Forget "doing it for the children", just arm them now
Via Kim
The rise of violent crime was highlighted yesterday when it was revealed that children as young as eight have been caught with guns.
This photograph was taken three years ago, when Boy was seven years old. It was a beautiful evening & with a couple of hours of daylight left, we thought that we would the opportunity to go & pot some rabbits before supper.
Down in these yerrrr parrrrrrts, this is pretty much normal behaviour. In fact I simply cannot exactly recall at what age I did the same with my father. However (via The Englishman) it would seem that the GFWs don’t want our children to be taught how to safely handle legally owned weapons …
Did you realise there is no minimum age requirement for a shotgun licence, and that children as young as 10 are being issued with them?
It was news to me too, and I find it amazing that such a legal loophole exists, which has been highlighted in this report by the East Anglian Daily Times.
A Freedom of Information request found that an 11-year-old has been given a shotgun licence by police already this year, while in 2006 a 10-year-old was handed one. In the past five years, 182 under-16s have received shotgun licences from Suffolk police which are valid for five years.
A police spokesman was quick to point out that when people think about young people and guns, they think about inner-city crime which has nothing to do with a lawfully held shotgun which could be used for clay-pigeon shooting. Licence applications are countersigned by an adult. The law is the law, their hands are tied, and they have to issue them.
However, I don’t feel comfortable about this, do you? Anti-gun campaigners do not feel children are mature enough to use a powerful weapon. I would be interested to know how many young shotgun holders have been involved in accidents. Do the police ask why pre-teens want a shotgun? I would like to see the data on that too.
Whilst my heart is uplifted to learn that in Suffolk alone, 182 under-16s have received Shotgun Certificates, this sort of thing really causes me to spend hours, sitting in the dark, stroking my Remington while whispering softly to her soon soon my precious, soon soon. In fact, as regular readers will know, this sort of rage is normally followed by your humble correspondent heading straight down to the gun shop to buy himself another little something (once the urge to head for the clock tower has receded). But not this time however, oh no. This time I am going to do something a little different…
The big irony in all of this is that Boy, now ten years old, doesn’t actually need a Shotgun Certificate to shoot on a regular basis & shoot on a regular basis he certainly does. However, thanks to the likes of Ms Seymour (someone who labels herself as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations , Press Consultant, Journalist, Political & PR Blogger), that is about to change. If young people being approved by their local Firearms Licensing Officer to have a Certificate causes such PSH, there is clearly only one course of action open.
Looks like I will be filling in the forms this weekend!
Yours, aye
Mr FM
(someone who when he is sober enough to remember, wants to see EVERY ONE one of Her Majesty's law abiding subjects armed & trained in the use of those arms)
Comments
So shotguns are on a different licence to rifles?
I wish kids could get licences here, NZ firearms law restricts licences to those 15 and above, so no 10 yr olds with shotguns, which is a pity, it means If I'm showing my cousins kids how to handle a rifle or other firearm, there must be one firearm in use per licence holder, as any unlicenced person must be under the direct supervision of a licence holder. The police interpret that as you muat hav your hands free and be close enough to take it away from them if they start acting funny. so no sitting on the next bench over and having a competition on who can manage the most bullseyes in the least time :( If they could have a licence under 15 here that would be so much easier :P
Posted by: Rhys | March 5, 2008 12:46 AM
If thats the only downside to NZ law sign me up, when can I emigrate.
Both of my kids use both rifles and shotguns and have been stalking and rough shooting.
Posted by: TimC | March 5, 2008 9:17 AM
In the Lone Star State, of course, there's no such thing as a "gun licence" or "gun owner's licence" either. As I recall, you can own any long gun you want, at any age. Buying them is another matter: you have to be 18 before you can buy a long gun, 21 a handgun. BUT there is no restriction on parents buying guns for their children, and on the parents' property, a yoot can "own" any gun or shoot anything they want, up to and including burglars.
The biggest restriction, sensibly, is on traveling with guns. Under-21s may not drive with a handgun in their car unless accompanied by an adult. This, however, is waived for sporting pistols such as competition pieces.
Air guns of any sort are not "guns", so none of the above applies to them, although I believe that some stores would prefer that air pistols be bought in the company of parents.
Posted by: Kim du Toit | March 5, 2008 1:01 PM
Hmmmm. I guess that I am really bad. My eldest son was given a .22 Rifle when he was 8. It was his, he still has it and is 41 now. I, however, did exercise some control over it and there was no license of any kind required. He got to use it sufficiently that when he was in the Army he qualified expert with any weapon they chose to give him.
Posted by: DE644 | March 5, 2008 8:14 PM
It always makes me laugh/cry when the anti-gunners get all freaked out about young people and guns. It shows that they don't believe in personal responsibility and/or that the parents can teach those responsiblities. I had my first rifle at around 8 or 9, but that was in Wyoming a long time ago.
Gary
Posted by: Gary | March 5, 2008 8:42 PM
I have become embroiled in several arguments after reading this, there are street kids tooled up in big cities, this seems ok but when youngsters have to be responsible and earn a gun certificate then they shit themselves??? so far I have not found anyone to think right about this and that worries me, other than the FM family, myself and a handfull of others where have the english of Churchill gone??
Posted by: Chris Edwards | March 5, 2008 10:35 PM