Lessons to be learned - Gun Crime

Lord Mackenzie (of Framwellgate) spoke this morning of the 1996 shootings in Dunblane (actually he said, Hungerford, but we know what he meant!) and how the subsequent ban on hand guns was the right outcome. This is a viewpoint that I consider to be more than just a little flawed for a number of reasons. the greatest of these is that it has done little or nothing regarding illegal gun crime, it is the product of a flawed logic and that it was a vehicle that gave the then government the popular support for something they intended to do (a bit like the image of fluffy foxes and cruel hounds did for fox-hunting!).

Ironically, since our ennobled gentleman was a representative of the Police Superintendent's Association I would have thought that he'd know a little bit of our gun crime and law-changing as a result history. Still, he has his personal opinion and he's welcome to it.

Hungerford saw a man that the local guns clubs had refused membership to given a FAC (Firearms Certificate). Now, the anecdotal story is that this happened because someone forgot to do the visit and merely signed the paperwork to clear their desk before their holiday. Whether or not this is true, this saw an end to automatic weapons being held by legitimate shooter (although, from what I've read, he did the damage with non-automatic weapons).

Dunblane and that nice Mr. Hamilton was at large and sixteen children and their teacher were killed. The loss was awful, the fact that various gun clubs had asked that the man be 'dealt with' by the police and the revelation that upon inspection loaded weapons, illegally held, were discovered and the inspecting officer added them to his ticket (Hamilton's FAC) thus making them legal, was, and is, something that makes my blood boil. Shooters called for his weapons to be seized and they (the police) gave him more!!!

After Dunblane we had to endure such fallacious arguments as, "If you get rid of all legal weapons then there can't be any illegal weapons, as all illegal weapons start out as legal!" An interesting and valid thought and therefore we could extend this to say the same for murderers, for all murderers start out as innocent children . .

For those of you who don't know shooters I will try to explain some of the realities.

When someone first comes to a gun club (well the ones I've belonged to) they are not allowed to use any weapons (and this will mean club weapons as they won't have an FAC) until they've visited a few times and been through the initial safety training. During this period, the committee and other club members watch the new person and assess them. Any feelings of unease and they are not offered membership. I have even called other club safety officers and warned then of 'dodgy' people.

They then need to shoot for a period of time (three to six months) under supervision and then after that, they can apply for an FAC. Many people don't need to have one, they can merely have a weapon stored at the club (which is a good option for many) and for those who want to do competitions and the like, they have gun cabinets at home.

there are then police and medical checks, which should include a couple of visits from the police (which to be honest doesn't always happen - I had a telephone call from one gun officer as he was 'busy'!) and the like.

Shooters work on the theory that to have the right to have weapons (they're our golf clubs!) requires responsibilities and certain attitudes and conditions. We are self-regulatory and keep the nutters out, provide a place for people to drop weapons in (I'll tell you some stories some day) and are committed to getting as many rounds into the centre, struggling against ourselves as we struggle for that elusively consistent 'poss) (ten out of ten) every time.

Please don't jump to conclusions regarding Cumbria - please don't see shooters as dodgy or whatever, they're the ones who haven't gotten into club (generally). Gun crime increased by over 40% in the two years after Dunblane and to be honest, it hasn't generally slowed that much in the years since then to now. Last year the Met Police area saw a 19% rise in gun crime.

As much as some will seek to point the finger at legally held weapons and shooters, they don't generally do the gun crime. I see from the latest that Bird was licenced, holding a .22 rifle and a shotgun . . .

I hope some find this informative and useful (sorry it's so long).