Airgun ban : calll for help!

[Nik_B 3,790]

Signed.

 

Probs get a slating for this, but would licencing air rifles be such a bad thing? I know it makes life harder for all responsible legitimate airguners, but maybe it will help prevent alot of halfwit chavs getting hold of them? There are a hell of alot of idiots owning air rifles, kids getting killed, pet cats shot etc this is because wankers can just walk into a shop and get a air rifle for £40, its easy. Whereas if it was licenced they may not bother? Not saying it would stop it as handguns have been banned for years yet still alot around.

 

Dont get me wrong I am not promoting a ban just asking if it would be that bad a thing in the long run?

 

HJ

 

Hi Mate this is what I was thinking, as long as the politicians don't wack us with a massive stick then a simple form stating serial number, type and calibre and anything else important should be enough for the police to know what is where. Then if the chavs get caught with an unregistered air gun they can get the book thrown at them even if they didn't do anything bad with it. I think this is definately the way forward as I don't want to see the heavy handed response like what happened with pistols. The number of incidents with airguns are very high but obviously not attributed to normal people.

[Edgar 1]

I think any form of licensing wouldn't solve the problem. People who do stupid things with air guns can generally fill in forms as well as the rest of us and a license might come with more age restrictions making it even harder for young people to get into the sport.

[zak-s410 0]

 

I agree. Stricter controls on the purchase and ownership of Air Rifles would be of a benefit to the Airgunning community. A License (Not FAC IMO) would be good to carry with you along with your written permission just in case the boys in blue did turn up asking questions. It is a pity that the mindless and careless do give the more resposible airgunners a bad name, but that just seems to be the way of it.

 

I think this would be the best idea, not as strict as an fac but some sort of licence

 

Zak

[j davies 8]

4 of us now have asked the question why scotland want them banned and on a lisence but no m=one has told us so i take it its not a big issue at all.

one thing is you can get an airgun any were even off this site and many more and the law states you need to be 16 to get one yet on sites they will deliver them at a price the shops cant do it so what makes us different.

 

lets get the license in yes want it but all i see is a money making thing that they want to charge us for.

if we all read back to last year we went through this to we signed some thing to stop it but not heard nothing since are we signing the same one or a new one answers plaese i wpould like to no

[Phantom 631]

I signed this on its first day up (long time ago)

 

I cant believe that there are still less than 4500 sigs on it

 

Would have thought that given the fact that there are over 50,000 airgun shooters in the uk, there would be more sigs on it by now.

 

Come on people, get off the fence and act. Its not that hard to do honestly.

 

Phantom

[j davies 8]

I signed this on its first day up (long time ago)

 

I cant believe that there are still less than 4500 sigs on it

 

Would have thought that given the fact that there are over 50,000 airgun shooters in the uk, there would be more sigs on it by now.

 

Come on people, get off the fence and act. Its not that hard to do honestly.

 

Phantom

 

no one on here still not said why they want them on licence can anyone tell me

[Livinhope 0]

Hi Folks

 

I thought that the proposed change in law was about primarily aimed at improving the control of Air Guns. Making it a legal requirement to ensure safe storage and control of a fire arm. At the moment an air rifle can be stored in almost any-place and can result in un-authorised and yes unsuitable users having relatively easy access to a fire arm. If I understand the proposed change in law correctly, it would make the owner liable if the gun falls into the wrong hands and thay have not taken adequate precautions to safely store the gun.

 

I have mixed feelings about further laws being introduced to further restrict ahooting, and I now keep my air guns and shotguns stored together in a gun safe. Having a young son who has borrowed my air rifle when I was out at work and been out shooting without appropriate supervision I realise how easy it would be to fall foul of the law. My son and I were looky we live in a rural area where our neighbours understand shooting. But in that same situation in a town or city environment would every one be so fortunate.

 

I will propably be slated for this, but I would sooner face a few more controls than run the risk of loosing my guns or even worse being prosecuted due to the fact that one of my weapons had been used to injure someone.

 

My son got a clip around the ears, and was grounded for a week, far better than a formal warning or criminal record.

