Well early this morning the Violent Crime Reduction Bill (the government’s current flagship piece of legislation) was made hugely public, with coverage on local radio across and every other news medium available (see the BBC and the Guardian). I’m not going to get political here, but I am going to get “anti-stupid”.
Every headline in relation to this bill reads something along the lines of”targets replica guns”, when the intent of the bill is to restore ‘respect’ in local communities that suffer from anti-social behavior across a wide ranging area. Quite how you solve a problem by taking action against the symptoms of a problem rather than addressing the purely social issue of anti-social behavior is beyond me.
The current news articles in the press bundle in information about things such as ‘readily convertible’ 9mm PAK blank firers (already illegal), misuse of high power air rifles (again already illegal with special legislation to cover it) and the carrying of replica firearms in a public place (again already made illegal under the ASBA), and irresponsibly wrap it all up into an unbelievable vision of an inert plastic toy gun that any child can buy for pennies that can be converted to kill another human being. Reasons for the need for such a ban from the Police themselves are normally given as “It is often almost impossible to tell the difference between a real gun and a replica.” (Chief Superintendent Paul Robinson, Scotland Yard). In all honesty though, anything that looks like a firearm should be treated as such by law enforcement officers until identified as otherwise, and this would remain the case even after a possible ban on anything that looked like a firearm. Right now there is legislation in place to tackle the carrying of anything that looks like a firearm in a public place, so why the need for more ineffective laws?
What it all boils down to is hugely encompassing bill driven by mass political hysteria and misinformation. The news in relation to the shooting of Harry Stanley has fallen off the front page (see article here), and over at the BBC it doesn’t even appear in the recent firearms related news column. For those that missed it Harry Stanley was sadly shot and killed back in 1999 when a wooden chair leg was mistaken for a real firearm. Would the current proposed legislation have saved his life? Another news story currently used as fuel for the fire is the sad story of a lady that was shot and killed by a converted blank firer (source), a type that is quite commonly available in Europe and by proxy the UK too.
It’s widely accepted that there should be more stringent laws concerning the licensing, import and sale of blank firers (laws were already tightened up last year), but to suggest that anything that looks like a firearm should be banned simply doesn’t hold water. On what level does such an action promote public safety? Criminals who wish to commit criminal acts will do so with what is commonly available, remove one item from them and they will move to the next available tool. To put things in perspective if this bill was here to combat burglaries and home invasion in the UK we’d be seeing a overly hyped up proposed ban on screwdrivers and hammers in the popular press.
What this country needs is more effective methods of policing, combined with a more effective means of tackling antisocial behavior in adolescents specifically directed at the cause of the problem, and not at the tools that are used by those that choose to become criminals.
Hazel Blears (Home Office minister) is expected to propose a whole list of new laws towards parliament, and I for one can only hope that they tackle the real issues relating to the anti-social misuse of firearms, that being higher sentences for those that misuse imitation guns of any type, and tough standards to ensure that no replica (read blank firer) can get into the UK that can be readily converted to fire live ammunition.
Having recently spent some time in the US myself it was a refreshing change to visit a country where firearms of any sort are looked upon with respect and as specialized tools, much like a chainsaw or lawn mover. Over there no one really bats an eyelid over a licensed firearm, for the simple fact that it’s understood that a licensed legal firearm is of no threat to them. In states where concealed carry permits have been issued to law abiding citizens they have been a proven direct deterrent against criminal activity in local neighborhoods and actually a factor in the reduction of local crime.
It’d be nice to see the responsible and factual education of firearms to the public, perhaps leading to a country in the future that doesn’t irrationally suffer a heart attack the second the word ‘gun’ is uttered; yet sadly I doubt that will ever happen. Guns are quite simply “Bad” [sic] in the UK, the general public doesn’t really know why and most likely couldn’t explain it themselves, but after being battered through every possible media stream with factually incorrect anti-firearm related propaganda (sorry.. ‘information’) we’re sadly left in a country living on tip toes ready to jump on the back of new bans and legislation at the crack of a whip. It’s nail in the coffin time lads, and there’s not much good news on the horizon.
