which are already out of bounds for under-18s, said they felt they were easy targets in what opposition politicians have referred to as "populistic placebo politics".
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