Getting a shotgun is easier than playing paintball

It is easier to acquire a shotgun for hunting than it is to get hold of a harmless plastic gun used for paintball games, since the procedure for the latter involves a complicated vetting system.

The first step towards licensing a paintball gun is acquiring membership of a firearms club. The more respectable clubs take as long as three months to vet the applicant, which includes training in weapons handling. Exams are then conducted by the Weapons Board.

While acknowledging that this is a necessary process for the issuing of firearms licences, the Association of Maltese Arms Collectors and Shooters (AMACS) is recommending a more lax application procedure for paintball guns that allows members of the public to enjoy the sport.

Paintball is a game where players try to mark opposing team members with paint expelled from an air powered paint marker.

"The current state of affairs, where only firearms licence holders can use a paintball range, is placing local paintball site operators at an unfair disadvantage.

"Amendments to the legislation would allow us to focus our efforts on developing the sport locally as it is in other European countries," said the owner of a company licensed to operate a paintball site in Kalkara.

The recommendation for less stringent controls on the sport were among a list of recommendations AMACS made yesterday to the Home Affairs Ministry aimed at fine-tuning the Arms Act.

AMACS also recommended that the process of licensing firearms be reviewed so as to limit access to real firearms to deserving individuals. It stressed the need to ensure that applicants from all clubs achieve a uniform level of qualification.

Obtaining a hunting shotgun involves an entirely separate process, since the Ornis Committee regulates the field. The rules that govern the ownership and licensing of shotguns are much less stringent for hunters than they are for owners of other weapons, including paintball enthusiasts.

In fact, no training on weapons handling is required. Applicants for licences only need to sit for an 'environment test' that focuses on the understanding of which birds can be shot and when. On completion of the test, a licence is issued by police if the applicant is of good conduct.

The majority of crimes involving weapons on the island over the past years involved hunting shotguns. Last year alone, four out of five killings involved hunting shotguns, according to police historian Eddie Attard.

The Justice and Home Affairs Ministry is in the process of analysing all existing legislation regulating firearms, and will be announcing amendments to the legislation regulating possession, access to and use of weapons this year.