Airgun ban on the move in Scotland?

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DocHollowpoint

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There has for some time been a move afoot in Scotland to unilaterally ban airguns there.
As an American of Scottish ancestry, I find this shameful. Scotland has produced men like William Wallace, Rob Roy MacGregor and the Black Watch Regiment. Now it is turning into more of a nanny state that England itself. :barf:
For the ban to happen, the British government would have to transfer control of guns in Scotland to the Scottish parliament.
That is a big step, but it now appears closer
http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/news/471639/Airgun_law_may_be_devolved_to_Scotland_this_Autumn.html
Here is an earlier story:
http://www.shootingtimes.co.uk/news/369585/Scotland_pledges_to_ban_airguns.html
 
Airguns? Is there a big problem with those being used in crimes over there? :confused:
 
“The Scottish Government is on record as supporting shooting and we have no reason to suspect they would set out to place unworkable restrictions on shooters. The indications are that there would be a licensing regime for airguns and we aim to ensure this is as unrestrictive as possible.”

Ahh, nothing to fear - this is just a "reasonable restriction."

I love their use of the term "shooters." Brings to mind images of John Wayne - or at least maybe Mark Wahlberg...
I guess the phrases "incredulous bb-gun owners" or "wards of the nanny state" wouldn't be as evocative?
 
Of course, just look to England and Wales and their airgun restrictions.
They are worse than the firearm restrictions in most of the United States.
Airguns over 6 foot pounds in a pistol or 12 in a long gun are considered firearms under the law, not even airguns.

Airgun shooters also do not have the type of financial backing or organization that most firearm political rights groups do, so if the firearm rights groups are defeated the rest don't even stand a chance.


They just start the whole reasonable restricting and licensing and registration process over for the next set of future banned objects once firearm rights fall.
They have to be mild at the start though. After all they want people to register their airguns and try to be compliant with simple measures rather than face criminal penalties, or they won't know where the banned or targeted objects are located in the future.
"Just come register, get an easy license, no big deal. If you don't you face X, Y, and Z stiff penalties."
But "reasonable" will turn into even more "reasonable". And then more "common sense" after some injury or death. (And there is always injury or death that eventually happens in any activity).
The cycle doesn't stop.

In parts of the UK they have many other bans since the fall of firearms.
They banned many swords already too.
Banned glass, glasses, glass mugs, etc in some places.
They have had a movement now for several years to ban kitchen knives with a point that has quite a bit of support. With many doctors, police, and chefs behind it giving statements!
They say anything a point is needed for can be done with a tiny knife, and typical kitchen knives, like a western Chief's Knife (8"), the staple tool of culinary skills for centuries, are unnecessary.


Once the strong united organized firearm rights groups are defeated the insanity rapidly progresses because other things are nowhere near the match of the firearm rights groups.
 
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Rmfnia wrote: Airguns? Is there a big problem with those being used in crimes over there?
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Depends what you mean by crimes – mostly they involve idiots taking pot-shots at children, cats, garden birds etc etc without any regard for anyone or anything ... let alone the 4 rules of safety! Once that happens the press gets hold of it and blow it up into a major incident.

There are already enough restrictions in place for airgun ownership but nothing like owning a firearm. You don’t need a licence for example – yet!

When I was a teenager (30 years ago) my mate and I used to walk through the streets to get to a local field with our airguns (un covered) over our shoulders with out any problems – try that now and you’ll get a rapid response unit roping down from a helicopter.
 
You don’t need a licence for example – yet!
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Sure you do, if it has enough power to humanely hunt small game.
6 foot pounds in an air pistol, or 12 in a long gun.

12 foot pounds!
Compare that to a .22lr which all have over 100 foot pounds.
 
This is indeed true. Airguns are likely to be banned in Scotland.

The problem is they have voted in a party called the Scottish Nationalist Party, who are really, REALLY left-wing. They truely want to ban everything and make you say thank you for it.

I suspect the reason the Scots vote for it is partly because of stupid untrue films like Braveheart to be honest. They see this stuff get all patriotic and vote SNP because they try to get Scotland independant. Of course what they dont realise is that they are just practically communists and will do anything to control peoples lives. Of course the SNP look at Scotlands admittedly terrible social problems and think rather than education the best thing to do is to ban airguns, ban glass in beer glasses, and god knows what else. I saw this in one of Zoogsters holier-than-thou posts not so long ago, but didnt bother replying because he so clearly thinks he knows it all theres no point.

Thankfully the British public have voted for a (mostly) Conservative government recently, and we are reaping the dividend of common sense even as we speak, with no knee-jerk reactions after the recent shootings, even if the often left-wing BBC seem to be pushing for it.

I hope that the Scots people see the error of thier ways and get rid of these SNP idiots, but frankly I cant see it in the near future.


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By the way, the 12 ftllbs law is only in place because years ago British manufactured air rifles struggled to make that power, so to safeguard the home industry the government of the time introduced a law to stop the nasty Germans selling thier high powered air rifles to us.

These days British made air rifles are arguably the best in the world, and 40 + ft llbs is achievable, but theres not a chance in hell they'll change the law now :(
 
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Unfortunately, Scotland is turning into something considerably worse than a nanny state. There was a Scottish justice who's gone on record saying that knocking someone unconscious, then a dozen men kicking and beating them for a peirod of hours, would constitute nothing more than "slightly rough treatment" for a healthy young man, while it may be frowned on slightly if the victim were an old geezer.

Combine that with ridiculous weapons bans and you have a country which, quite frankly, deliberately encourages violent crime. There is absolutely no other explanation, whatsoever.
 
DICKP - "Ahh, nothing to fear - this is just a "reasonable restriction."
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It's always the same, isn't it?

