Tony Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 If they were banned they wouldn't be as many in the wrong hands would there? Ergo, the illegal use of them would reduce along with the injury (death) to people pets and property. Strict gun licensing in the UK means we have very low relative gun crime so why not licence air weapons too? Where are the real points of objection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Is it time that air rifles and air pistols were licenced? Is it right that anyone can walk into a shop, or log on to the internet and buy a weapon, no matter low powered it might be? Should all gun owners require a police inspection and a licence? You can't buy a gun on the internet anymore, the laws changed regarding sale of airweapons by post or online. I believe a police inspection or similar would be a good idea, license too. As long as it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. If you required both before you could buy an airweapon that would be even better. well its apity we're not government or itd be changed immediately lol *waits for the right wingers to arrive and balls it all up tho* HEY! i'm not right wing! I like target sports, it's a good way to develop self-discipline and patience. I'm not talking about a garden rambo taking pot-shots at birds, but anyone who's felt the moment of clarity before shooting a direct bullseye will know what i mean. Magnified even more so in barebow archery. Most air pistols, limited by law to 6 foot pounds of muzzle energy but often more like 3 or 4, won’t even pass through a layer of trouser and break the skin. It’ll smart a bit, but that’s about all. I think it's the rifles people are getting at Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaFoot Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Where are the real points of objection? First of all, I'm not convinced we need them licensing / banning because I'm not convinced that the problems we may experience with people mis-using them are really as great as some would have me believe. How many incidents of death have there been per airgun in circulation? Probably less than deaths caused by hoovers (ok I made that up, but hopefully it illustrates the point - accidents/misuse of anything will happen)! How many real problems would be prevented by introducing a costly (it's the only way a government know to to things!) licensing system. That cost must be bourne by us (I don't see licences covering the costs of running the system). The obvious comparison would be with the handgun ban, however that comparison would be flawed as I believe the majority of airguns do not have magazines as per handguns. Of the airguns small enough to be concealed how many are below the legal limit of power and capable of killing (bar exceptional cases such as being shot in the eye). I'm not a fan of the blanket handgun ban but would argue there is a case for them to be strictly licenced because of the higher power and potential fire rate in comparison to concealable handguns. We have laws in place now to deal with misuse of airguns, enforce them. People are too keen to ban this, ban that instead of taking some personal responsibility. It just feels to me to be a solution looking for a problem. Introducing licencing would prevent people experiencing a (for the majority of owners) perfectly safe hobby. I had my first air rifle around the age of 15 for 'casual' plinking in the garden, many hours of entertainment. If licencing were in force, I, like many others would never have experienced that hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 The thread is about licensing, not banning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaFoot Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 The thread is about licensing, not banning. For many (such as me as a 15yo) it would equate to the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 But why? A 15 year old isn't allowed to own an air gun now so what would change if a license was required? I'm struggling to see where the real point of objection is and I really am trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaFoot Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Ok...so up the age of the example person a couple of years (used to be 14 with supervision), the same idea of preventing someone trying out a hobby with mates in garden is effectively outlawed as one of those mates would have had to of gone to whatever lengths/costs as are deemed required for a license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaFoot Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Rather than looking for reasons to object, why not look for reasons for? So far the reasons given have been IMO not significant enough to warrant the extra admin/costs etc etc. I don't doubt however that whatever my feelings on the subject are, in time airguns will fall under licensing rules or even be banned outright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 A license wouldn't stop you trying out the hobby in the garden (providing your a x m from a road of course). It just means that your use of the gun is under the control of a person responsible enough to hold a license which should discourage you (and them) from shooting at people, pets and property. Why is that a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaFoot Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 You would still have to : Find someone with a license, that would be willing to let you use their gun, be willing to supervise. You would also have to pester them each time you wanted to go out shooting, assuming no-one would be applying for a license after 1 shoot (again thinking of cost and the average youngster, 16-18). It just puts an unnecessary barrier up to people experiencing shooting for the first time. Once someone has decided they want to take it up they could apply for the paper work but would licensing actually acheive anything other than reduce new participants in a perfectly valid hobby? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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