I feel SOOOOO much safer now

[urx]

thanks to soundbiting tokenistic politicians hungry for favourable meeeja coverage
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?...8&id=688172005

barf

[Mad Pierre]

A total of 600 guns, including airguns, BB guns and shotguns, have been handed in to Lothian and Borders Police since November.

There are thought to be as many as 400,000 air weapons in Scotland

So out of half a million they got 600 people scared enough to 'take action'.
I'm thinking that the people of Scotland care less about this issue than the media are telling them they should.
Surely with this amount of guns in the country there should be a far higher casualty rate? You know, more than the 1 death........what with these guns being do dangerous and all.......

[Professor]

So out of half a million they got 600 people scared enough to 'take action'.
I'm thinking that the people of Scotland care less about this issue than the media are telling them they should.
Surely with this amount of guns in the country there should be a far higher casualty rate? You know, more than the 1 death........what with these guns being do dangerous and all.......

I emailed the First Minister months ago when the idea of a Scottish ban was first mooted, but all I got was pre-prepared reply explaining the serious threat to law and order that airguns present. The usual stuff - you know, 'We in our wisdom have decided that jumping on this bandwaggon will make us popular and so I'm not even going to respond to the points you made about dealing severely with criminals and leaving law abiding people to enjoy their sport responsibly'.

[urx]

its much easier to sit in committees shaping absurd new sticking plaster laws than it is to support the enforcement of the existing ones by backing the Police Courts and Penal system. It gets the same brwonie points at election time but takes less effort and you dont have to worry so much about funding the result you want

[starrysmoothhound]

i heard one of these silly buggers saying they were looking for a new law to stop happy slapping or whatever, surely this is assault, actual bodily harm, etc etc.

[SteveH]

I find it incredible that these initiatives by the police are always treated with such derision by people.

Many of the "offence" committed by people using airguns are opportunistic committed because someone who probably would not go and buy a gun has picked up an old gun that been lying around for years - "Kids find Dads air rifle in the shed and take it for a spin".

There are always the nutters like the chap that shot young Andrew Morton , but all the police have said is that if anyone has a weapon that is not being used and they have no need for it then lets get rid of it.

You never know - might save a kids eye or even a young uns life. No doubt some would argue that the answer would be to prosecute someone after the event. Think about it.

Steve H