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Crackdown on guns poses a question of sport
From the Bolton Evening News, first published Friday 15th Aug 1997.
By Angela Kelly TIME will tell whether it worked or not.
But there is a major lobby of concern that the current tightening of gun laws will not hit the real criminals.
And that taking guns off sportsmen will not stop tragic incidents like the death of little Dillon Hull in Bolton last week.
Predictably, the bulk of that concern comes from the country's 57,000 registered pistol owners who are likely to lose their weapons under further firearms' restrictions.
These could come into force before the end of the year.
Under the latest amendment to the Firearms Act, high calibre guns have to be disposed of before October. And in July alone in Greater Manchester, 1,563 have been handed in to the area's Police Firearms and Explosives Unit, around 160 of these from Bolton.
Anticipating the further crackdown poised on smallbore target pistols set to become law, 60 small calibre weapons have also been given in.
But it is sensible to assume that weapons handed in so far are from responsible owners, who have paid their £50 licence fee originally with all the strictures that this implies.
And who are, however unhappily, simply bowing to the law.
If, as gun owners expect, the small calibre weapons - .22 pistols - are the next to be included in the legal clampdown, there will probably be another, not quite so obvious effect.
When the Commonwealth Games are held in Manchester in 2002, Great Britain is unlikely to win any gold medals.
Although in towns like Bolton enthusiasts are still practising their target shooting at three local clubs, the sport is dying on its feet.
As local man Brian Ford explains: "People who shoot guns for sport are disciplined people who enjoy the hand-eye co-ordination, the physical skills necessary.
"They are not criminals who use guns against people."
He has been involved in shooting targets for pleasure for 40 years, since he was a lad with his first air-rifle.
His home is full of the medals he has won over the years, some of them during 10 years in the police, and his interest is genuine.
Brian Ford stresses that guns as a sport are as far from street crime as the bonsai trees he cultivates or the stamps he collects.
He, like hundreds of other shooting enthusiasts locally, feel that the timing of a General Election and the very understandable public horror after Dunblane resulted in reactive legislation that hits the wrong target.
He also points to a possible estimated £2 billion the Government will have to pay out in compensation to gun owners for their weapons and equipment.
A Smith & Wesson 617 with a 6-inch barrel, for example, would result in £320 compensation for its owner, a Safariland holster £110, an optical sighting scope £100.
It's a massive business and there's plenty of expensive equipment out there.
Enthusiasts would also add that the loss of a hobby, and the social life that goes with it, is incalculable.
The chief concern of the public, of course, is to reduce the number of guns in any community, however they are used.
Shooting enthusiasts would argue that the original recommendations of the Cullen Report would have been enough.
This would have involved keeping pistols secure in gun clubs, or disassembly in which half of a gun remained there while the other would be with the owner.
It's true that in the recent past criminals have targeted the homes of gun owners, in spite of the strict conditions under which licensed guns could be kept at home.
But, the owners would argue that guns have always been a part of the British way of life.
During National Service, thousands of ordinary men became familiar with weaponry, and the competitive sport of shooting has thrived.
These days, although there are fewer younger people interested, Britain has a good record of success at this particular sport, especially at the Commonwealth Games.
To continue their interest, many enthusiasts now have their weapons with gun clubs in the Isle of Man which is not covered by UK mainland legislation.
Others, especially in the South-east, have registered with gun clubs in France and Belgium to continue enjoying their hobby.
And, many - like Brian - are turning to archery instead of guns for their target-shooting, anxiously waiting for the next salvo in the gun law saga to be fired.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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