Gun Culture

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Nutters Against Guns Revert to type

via Cybershooters
“Way Off Target”

Anti-gun campaigners are angry over proposals to authorise airgun training lessons for ex-convicts.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) is in talks with Notts Police over the controversial scheme.

And it claims it could help cure the city’s gun crime problems.

The BASC wants to introduce air gun lessons for young offenders convicted of minor weapon offences, to teach them how to be more responsible.

Janice Collins, of Mothers Against Guns, whose son Brendon Lawrence was shot dead in St Ann’s in February 2002, said: “This is the most stupid proposal I’ve ever heard. It’s ridiculous.

“Ex-convicts, and anyone else, should not be using airguns at all.

(my emphasis)

When BASC and MAG shared a platform at a gun crime prevention conference many commentators heralded it as the dawn of a new age of understanding an co-operation.  It seems that we are a very long way from reaching any kind of common ground with the MAG witches.
It is clear to me that showing youngsters the proper handling of air weapons and the dangers and legal aspects is a step along the way to the youngsters respecting the air weapon.  I’m convinced that a certain degree of low level vandalism is promoted by the effective prohibition of airgun sports by local councillors and other such organisations.  Given an appropriate venue with things like knock down targets and instructors will give young airgun users somewhere to use their weapons responsibly and cut down the possibility for unsafe shooting.  BASC would appear to agree with me.

The BASC believes teaching youngsters how to fire an airgun responsibly and about the dangers of the weapons, is likely to make them think twice about using them dangerously.

So long as we get the knee jerkers crying foul everytime airgun training is mooted we have no hope of educating and channeling youngsters interest in shooting into legal channels.