Every time this comes up in the forums, I hesitate to respond because people get very emotional, almost religious, about this topic. This post may seem like a rant, but I assure you it is not, and it won't upset me one iota if you disagree.
That being said, below are some of my thoughts on jumping and jump cues.
Jumping is easy, kicking is hard
Using a jump cue, with a little training, getting the cue ball airborne is easy. That's where "jumping is easy" ends. Jumping is a skill, just like any other, and it takes work, knowledge, and practice to maximize that skill. Once you learn how to get the ball airborne, you have to learn how to not hit it too hard, how to land it where you want, how to hit it on line, how to pocket balls, and ultimately how to control the cue ball afterwards.
In my local room, I think I am regarded as one of the better practitioners of the jump shot. Why? Because I practice it. I've put in my time to develop the skill. While jumping I have (intentionally) made balls and applied english and spin. I have jump caromed, jump masse'd, jump banked, jump kicked, and jump safetied. I once jumped my own ball in eight-ball: not because I got out of position, but because it was the best way to complete the run out. I've tried (unsuccessfully) to double jump, but I'll get there some day.
I've dart jumped, sidearm jumped, long cue jumped, and rail jumped. I've jumped balls very close and far away. I've jumped into a cluster to strike a specific ball on top. And if you think it was "easy" to get to that skill level, then we'd have to agree to disagree. Even though my "make" percentage is very low, in the grand scheme of things, I've gotten pretty good at it by hard work and effort. And don't forget that developing the skill isn't enough, you also have to have the imagination and the vision to see the shot and the courage to pull the trigger.
I get tired of hearing that "jumping is easy". I love seeing a good jump shot, because I know it's more difficult than a regular shot. It's harder to aim, it's harder to stroke the ball on the proper line, and it's harder to control the cue ball, both before and after the object ball is contacted. The margin for error is much smaller when you add the third dimension. Do you know why the pros jump with such confidence? They practice the jump shot. If it was so easy, they wouldn't need to practice. And yes, they use good equipment. And they have great imaginations. And, let's face it, they're just better at this than we are.
Does kicking require more skill? To achieve the same level of skill, absolutely. I can kick and hit a ball fairly well, and some of the time I can even hit the correct side of the object ball, and sometimes I can control the cue ball afterwards. I applaud anyone who can truly master kicking, especially considering all the mitigating factors between tables: rail/bumper quality, cloth condition and cleanliness, speed, humidity, english, spin, how hard the cue ball was struck, and so on. But the difficulty of kicking in no way alleviates the difficulty of jumping. Both are skills that take time and effort to develop.
Banning the jump shot
Reading all that above, you may think that I would get upset if the jump shot was banned. I would not. As long as the same rules apply to everyone, that's equitable. When I was learning how to play, before jump cues were really a thing, I took lessons from a guy who played on the BCA tour (and owned our local pool hall, where I worked). He found me practicing the jump shot one day (full cue at the time), and told me not to bother because the BCA was going to outlaw the jump shot. 25 years later, here we are.
I do think pool was intended to be played two dimensionally. We don't allow the scoop shot, which is basically an intentional miscue. If we wanted to extend that to say that any action that causes the cue ball to intentionally leave the surface of the table is a foul, then so be it. Until that day comes, however, the jump shot is just another part of the game.
On banning jump cues
Assuming the jump shot is still legal, the problem with banning the jump cue is it's a slippery slope. If you're going to ban the jump cue because it is a "specialty" cue, then you have to ban the break cue as well. It doesn't matter if your justification is to protect your playing tip, it's a cue designed and used for a specialty shot, so the same logic applies. At the very least, you have to ban special break tips. And shafts. And ferrules. While we're at it, we have to ban the bridge and the temporary cue extension. These are specialty pieces of equipment used for specialty shots and specialty situations.
Again, I'm OK if this happens, because the same rules would apply to everyone. Is it realistic? Heck no. But the idea that jump cues are ruining the game is as preposterous as saying the bridge is ruining the game.
Conclusions
As long as the jump shot is still legal, the jump cue should be legal. You may not like jumping, which is fine, but don't jump to the conclusion (sorry, I couldn't resist) that it is either too easy or ruining the game. At the end of the day, I still have to select the shot, aim, and stroke. No cue, jump or otherwise, is going to do that for me.