The choice of yobs for gun crime.
Posted on 05/06/2008 10:32:43 AM PDT by neverdem
ANTI-GUN campaigners have warned the Government not to relax firearms legislation in the run-up to the London Olympics, saying: "A child's life is not worth a medal." UK and Scottish ministers have agreed that from August, sportsmen and women will be given special permission to use their weapons at Ministry of Defence ranges in Britain. At present, competitors have to train abroad.
It is a major breakthrough for British Shooting, the sport's governing body, which has campaigned for years to exempt its members from the strict laws introduced after gun collector Thomas Hamilton massacred 16 children and a teacher at Dunblane Primary School in 1996.
But Anne Pearston, who led the Snowdrop Campaign that led to the Firearms Amendments Act 1997 banning the ownership of handguns, said she was opposed to the exemption. "A child's life is not worth a medal," she said.
Pearston said while there had been other school massacres around the world, the UK's tough laws had prevented further British tragedies.
She said: "I want us to get to the 20th anniversary without another school massacre. We don't want any weakening of the legislation – if anything it needs to be tightened up. The Government is supposed to safeguard the public, not be swayed by sportspeople."
The UK-wide Gun Control Network, which replaced the Snowdrop Campaign, said it had been pressing ministers to keep the handgun ban intact.
Gill Marshall-Andrews, the network's chairman, said: "We are opposed to any kind of change in the legislation, even for training purposes. Some of those who have taken up the sport are young enough to have done so since the ban was introduced, knowing that it was illegal in this country. Why should we put wider society at risk for the sake of a few sportspeople?"
John Leighton-Dyson, British Shooting's performance director, said: "We are not asking for US-style liberalisation. We just want an opportunity for a small number of sportsmen and women to be allowed to compete in the Olympics and win gold medals for their country. I'm sure that's something that every right-minded member of the public would support."
The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it expected a trial exemption for sportsmen and women to begin in August after the Beijing Olympics.
The exemption would run up to the 2012 London Olympics and, if successful, be extended to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Is child shooting an olympic sport now?
Some people are too stupid to remain free.
The English seem to be about to find this out.
Nations that value security over freedom inevitably wind up with neither.
Winston Churchill is rolling around in his grave right now over Britain’s anti gun stances.
Have I got this right? The UK Olympic shooting team cannot train inside the UK?
Good grief. That’s diagnosably paranoid.
The English seem to be about to find this out.
Their soon to be islam-a-nazi masters will make this abundantly clear to them.
Was Hamilton a member of the Olympic shooting team? If not, the "anger" is more like "idiocy".
An epidemic of hoplophobia..
How can it be tightened up beyond an outright ban?
The Government is supposed to safeguard the public, not be swayed by sportspeople." The UK-wide Gun Control Network, which replaced the Snowdrop Campaign, said it had been pressing ministers to keep the handgun ban intact. Gill Marshall-Andrews, the network's chairman, said: "We are opposed to any kind of change in the legislation, even for training purposes. Some of those who have taken up the sport are young enough to have done so since the ban was introduced, knowing that it was illegal in this country. Why should we put wider society at risk for the sake of a few sportspeople?"
Remember this when they claim to not oppose guns for sporting purposes.
I wonder if they are going to relax the rules to allow the shooting sports to occur during the London games.
Or are the pistol teams going to point their fingers and shout BANG?
Yea. Unfortunately it's spreading here too.
How many individual shootings have there been since the ban on guns? Does it add up to more than those 16 children? Bet it does. So where is the safety????
That's my understanding. They can't use any police or military ranges in their own country. They had to travel to other countries to train before this agreement. The place has lost common sense, excepting local election results last weekend.
Finally they are addressing the alarming incidents of Olympic athletes running amok.
I think they should look into banning the UK’s participation in javelin, archery, and shot put as well. If it saves even one child's life it will be worth it.
In fact, competition by its very nature is violent, too violent for England. People thinking about, and practicing toward, WINNING can lead to wrong thoughts that could possibly lead to injury of innocents.
The choice of yobs for gun crime.
Hey Anne! What is worth the lives of 2 children a year?
Your smug sense of self-accomplishment?
Since 1997, there have been on average 2 more under 18 year old Britons killed every year by shootings.
Come on Anne, what are their lives worth?
Not only is competition and the concept of winner/loser much too violent and judgmental, but just think if a trained English team were to WIN against competitors from an, ahem, “Asian” country. Sensibilities would be offended. Their righteous rage at the English crusaders would be understandable. We simply cannot allow such a “racial” insult to happen.
I wasn’t aware that Olympic shooters were in the habit of potting children. Pearston strikes me as more than a little unhinged on the topic.
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