When I was a kid, you could get realistic toy guns. They weren’t super realistic, mind you–they were still plastic or cheap metal–but they were close enough that you could pretend.

Unfortunately, kids got killed and the law was changed. Now, if you want a realistic-looking “gun,” you need an airsoft gun.

Those have been around for decades, of course, and are popular with many who take part in military simulations, or milsims. Basically, it’s like playing war, but with actual rules.

However, sometimes, people get stupid with those airsoft guns, like this guy from Phoenix.

A man with an airsoft gun was shot to death at a Phoenix gas station early Sunday morning by a man with a real gun.

Police were called out to a shooting near Camelback Road and I-17 around 5 a.m. and found 31-year-old Sergio Cruz with a gunshot wound.

An investigation found that Cruz was in an argument with the shooter over someone they both knew. At that point, police say Cruz pulled out an airsoft gun and pointed it toward the man who then responded by shooting Cruz in the chest with a handgun.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

See, the only reason to carry an airsoft gun around is because you want people to think that it’s a real gun. You’re hoping you can scare them into compliance or something.

So, when you pull what is basically a toy on someone and they pull a real gun and shoot you, well, that’s called “natural selection.” I’d like to thank such souls for removing themselves from the gene pool, hopefully before they reproduce.

Because honestly, if you bring a toy to a gunfight, you’re kind of asking for this to happen.

And if you think pulling an airsoft gun is anything but that, you’re an idiot as well.

Oh, sure, you may get away with it for a while, but the moment you pull that on an armed citizen, you’ve now proudly declared that you no longer wish to live on this Earth and are ready to shuffle off this mortal coil.

You see, regardless of whether it’s a real gun or not, you’ve opted to threaten someone’s life. What’s more, you’ve opted to use something that looks an awful lot like a firearm to do it.

When a gun is pointing at you, you’re not going to break out a set of calipers to see if the opening is a real gun or not.

Besides, an airsoft gun is 6mm. A .22 Long Rifle firearm is 5.6mm. In other words, even if you could tell it wasn’t a .45 or 9mm barrel pointing at you, you’d still have no reason to assume it’s not a live firearm pointing at you.

If you do this, you’re asking to take a dirt nap.

And, frankly, I’m not going to shed a tear over it.

In this case, the shooter isn’t currently facing any charges. For the shooting, he most definitely shouldn’t. You don’t play around when a gun is pointed at you.

If it’s not a real gun, well, you’re kind of asking for what happens if you do it.