The Catshack Reports has the distinct honor of recognizing one of the greats in paintball. Action Bob Lanstrum formerly of the EMR field and former co owner of Gunslinger Paintball, now retired has a story to tell and The Catshack Reports is very pleased to be the one that tells it.
Action Bob Lanstrum has a lengthy record of many years in the game. Now retired, Bob tells all in this interview with The Catshack Reports.
Bob prior to retirement, you had a lengthy career in paintball and more specifically with EMR, what would be some of the highlights of your interaction with EMR over the years?
My career in paintball spanned about 21 yrs either as a player, field worker, design engineer, field management, business owner, ASTM board member, Legislative lobbiest( sp? ) tourney and recball player. Pretty much if it happened in paintball in my span I was there, contributed to it or tried to do something with it.
Highlights for me with EMR and Blue’s Crew and Deuce’s Wild would include
a) Friendship with Mike ” Blue” Hanse and his family
b) helping create one of the best marketing and player oriented events in the east
c) playing at fields from Texas to Connecticut, from Canada to Florida with one of the best teams ever.
Bob there was a real defined problem dating back to 2006 with respect to the Illinois State Government and a bill passing through the legislature could you explain what happened and how you helped deal with the problem please?
I was lucky on that one and with the one in PA, which wasn’t near as publicized at a state legislative level. Both states were in the midst of passing laws that would have curtailed our sport and to a degree started us upon the road that as William Gardner Sr. described is “a legislative beginning of the end”. Through our efforts in cooperation with industry we were able to stop the proposed laws and helped to write intelligent and “correct ” laws that helped and not hurt the industry. It was the PA law that brought me to the forefront at the time of legislative lobbying and the ASTM committee. I ( and the sport owe a lot of thanks to Blue and EMR for his support and resources including the assistance of Chris “Deuce” Hanse) to help us stop these and other legislative efforts against our sport.
Bob as always one of my all time favorite questions, what council would you provide to the paintball player just starting out in the game today?
Learn the skills and techniques of the sport – equipment is not the answer. Play hard and fair, have fun and make sure the players your playing against are having fun too. Also get a pump gun – you learn more in a weekend with an old phantom then a month with a super electro
Who are your favorite people as far as paintball people in either industry or paintball players themselves?
Blue
Marty Bush
Wayne Dollack
Tom Ghee
Greg “Red” Hastings ( even if he thinks my boat drinks are evil )
Thanks Tom,
Bob Lanstrum
In short Action Bob Lanstrum was one of the people involved in challenging State proposals and helped to stop the bill passing through the Illinois State legislature which would have seen terrible repercussions for the game with an introduction into law banning replica paintball markers.
In a quote from Bob’s Myspace pages
Monday, February 06, 2006
Paintball Legislation in Illinois
To all those who helped, forwarded emails, made phone calls, ect. Thank you
Here’s a blurb on Warpig on the issue – Bill writes much better then I do.
from: http://www.warpig.com/paintball/articles/news/020306_illinois_bill.shtml
Illinois Bill Altered
By Bill Mills – Feb 2006
In October of 2005, Daniel J Burke (D), the 23rd district representative in the Illinois state House of Representatives filed House Bill 4132 with the state clerk. In the following months, it moved through the legislative process, being read before the house, and gaining additional sponsors. The bill as originally introduced would ban ownership or sale of replica rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and all replica weapons.
In the last days of January 2006, concern started growing in the Illinois paintball community, that the broad term replica weapon would potentially include paintball guns. As Illinois is home to numerous significant paintball companies and businesses including PMI, Shocktech, Centerflag Products, Airgun Designs, The Badlandz, Challenge Park Xtreme, Realms of Ruin, Country Club Paintball, and more, a shutdown of the sport in the state could have a significant impact throughout the US.
Fortunately this was not to be the case. Gretchen Shay of Challenge Park Xtreme and Bob Lanstrum of EMR and Gunslingers Paintball quickly spread the word about the bill through the paintball industry and paintball media contacts, resulting in numerous faxes, phone calls and e-mails to Illinois legislators. Within a matter of days, the bill was almost completely re-written by the house judiciary committee. The new version was amended February 1st, 2006. Instead of making replica weapon ownership a crime, the new bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person to use any replica rocket propelled grenade launcher, bazooka, artillery piece, grenade, mine, bomb, or items similar to weapons designed and manufactured for military purposes or replicas of those items in a threatening manner.
Even if a court would decree that a paintball gun fell under the definition of a replica firearm, the new wording would not criminalize ownership, merely the misuse of threatening someone with it.
The status of the Illinois state replica weapons bill may be followed
So there you have it, Action Bob Lanstrum earned his spot among paintballs greats and did his part to preserve the game…and for that he has The Catshacks full respect. Action Bob Lanstrum….thank you!
On one final note Mr. Lanstrum has inspired me to create a brand new category on The Catshack boards entitled “The Catshack Hall of Fame” which from now on will house those whose service to the game is indeed deserving of recognition.
To view part of Bob’s legacy, check out the EMR field and plan to add it to your itinerary as one of those fields whose events definitely go on the bucket list each year.
Tomcat out!