 

Happy lawful hunting

 

Dave

[Phantom 631]

 

no one on here still not said why they want them on licence can anyone tell me

 

Because the polititions want the public votes.

 

Thanks to the idiots such as the ones that lost their grip on reality in Hungerford and Dunblane.

These events drove fear into the hearts and minds of the general public and as such a few people made a huge fuss and got automatic weapons banned and then they banned legally held handguns after the Dunblane incident.

 

Then of course there are the idiots who use airguns irresponsibly, people who think its fun (because they don't have two brain cells to rub together) to shoot at anything and everything; including people and their neighbours pets and any wildlife that these morons just happen upon instead of using their guns for legitimate sports and pest control like the bulk of us responsible shooters.

The media just loves to horrify us with stories of guns, bb guns, pellet guns you name it they love to mortify us with them.

Would you by a paper that only published good news and feel good stories?

 

The media are responsible for much of the thinking of the general public, so by scaring people, a few people start to lobby their polititions, they in turn pick up on this and say to the public

"If you vote for me I will do something to lower gun crime, I'll start of by making them permit holders only then like when Dunblane & Hungerford a legally held airgun is used in a crime, we will have no choice but to ban the lot of them for you"

 

Putting air rifles and pistols on a permit will not guarentee a crime free future. In fact as we have already seen with the ban on other types of firearms such as handguns, crime involving them rises dramatically.

 

Realistically, there are way to many airguns out there for any legislation to account for, millions of which don't have serial numbers on them and have been sold on so many times it will be impossible to trace them.

 

Phantom

 

ps: For what its worth, I like the idea of a permit system however, I think its way too impractical and generations too late for an effective permit system to be introduced in this country.

[Phantom 631]

Hi Folks

 

I will propably be slated for this, but I would sooner face a few more controls than run the risk of loosing my guns or even worse being prosecuted due to the fact that one of my weapons had been used to injure someone.

 

My son got a clip around the ears, and was grounded for a week, far better than a formal warning or criminal record.

 

Happy lawful hunting

 

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

 

Child Cruelty or what?

 

Seriously Well done that man old school treatment works far better than a caution or asbo

 

Anyone who wants to slate you for speaking like that would probably be the people who should not be allowed access to airguns in the first place.

 

Phantom

[Jamie93 57]

Just signed. 4735 Sigs so far

Happy Hunting Jamie93

[Richie10 345]

All this time without a licence, why now do we need our hands holding? Nothing to do with safetyall to do with votes and money!

[marko 30]

signed this already but its for a good cause as i shoot myself so i have signed again

[andyfr1968 772]

Done!

 

Phantom's right, I think. There are so many airguns out there that any legislation that may come in will be useless... The only folks who'll register (or whatever) their guns will be law abideing shooters.

 

The crims and the idiots will still carry on breaking the laws that already exist. After hand-guns were banned, did it make it any more illegal to commit murder?? No, it f***ing didn't!!

 

Stupid people do stupid things, always have, always will.... End of.

 

Cheers.

[air gunner 0]

"as long as there are men there will be war" albert einstien (i think)

[Tiddler66 3]

In my opinion, over the next twenty years we will see:-

 

a total ban on shooting with Lead.

Licensing for air guns.

Ban on rearing game to be shot.

We can delay them, but coming they surely are......but with reference to licensing air guns.....I believe that the politicians must be seen doing something...anything.... as long as they are seen to be hard on gun crime.......whether it makes any sense or not......

 

Whilst we are comfortable with guns and gun law most of the UK population have no knowledge about guns and shooting.....If I am going to use a starting pistol in school, we have been asked to inform the police so as to prevent the armed response unit turning up again!!!....

 

I work with lots of the "idiots" mentioned in this thread....and many of them already think that the guns they have are illegal....licensing will only turn many thousands of people into criminals and will not stop children and pets getting killed....We already have some of the most draconian laws relating to gun ownership in the world......and yet we still have people being wounded and worse....In fact if the hand gun ban is anything to go by, the number of incidents will only go up.

 

best wishes and merry Christmas