cuchulainn
August 21, 2003, 08:13 AM
from the Nottingham Evening Post
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=66056&command=displayContent&sourceNode=65583&contentPK=6744508MUSEUM NO PLACE FOR GUNS - MUM
12:00 - 21 August 2003
Weapons handed in to Notts Police during a recent month-long guns amnesty are on display at the Galleries of Justice.
But the idea has angered anti-gun campaigner Lucy Cope, whose son Damian, 22, formerly from Nottingham, was shot dead outside a London nightclub last year.
The museum hopes to teach youngsters about the problem of gun crime across the county - and believes letting them see real firearms will be educational.
The eight guns, which go on display today, will eventually form part of a major new exhibition later this year on the life of the Kray Twins.
Quotes deploring the use of guns from pop stars Asher D of So Solid Crew and Ms Dynamite are in the display, which curator Louise Connell insists does not glorify gun culture in any way.
"We have made sure not to do that," she told the Post.
"All the guns on display are deactivated, and cannot be re-activated."
The weapons are in the Special Exhibitions section, near the Rizer website room, designed to turn young people from a life of crime and focusing on the criminal justice system.
Home Secretary David Blunkett and Glen Williams, of the Notts Black Police Association, will also be quoted.
"These guns were donated to the museum by the police and complement all the work we do with youth groups," said Ms Connell.
"The weapons are not dangerous, and I have deliberately not included any information about how the guns were manufactured.
The April gun amnesty - which enjoyed nationwide success when more than 40,000 guns were handed in - ran alongside Notts Police's Operation Stealth.
The 500 or so firearms surrendered in Notts represented more than the number handed over in the county in the aftermath of the Dunblane massacre.
That amnesty - in June 1996 - saw 450 guns surrendered to Notts Police.
But Mrs Cope, who formed and heads the nationwide Mothers Against Guns campaign, said the display should be scrapped.
The organisation, which has 394 members, is lobbying the Government to ban the sale of replica guns.
"There is nothing educational in this whatsoever," she said.
"I have spoken to kids who have said they feel powerful around guns. These firearms should be destroyed, not put in a museum. They are not historical items - they have no place there."
However, Det Chief Insp Ian Waterfield, who heads Operation Stealth, praised the new display - and said it could educate children.
"Part of our Stealth campaign is aimed at young people and telling them about the dangers of getting involved with guns," he said.
"It is up to the people accompanying youngsters to the museum to then tell them about how dangerous guns are and why they should not get involved with them.
"And by getting quotes from pop stars these kids look up to, hopefully that will also act as a positive.
"For some kids it is already too late, they are already involved in crime. But there are many who will see this display and, by seeing guns up close, will be educated about how dangerous they can be."
http://www.animalfirm.com/sheep-2.JPG
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=66056&command=displayContent&sourceNode=65583&contentPK=6744508MUSEUM NO PLACE FOR GUNS - MUM
12:00 - 21 August 2003
Weapons handed in to Notts Police during a recent month-long guns amnesty are on display at the Galleries of Justice.
But the idea has angered anti-gun campaigner Lucy Cope, whose son Damian, 22, formerly from Nottingham, was shot dead outside a London nightclub last year.
The museum hopes to teach youngsters about the problem of gun crime across the county - and believes letting them see real firearms will be educational.
The eight guns, which go on display today, will eventually form part of a major new exhibition later this year on the life of the Kray Twins.
Quotes deploring the use of guns from pop stars Asher D of So Solid Crew and Ms Dynamite are in the display, which curator Louise Connell insists does not glorify gun culture in any way.
"We have made sure not to do that," she told the Post.
"All the guns on display are deactivated, and cannot be re-activated."
The weapons are in the Special Exhibitions section, near the Rizer website room, designed to turn young people from a life of crime and focusing on the criminal justice system.
Home Secretary David Blunkett and Glen Williams, of the Notts Black Police Association, will also be quoted.
"These guns were donated to the museum by the police and complement all the work we do with youth groups," said Ms Connell.
"The weapons are not dangerous, and I have deliberately not included any information about how the guns were manufactured.
The April gun amnesty - which enjoyed nationwide success when more than 40,000 guns were handed in - ran alongside Notts Police's Operation Stealth.
The 500 or so firearms surrendered in Notts represented more than the number handed over in the county in the aftermath of the Dunblane massacre.
That amnesty - in June 1996 - saw 450 guns surrendered to Notts Police.
But Mrs Cope, who formed and heads the nationwide Mothers Against Guns campaign, said the display should be scrapped.
The organisation, which has 394 members, is lobbying the Government to ban the sale of replica guns.
"There is nothing educational in this whatsoever," she said.
"I have spoken to kids who have said they feel powerful around guns. These firearms should be destroyed, not put in a museum. They are not historical items - they have no place there."
However, Det Chief Insp Ian Waterfield, who heads Operation Stealth, praised the new display - and said it could educate children.
"Part of our Stealth campaign is aimed at young people and telling them about the dangers of getting involved with guns," he said.
"It is up to the people accompanying youngsters to the museum to then tell them about how dangerous guns are and why they should not get involved with them.
"And by getting quotes from pop stars these kids look up to, hopefully that will also act as a positive.
"For some kids it is already too late, they are already involved in crime. But there are many who will see this display and, by seeing guns up close, will be educated about how dangerous they can be."
http://www.animalfirm.com/sheep-2.JPG