Admin at 13:23, 22 October 2026

2026-10-22T13:23:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:23, 22 October 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~```mediawiki~~
	'''American Paintball Industry Committee''' ('''APIC''') was a United States paintball-industry advocacy committee organised in 1993 in response to proposed California legislation affecting paintball markers and other airguns. It was established by attorneys and paintball players Donald E. deKieffer and Jessica J. Sparks.[1]		'''American Paintball Industry Committee''' ('''APIC''') was a United States paintball-industry advocacy committee organised in 1993 in response to proposed California legislation affecting paintball markers and other airguns. It was established by attorneys and paintball players Donald E. deKieffer and Jessica J. Sparks.[1]

Line 82:		Line 81:
	[[Category:Paintball in the United States]]		[[Category:Paintball in the United States]]
	[[Category:Organisations established in 1993]]		[[Category:Organisations established in 1993]]
	~~```~~

Admin: Admin moved page American Paintball Industry Committee (APIC) to American Paintball Industry Committee

2026-10-22T13:22:58Z

Admin moved page American Paintball Industry Committee (APIC) to American Paintball Industry Committee

← Older revision	Revision as of 08:22, 22 October 2026
(No difference)

Admin: Created article on the American Paintball Industry Committee (APIC), correcting the organisation’s name and documenting its formation, supporters and 1993 campaign concerning California Senate Bills 292 and 647. Added a redirect from “Action Pursuit Industry Coalition”.

2026-10-22T13:21:48Z

Created article on the American Paintball Industry Committee (APIC), correcting the organisation’s name and documenting its formation, supporters and 1993 campaign concerning California Senate Bills 292 and 647. Added a redirect from “Action Pursuit Industry Coalition”.

