Thursday 12 January 2012

Derbyshire Police Statement on Airguns

It saddens me to read this on the website of the regional paper, the Burton Mail. For two reasons. 


One - that there are still a handful of mindless morons out there who tarnish the responsible reputation of the vast majority of airgunners with their utter disrespect of the law.


And two - that the ever-increasing number of laws this Government keeps introducing to impose further restrictions on young airgunners clearly isn't working. The 43 offences involving airguns - and we don't know, exactly, what those offences were, but that they involved 'air rifles and BB guns' - spiked between 15:00 and 18:00 which, the report suggests, implies a high proportion of young offenders.


When will they learn that the real issue is not about introducing a constant barrage of legislation, but effective education? Stopping youngsters being involved with airguns (in a responsible, controlled environment) is actually not conducive to teaching them the good rudiments of safe gun handling and a responsible attitude toward shooting? 


I was taught how to handle a gun at a very early age, and I can actually clearly remember reprimanding my peers when they ever contemplated misusing the airguns we had access to as teenagers! Many kids 'want a go' with an airgun; why on earth don't we give them that go... but with all the expert guidance that will ultimately stop them misusing airguns?


However, I was heartened to read the end paragraph: "Officers are now regularly visiting schools to educate youngsters about the risks, dangers and consequences of using air weapons." Bravo! That's exactly what's needed - and I don't mind betting that, this time next year, the number of offences involving airguns will, actually, have fallen in the Derbyshire area!

1 comment:

  1. I am from the USA and I find this very interesting. There has long been a movement to take firearms from Americans in the USA. I always wondered where it would stop because it would not stop at firearms. These events in the UK seem to reinforce my opinion. Good luck, citizens of the world to keep your rights.

    PS I know my family left England many generations ago but I have always had a fondness for the place. The one time I got to visit it was like coming home.

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