Here in the U.S., the Marxist Sociaist inspired gun grabbers always use that phrase. "We just want a few reasonable, common sense gun laws, that's all."

Which ultimately devolves to, "No one needs a gun and we want Big Brother to confiscate them all!" :uhoh:

L.W.
 
Here in the U.S., the Marxist Sociaist inspired gun grabbers always use that phrase. "We just want a few reasonable, common sense gun laws, that's all."

Which ultimately devolves to, "No one needs a gun and we want Big Brother to confiscate them all!"
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Same the world over it seems :(
 
Of course the SNP look at Scotlands admittedly terrible social problems and think rather than education the best thing to do is to ban airguns, ban glass in beer glasses, and god knows what else. I saw this in one of Zoogsters holier-than-thou posts not so long ago, but didnt bother replying because he so clearly thinks he knows it all theres no point.
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So nothing I was saying was wrong, but I thought I knew it all in my holier than thou post?

You shouldn't take my criticism so personally.
I say what I do to show how stupid things become because we have similar people in the US who have just not convinced the majority like in your nation, but are hard at work convincing others how reasonable their desires are.
The UK is just much further down the path our nation was speeding down not long ago.

To do so you not only have to highlight to immediate policy changes, but the whole mentality behind it, and the steps that it went through to reach the current conclusion. It didn't come into being overnight, it was shaped in the same way it has been being shaped in the USA.
Steps in your own history that mirror more recent steps in our nation, it is like a time capsule, and we share a very similar judicial system.
This mentality extends well beyond guns, and concludes with all adults being seen more as children of the state who must be looked after, and have their freedom greatly limited for their own good (and to keep the monopoly of force both physical and even the mentality that allows its use solely in the state's hands.)
This leads to many benefits to some, like more social services, but it also leads to much less freedom.
Rather than a free people who will of course get bumps and bruises and suffer consequences while enjoying freedom, you are forever children, protected from yourselves.
There is an entire mindset behind this, not just legislation. This mindset builds as legislation strengthens it and fewer know anything but it as they grow up under this prevailing mindset.

So the mindset of much of the UK behind this continued demand for less freedom must be seen as the joke that it is, or the USA risks proceeding down the same path in our own future. You may take offense on occasion, but it is not an attack on you personally.

I gladly concede when I get a detail wrong, but I typically am not far off as I am citing legislation and history.
 
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Any group peddling gun control needs to take a long hard look at the crime statistics in gun-control areas; violent crimes are typically significantly higher, so much higher in fact, that even the spin-doctors can't cover up the stench of the dead bodies by warping the math.

I think the Aussies have an accurate look at how effective gun control has been in their country. Everything I've read is just awful; like being relegated to the wild west where the thugs are armed and you aren't.

KR
 
A slippery slope indeed.

I hope you like eating with plastic sporks because metal silverware is too dangerous for the commoner and a perfect weapon for a criminal!

The motorized Airsofts will be included, leaving these guys with nothing to do on the weekends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dDzKw3SxcE&feature=channel

Unreal. Come join us in Texas. We like guns here and many of us have them. I'm wearing one as I type this :) Oh, it's a real gun (J-Frame), not an airgun!!!
 
The problem in the UK is that gun control is now so entrenched that no one AFAIK dare suggest relaxing it. The only debate is over whether the existing controls are adequate or whether more controls are needed.
 
What?!?! A real gun?! YOUR GONNA SHOOT PEOPLE AND STUFF!!!

Now be a responsible citizen and give all your guns to the police because you don't need them anyway, the police will protect you.
 
Unreal. Come join us in Texas. We like guns here and many of us have them. I'm wearing one as I type this Oh, it's a real gun (J-Frame), not an airgun!!!
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Sir, in some ways I would love to, but as has been recounted already in this thread, it is not at all easy. :(
 
Zoogster wrote: Sure you do, if it has enough power to humanely hunt small game.
6 foot pounds in an air pistol, or 12 in a long gun.
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Sure you don’t … you need a license is the power is over 12 foot pounds. The vast majority of air rifles are under 12 foot pounds and don’t need a license. 12 foot pounds is easily enough power to humanely dispatch small game like rabbits, squirrels, pigeons etc etc … anything bigger you’ll need a firearm and all the hassle that goes with it.

In fact my latest air rifle will easily shoot as accurately as any .22 rimfire at 25 and even 50 yards which is why I am questioning my I spend good money on .22lr ammo when a tin of pellets is a fraction of the cost. Clearly though a .22 is better outside against the elements.

At the moment I can shoot in my back garden (yard) legibly so long as the pellet doesn’t leave the perimeter of the garden. I don’t have to lock them away and can hang them over the fireplace if I want. – ‘whoopy%”@kingdo’ I hear you say but there you are.

We have enough restrictions on air rifles alreday but I fear the worse I’m afraid.

Impureclient Wrote: Airguns?! You'll shoot your eye out.
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Joking aside, a modern air rifle is quite capable of entering an eye and lodging itself into the brain.
 
Scottish National Party (the 'Tartan Tories'. Don't call them Left wing, they aren't) is very anti-gun. Make the others look like moderates. Gun control was one of the powers specifically excluded from their grasp when the Scottish legislature was set up and they hate it.
 
Ban the airsoft guns, banned the guns. Why not let us ban cars? I know you can go 100km and kill someone! they already got blunt kitchen knifes!!! BAN THE CARS WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?????????????:scrutiny: You are not safe in the UK countries! they got those car loop holes where guns are banend knifes are blunt but you can still buy that car from a dealer or private seller and mow down people:rolleyes: dang loop holes are not safe!:barf::eek:
 
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