I suspect there will be many here who will disagree with me, but I feel the current laws we have are quite adequate and require no further restrictions. If it is not broke, don't mend it!
Motion for leave to introduce a Bill
On Friday, Thomas Docherty -- the Labour MP for Dunfermline and West Fife -- is proposing a Bill in the House of Commons that will set a minimum age for owning a shotgun certificate at 14. It is a piece of legislation proposed because Mr Docherty believes "our society is not comfortable with the principle of young children handling lethal weapons."
More than 7,000 under-18s received certificates between 2008 and 2010. Police revoked just two shotgun certificates given to children in the past decade, according to the Countryside Alliance. In a Freedom of Information request sent to police forces in England and Wales, the Countryside Alliances asked how many people under the age of 14 had shotgun certificates revoked between 2000 and 2010.
One individual under-14 lost their certificate in Essex following an allegation of criminal damage.
Suffolk and Norfolk Police forces, which have a joint firearms unit, revoked a certificate held by an individual who had been accused of burglary.
As it stands; Children issued with shotgun certificates cannot own a gun, and must be supervised by an adult. Young people who want to have a certificate must go through a vetting process and prove that they want to use a shotgun for a legitimate purpose such as clay or game shooting. Anyone who is under 15 must be supervised by someone over 21 when handling a shotgun.
Young people should not be restricted from using shotguns - it is for parents to decide when their children are introduced to shooting and meddling with the current strict rules is unnecessary. Our Shooting Campaign Manager David Taylor appeared on the Today programme yesterday opposite Mr Docherty and made it clear that there is no evidence at all to support Mr Docherty's claim that 'society as a whole is deeply uncomfortable with the idea of a 7-year-old having unfettered access to a lethal weapon.' Listen to the exchange here
Our report supports our case using evidence collected from Constabularies across England and Wales under the Freedom of Information Act. We discovered that only two young people under the age of 14 have had their certificates removed in the past ten years, a figure which shows that young people with Shotgun Certificates take that responsibility very seriously and that there is no logical basis for the proposed minimum age. Indeed, any young shots I have met have been the model of responsibility, sportsmanship and maturity - we have always said that it is a privilege and a responsibility to hold a Shotgun Certificate whatever your age and that holds true.
Mr Docherty has been unable to justify his Bill and we hope a lack of Parliamentary time sees it off, but this whole episode has been an excellent opportunity for us to speak up on behalf of the shooting community. It is our mission to bring young people into shooting sports - especially during Olympic year. We will resist all attempts to deny them access to our sport.
Sex God
