Select the text, copy and paste it into a word processing program. Modify it where necessary and mail or fax it in.
[your town] Police Department
Attention: Police Chief
It has come to my attention that there has been some paintball related vandalism. [describe incident].
I am writing this letter to express that this is not the activity of legitimate paintball players but young adults who have purchased paintball equipment without the proper instruction. I have been playing paintball [your own personal experience]. [information about your team and how you play responsibly]. The paintball community is comprised of hard-working and law-abiding citizens who are as appalled as I am when incidents like this occur.
The persons responsible for this vandalism more than likely purchased the equipment from a non-paintball retailer [include local examples]. If they had purchased this equipment at a legitimate paintball store, they would have been cautioned about the use of paintball guns outside of insured playing areas. They would also have been instructed on safety procedures particular to paintball.
In an effort to determine what type of instruction national chain stores give purchasers of paintball equipment, I have made inquiries about the paintball equipment at these stores. The sales staff know little, or nothing, about the sport or our safety concerns. Often they have expressed indifference with my safety concerns and have steadfastly refused any free paintball safety information pamphlets I have offered to include with sales.
All paintball players know that the unprotected eye can be damaged or lost when hit with a paintball and also know the importance of the primary piece of safety equipment, the paintball goggle. Paintball playing fields strictly enforce safety and will exclude habitually unsafe players from participating in future games. Personally, I would like to see these chain stores remove paintball equipment from their shelves permanently. Paintball has been played since 1981 and acts of vandalism have been rare until recent times. It has been my experience that acts of paintball vandalism have increased since these chain stores have made paintball equipment available to the general public.
Again, I must stress that these acts of vandalism are not indicative of the attitudes of legitimate paintball players who simply want to have some fun and blow off steam. We are not a pack of hoodlums racing around in cars shooting public and private property or targeting unwary or unprotected persons.
The sport of paintball has had an excellent safety record, being rated by medical and insurance agencies as the safest sport in North America. Safety is the primary concern of any paintball player or paintball-related business.
Physical contact between players is penalized.
The muzzle velocity of the paintball guns is restricted and checked using chronographs.
Only approved paintball goggles are allowed to be used for eye protection.
Special barrel plugs are used to prevent accidental discharges in areas where players are permitted to remove their safety goggles.
Players only play on legitimate and insured fields.
Please do not "paint us all with the same brush". The sport of paintball is about safety, sportsmanship, fair play, self-discipline and fun. None of these aspects are present when irresponsible persons commit acts of vandalism.
If the persons responsible for these recent acts of vandalism are apprehended it is my hope that they suffer the maximum penalty as provided by law.
[this paragraph is optional]
For more information about the sport
General Information: http://www.durtydan.com/ddpis/ddpmain.html
Safety: http://www.durtydan.com/ddpsp/pspmain.html
Sincerely;
[your name and team name]
