Gel Blaster Guns were classed as a "projectile toy" by a Queensland magistrate in 2017 and since then they have become more and more popular.
As replicas, they look cool, but they only shoot gel bullets that consist mostly of water. Unlike paintball guns that shoot paint pellets or airsoft guns that shoot BB bullets the Gel Blaster ammunition is low impact.
People, however, can still be charged in Queensland with weapon offences if they use the toys in a public place or in a menacing manner. The Minister for Police and Minister for Corrective Services, the Hon Mark Ryan, has called for a review of the like-like toy guns after a spike in alleged criminal activity.
Gel blaster products have ben deemed to be toys in Queensland. A ruling was made in the Magistrates Court of QLD that Gel Ball Blasters are not firearms under the customs import regulations of 1956.
Laws vary between the States and Territories, with the gel blasters are prohibited in New South Wales and Victoria.
In other areas, the blasters fall into a grey area.
The NSW government is the most strict, not only do they classify Gel Basters as imitation firearms they also require people to get a $75 permit.
Apart from the registration of individual guns, an imitation firearm in NSW is treated as a firearm.
For example, it must be stored in a secured location such as a gun safe.
Recent media stories have reported have been negative:
* A man from South Granville was jailed for four months after he posted videos to Facebook showing himself brandishing two replica guns, nunchucks, capsicum spray, and handcuffs, and shooting at cockroaches inside his house.
* Doctor Shaun Dai, an eye surgeon (Paediatric Ophthalmology) from the Queensland Children's Hospital in South Brisbane has treated numbers of children with potentially blinding injuries from Gel Blaster Guns. In an example featured on A Current Affair, a 4-year-old child was shot point-blank by his 7-year-old brother causing a tear in the younger boy's cornea, blood pooling in his eye. The child is now left with a life-long risk of developing glaucoma. (The video clip has been watched more than 149,000 times.)
* A Gel Blaster gun store opened in a Rockhampton shopping centre on a Monday in June but were asked to leave by centre management by the Wednesday after a series of complaints from shoppers.
A petition on change.org asking people to support Gel Blasters being unregulated in Queensland has gathered 1,664 supporters (as at the end of July 2019).
You might be asking yourself the difference between a gel blaster vs nerf. Or the difference between a gel blaster and laser tag. Or even the difference between a gel blaster and paintball or airsoft.
Basically all enable gamers to play live-action combat missions.
Whereas nerf guns shoot a foam pellet and airsoft guns shoot BB bullets, and paintball markers shoot paint pellets, instead of gel basters shoot gel balls. Laser Tag guns, on the other hand, do not shoot any projectiles. In fact, Laser tag guns emit a harmless infrared beam, just like a TV remote.
Enthusiasts love the cosplay element of gel baster guns - they look like the real Mccoy because they are in fact replicas.