New page

```mediawiki
'''American Paintball Industry Committee''' ('''APIC''') was a United States paintball-industry advocacy committee organised in 1993 in response to proposed California legislation affecting paintball markers and other airguns. It was established by attorneys and paintball players Donald E. deKieffer and Jessica J. Sparks.[1]

APIC is sometimes incorrectly recalled as the “Action Pursuit Industry Coalition”. Contemporary reporting in ''[[Action Pursuit Games]]'' consistently identified it as the American Paintball Industry Committee.[1]

== Formation ==

In February 1993, California State Senator David Roberti introduced Senate Bill 292. The bill initially addressed the possession of firearms and replica guns on school grounds. A revised version proposed restrictions on the sale, distribution, shipping, transport and mail-order receipt of imitation or replica firearms.[1]

Because paintball markers could fall within the bill’s definitions, the revised proposal presented a potential restriction on the sale and transport of paintball equipment in California. APIC did not oppose provisions preventing unauthorised possession of realistic guns at schools, but sought to prevent the wider restrictions from applying to paintball markers and other airguns.[1]

A second proposal, Senate Bill 647, was introduced by Senator Tim Leslie. Although it did not propose a general prohibition on paintball markers, its original wording did not provide exceptions for legitimate possession of airguns on school grounds. The proposal could therefore have affected activities such as paintball demonstrations, airgun training and organised safety programmes.[1]

DeKieffer, a Washington, D.C. attorney, and Sparks, an attorney and paintball writer based in Los Angeles, organised APIC to coordinate the industry’s response.[1]

== Legislative campaign ==

APIC issued a nationwide alert on 10 March 1993. During April, it sent legal submissions and advisory letters to the California Attorney General, attorneys for the California Senate Judiciary Committee and members of that committee.[1]

The committee argued that parts of the proposed legislation conflicted with federal provisions governing toy, look-alike and imitation firearms. It also contacted more than 200 paintball and airgun companies and distributed information through the paintball media.[1]

APIC updates appeared through American Paintball Media’s ''Hot Line'', while ''Paintball News'' carried a front-page report on the campaign. The [[International Paintball Players Association]] also submitted a letter to members of the California Senate Judiciary Committee.[1]

APIC drafted proposed revisions to both bills and presented them to legislators in Sacramento. Its proposed amendment to SB 292 sought to retain restrictions applying to imitation objects such as replica-gun cigarette lighters while exempting paintball markers and other airguns from the proposed sale and transport restrictions.[1]

Senator Roberti initially rejected the amendment. Shortly before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for 4 May 1993, however, his office informed APIC that he had accepted a revised exemption. Senator Leslie also agreed to an amendment allowing airguns to be brought onto school grounds with permission from the appropriate school authorities.[1]

Representatives of the paintball and airgun communities attended the hearing. Those identified in the contemporary account included Jessica J. Sparks, John Forgerson of the International Paintball Players Association, Glenn Palmer of [[Palmer’s Pursuit Shop]], Gary Bennett, Mark Holton, Brad Penrose and Mark Rogers. Bob Ricker of the American Shooting Sports Council and Steve Helsley of the National Rifle Association also attended.[1]

== Support ==

APIC was financed through contributions from paintball businesses, organisations and individuals.

Pro Star Labs supplied the first contribution recorded in the contemporary account. [[Airgun Designs]] became the first member of APIC’s steering committee, contributing US$1,000 and distributing information to its dealers. [[I&I Sports]] also contributed US$1,000 and operated a telephone-alert campaign.[1]

The steering committee members identified by APIC were:[1]

* [[Airgun Designs]];
* [[I&I Sports]];
* [[National Paintball Supply East]]; and
* FasTech Action Sports.

Glenn Palmer and Gary Bennett were credited with providing additional time and financial support. The Florida Paintball Players Association also contributed, while ''Paintball Competitions and Ratings International'' offered subscriptions as an incentive for donations.[1]

== Outcome ==

Both bills were enacted on 29 September 1993 as separate but consecutive measures: SB 292 became Chapter 598 of the Statutes of 1993, while SB 647 became Chapter 599.[2]

The enacted provisions restricted possession of airguns, including spot-marker guns, on school grounds and in specified public buildings without permission. They did not impose the broader prohibition on the sale, shipment and transport of paintball markers that APIC had opposed.[1][2][3]

APIC’s account described the amendment of the proposed legislation as a successful defence of the California paintball industry. Because that account was written by the committee’s organisers, its assessment of APIC’s influence should be understood as a contemporary first-person account rather than an independent evaluation.

== Finances ==

APIC reported that the campaign cost US$21,178. This consisted of US$4,623 in expenses—including telephone, facsimile, postage, printing and travel—and US$16,555 in discounted legal fees. Contributions received during the campaign totalled US$7,950.[1]

== Later status ==

The available sources document APIC’s work during the 1993 California legislative campaign. They do not establish that it became a permanent trade association, nor do they identify a formal dissolution date.

APIC should not be confused with ''[[Action Pursuit Games]]''. The magazine published a detailed account of the committee’s campaign in June 1994 but was not the source of its name and has not been shown to have controlled the organisation.

== See also ==

* [[Action Pursuit Games]]
* [[Jessica J. Sparks]]
* [[International Paintball Players Association]]
* [[Airgun Designs]]
* [[I&I Sports]]
* [[Palmer’s Pursuit Shop]]
* [[National Paintball Supply]]

== References ==

# [https://oldpaintballmagazines.smugmug.com/Action-Pursuit-Games “California Paintgun Ban Stopped: The APIC Story”], Donald E. deKieffer and Jessica J. Sparks, ''Action Pursuit Games'', June 1994, pp. 57–59.
# [https://clerk.assembly.ca.gov/sites/clerk.assembly.ca.gov/files/archive/Statutes/1993/1993_Stats_vol2.pdf ''Statutes and Amendments to the Codes of California 1993'', volume 2], Chapters 598 and 599, California State Assembly Office of the Chief Clerk.
# [https://openjurist.org/131/calapp4th/317/people-v-bartholomew-d-2281132 ''People v. Bartholomew D.'', 131 Cal. App. 4th 317], discussion of the 1993 amendment to California Penal Code section 626.10 and its inclusion of spot-marker guns.

[[Category:Paintball organisations]]
[[Category:Paintball industry]]
[[Category:Paintball history]]
[[Category:Paintball in the United States]]
[[Category:Organisations established in 1993]]
```

American Paintball Industry Committee - Revision history

Admin at 13:23, 22 October 2026

Admin: Admin moved page American Paintball Industry Committee (APIC) to American Paintball Industry Committee

Admin: Created article on the American Paintball Industry Committee (APIC), correcting the organisation’s name and documenting its formation, supporters and 1993 campaign concerning California Senate Bills 292 and 647. Added a redirect from “Action Pursuit Industry Coalition”.