PTAs Want Restrictions on Paint-Ball Guns : Weapons: They look real and can inflict painful welts. A proposal calls for stronger safety warnings and tighter controls on the sale of ammo to minors.

A Palos Verdes Estates teen-ager burst into his house screaming one day last summer. His 9-year-old brother had been shot by youths riding in the back of a pickup truck, he said. When his mother ran outside, she found the boy--his shirt stained red--in agony. There was no bullet wound, though, only a large welt. The red fluid was paint.

A paint-ball gun was to blame for another injury in Palos Verdes Estates on Halloween night, this one more serious. An 11-year-old was hit in the eye while trick-or-treating on his block. Optical surgery saved his vision. The 19-year-old who pulled the trigger, a Palos Verdes Peninsula High School senior, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

These and other incidents have prompted the Palos Verdes Peninsula Council of PTAs to push for more restrictions on the use of paint-ball guns, which fire paint-filled pellets that splatter on impact. The group plans to recommend new curbs to the California State PTA as a first step toward tightening state regulation of the guns.

Even though state law prohibits the sale of paint-ball guns to people under 18, underage youths on the affluent peninsula don’t seem to have much trouble getting them, PTA officials say. And there are no controls on the purchase of paint gun ammunition by minors.

Paint-ball guns, which resemble real firearms, are powered by a cylinder of carbon dioxide. Their paint-filled pellets often leave victims with a painful welt.

The PTA proposal calls for paint-ball gun manufacturers to include more detailed safety information with the weapons and restrict the sale of paint ammunition to minors. More important, PTA officials say, the measure urges parents to monitor more closely the use of the guns.

“As a sport, paint-ball is fine,” said Ellen Perkins, who drafted the PTA resolution. “The problem I see is that parents are buying them for their kids for use in back yards and on the streets and then we end up with unintentional victims because of improper use.”

PTA officials are hoping to attach their proposals to pending legislation, introduced last month by state Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys), that would ban paint-ball guns on school grounds.

Every year, about a million adults flock to specially designed parks--most of them in rural areas--to engage in mock war games using paint-ball guns, according to the International Paintball Players Assn. (IPPA). When played in a controlled setting in accordance with IPPA guidelines that require protective clothing including goggles, the paint-ball war games have a low injury rate--lower than baseball, swimming and fishing, according to association officials.

But when the weapons make their way into the hands of unsupervised youths, who rarely wear protective gear, injuries--unintentional and intentional--can often result, PTA officials say. Incidents such as the one that left the 9-year-old boy with a welt are not uncommon on the peninsula, police say.

“My sons were so frightened (after the shooting) that for weeks neither would venture outside in front of our house,” said Palos Verdes Estates Mayor Rosemary Humphrey, mother of the 9-year-old.

PTA officials have recruited police officers to visit local schools to educate students about the abuses and dangers of paint-ball guns.

“We try to emphasize to the students that what may start out as a prank could lead to serious consequences,” said Shari Albrechtof the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department.

Much more common than injuries, however, are acts of vandalism with paint-ball guns. Youths armed with the paint guns often find it impossible to resist the temptation to pepper street signs, houses and especially school buildings, authorities say.

“The problem we have on campus from paint guns is we have people shooting at buildings,” said Kelly Johnson, principal at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. “It’s sporadic, but I don’t like any vandalism ever.”

Youths caught vandalizing property with paint-ball guns face losing their driving privileges for one year for each violation. But as with most acts of vandalism, enforcement has been difficult.

“It’s real hard to catch them,” Albrecht said. “Many times they drive by in vehicles, and nobody sees them doing it.”

PTA officials also are fearful the paint-ball guns may be mistaken for real weapons by police officers, leading to possible tragic consequences for a person carrying one. Said Albrecht: “They look like real guns. That can be dangerous.”