Guns, the community and me

I have just returned from a week's holiday in a cottage in the village of Boot.

A little over a week ago, this tiny community was blighted by yet more mindless and senseless shootings. Many people were killed or injured. My thoughts go out to them.

This is not the first senseless killing spree of it's kind. Many years ago, I lived near Hungerford in Berkshire where you may recall that a lunatic with a hunting rifle sat at the top of the hill overlooking the High Street and picked off terrified shoppers at random.

Some years after that, we remember the maniac in Dunblane who walked into a school and murdered young children. This second occasion resulted in a knee jerk reaction from the government of the day to ban all legally held hand guns in this country.

And yet, here we are again...

I raise this serious subject because I was one of the gun owning community. I used to shoot handguns for a hobby. I was good at it and used to compete at county level. I owned a .22 calibre Browning automatic and a Colt Python .357 magnum. To prevent another Dunblane, they took my guns away.

It was a stupid decision, it hasn't worked and it never will.

When I applied for a firearms certificate, I first had to join a shooting club and undergo a course of instruction in the proper handling of weapons. After six months, I was allowed to apply for my licence. This involved submitting references and an application form to the police, followed by a period of positive vetting.

The certificate allowed me to purchase specified weapons only. These were to be stored in a tool proof locker and my security arrangements were inspected by the police. If I wanted another weapon, this had to be applied for separately and added to the certificate.

Why then was a member of my club allowed to own 12 different pistols including a Walther PPK? The only permitted use was for target shooting. The PPK has a very short barrel and is really only suitable for self defense. I defy you to hit a target at 30 metres. Don't believe what you see in James Bond films.

The answer of course is that he wasn't properly policed. Nor was the Dunblane murderer.

The shooting community in the UK are amongst the most strictly regulated in the world. Done properly, this would be enough. We are responsible law abiding people in the main.

When I applied for my certificate, I remember the desk sergeant telling me that no member of the public should be allowed to hold a gun. I pointed out to him that if I wanted to rob a bank, I wouldn't go through all this rigmarole to get hold of a gun first. I'd just go down the nearest east end pub and rent one for £500 - and if it was returned unfired, I get £250 back! He looked at me thoughtfully. Then he said "You might have a point."

Things are slightly different today. You just go across to the continent, buy a gun and ammunition in the nearest shop and then stick it under your back seat as you drive off the ferry.

And that's why you will never stop these incidents and why taking my licence away achieved absolutely nothing...