CS: Pol-Straw may permit pistol shooting at Manchester games
From: Dave Reay, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Gill Marshall Andrews, of the Gun Control Network, which campaigned alongside the Snowdrop Petition, set up in Dunblane after the 1996 shootings, said: "The prospect of our gun laws being eroded is devastating. No-one will believe this is a one-off. If it goes ahead there will be other exemptions and we will have lost the ban on handguns. That is how the gun lobby works. We cannot allow that to happen." The ban on handguns has patently failed to make grate britain a safer place, shootings with handguns have increased not fallen. She urged Jack Straw, who helped to steer the original legislation through the Commons and House of Lords, to remember the reasons why he had supported a ban on handguns four years ago. She said the gun lobby's claim that pistol shooters were responsible and safe was an old argument. Hamilton had owned guns legally, as had Michael Ryan, who was responsible for the shootings at Hungerford. Hamilton was first and foremost a paedophile, he murdered those poor kids and their teacher for no other reason than "If he could not have his perverted way with them, nobody would". In the current atmosphere of "paedophile bashing" we will be missing a golden opportunity to remind the media and Jackass Straw that we were used as a scapegoat for paedophiles! Why was the witchhunt against shooters and not paedophiles? A bloody coverup is my opinion (all those that have been paying attention will know my views on that subject). Thomas Hamilton was not in possession of handguns legally as he was not a member of a gun club, the plod failed the public Big Time over this one! McMurdo failed to act when his own people advised against renewall of Hamiltons FAC, you have got to ask youreself WHY? "Labour, when they came to power, made a brave decision to ban handguns. In terms of gun legislation we have the gold standard in this country. It is a source of inspiration for gun control groups around the world. It would be devastating if we now went back on that and changed our minds." They made a political gesture, they thought it would make them the "party tough on crime and the causes of crime", well how many guns have been taken out of the hands of criminals? How many shootings have taken place with handguns since the ban? Political gestures are as empty as politicians promises. The fact that the Tories were voted out so emphatically, makes them think they were voted in. In fact the Home Secretaries son has been caught selling drugs, the prime ministers son was found drunk and incapable in a public place and the transport ministers driver was caught speeding at 103mph with the transport idiot in the car! What the Hell have been the real benefits of the handgun ban? Absolutely bugger all! The downside of the ban, companies going out of business, the internationally recognised sport of target shooting with handguns is banned to the people of grate britain and the plod cannot find a decent place to hone their skills. Oh! I almost forgot the 57000 British people that were forcibly deprived of their property and made to feel like pariahs in their own country. -- Dave Reay -- Be careful on quoting the crime statistics. There were more people killed with handguns in 1998 than in any year prior to 1992, the figures for 1998 are less than in some of the years 1992-1997 but we need more time to see if there is a downward trend. However it is certainly safe to say that so far there is no indication of a significant drop off in serious firearm-related offences. Some categories such as assault and attempted murder have gone up. Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
CS: Pol-Straw may permit pistol shooting at Manchester games
From: RustyBullethole, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Times 14.8.00 Straw may permit pistol shooting at Manchester games BY PHILIP WEBSTER AND SHIRLEY ENGLISH THE Home Secretary is considering proposals for pistol shooting to be reintroduced as a sport at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester without compromising the controls brought in after the Dunblane massacre. Home Office officials have confirmed that the Government has received applications from overseas sporting organisations to bring pistols into Britain for the competition. It is looking at ways of allowing the British team to train in this country rather than having to go abroad as they do at present. But the Home Office yesterday firmly countered any suggestion of a general relaxation in the ban which was introduced after the 1996 massacre when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children and their teacher before shooting himself dead. It seems likely that British competitors will be allowed to train at the national shooting centre at Bisley in Surrey where the shooting events will be held at the games. In preparation for the games, a range is to be built at the centre with ú6 million of National Lottery money. Kate Hoey, the Sports Minister, is believed to be sympathetic to a call for British competitors to train in this country. At present, the team has to travel to Switzerland to practice. Anti-gun campaigners yesterday pledged to oppose any attempt to relax the ban on handguns. They said that an exemption for the games, which would allow hundreds of guns to be imported, would set a precedent which would lead, inevitably, to an erosion of the law. Gill Marshall Andrews, of the Gun Control Network, which campaigned alongside the Snowdrop Petition, set up in Dunblane after the 1996 shootings, said: "The prospect of our gun laws being eroded is devastating. No-one will believe this is a one-off. If it goes ahead there will be other exemptions and we will have lost the ban on handguns. That is how the gun lobby works. We cannot allow that to happen." She urged Jack Straw, who helped to steer the original legislation through the Commons and House of Lords, to remember the reasons why he had supported a ban on handguns four years ago. She said the gun lobby's claim that pistol shooters were responsible and safe was an old argument. Hamilton had owned guns legally, as had Michael Ryan, who was responsible for the shootings at Hungerford. "Labour, when they came to power, made a brave decision to ban handguns. In terms of gun legislation we have the gold standard in this country. It is a source of inspiration for gun control groups around the world. It would be devastating if we now went back on that and changed our minds." - How the hell this woman get so much space in newspapers is beyond me. Rusty -- Letters to the (obviously biased) Times seem to be in order. If they do allow shooters to practice prior to the Games it will be a pretty major concession, it has to be said. They were always totally opposed to that during the passage of the Bill. Who gives a toss if it's a "major inspiration" for gun control groups? Aren't the Commonwealth Games supposed to be an inspiration to a far wider segment of the population? Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
CS: Pol-Straw may permit pistol shooting at Manchester games
From: "Richard Loweth", [EMAIL PROTECTED] I, for one, will be writing to support Gill Marshall-Andrews. Those who actively tried to stop this ban may, perversely, now support her because it was a total ban. It sickens me that the NRA are seemingly colluding in this whole matter. See how quickly we go from all animals being equal to four legs good, too legs better! This whole thing will only benefit those who are established Olympic and Commonwealth shooters, it certainly will not allow the "grass roots" to once more use pistols in the hope that they, too, might aspire to shoot for England or the Home Nations. Wholeheartedly I agree with Gill Marshall-Andrews (but for different reasoning). Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
CS: Pol-Straw may permit pistol shooting at Manchester games
From: "E.J. Totty", [EMAIL PROTECTED] [...] How the hell this woman get so much space in newspapers is beyond me. Rusty [...] Or, perhaps more to the point is, how is it that she can make so many off-the-wall statements without a wit's worth of factual substantiation concerning her comments about firearms, and their misuse? That, more than anything else, is what you should be asking. If that woman can be so assertive about a position on something she has no direct knowledge of, has no first hand experience in, cannot certifiably prove one iota of her contentions on, then maybe you people need to take her to a court of law, and sue the pants off her butt in a civil case that would prove once and for all that her position is built upon quicksand. She has built an empire of lies, and she is gradually going to bury in them if you don't take her to court and make her prove that the law abiding firearms owners are not a problem that she says YOU are. You can just sit there and fry in your own fat, or you can jump out of that pan, and proceed to give her a taste of her own medicine. What does it take, anymore, to get make Brits to stand up and kick butt? Your choice. ET -- What would be the basis for a civil case? The only one I can think of is that she may cause a bad effect on the revenue from ticket sales to the Games by spreading lies, but that would be a tough one to prove in court. Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
