Hello There,
Excellent site, but I thought you ought to know that things are bad but not
as bad as you make them out to be over here.
OK all handguns have been banned, and all SLR's, but we still have
lever-action carbines and .22 SLR's. "Self-defence" on the application form
is a guaranteed refusal though, so we have to be a club member/hunter to get
the licence. We also need 2 referees to say that we are fit & proper, and
have no serious convictions. We have to store our shotguns or other firearms
securely at home - that means in a steel safe and ammo stored separately, so
for home defence a Maglite is the best you are likely to get your paws on in
time to bop a baddy.
No carry at all, save for on the way to a shoot.
Armed crime outside inner cities seems to be rare though, although after
handguns were banned, the number of handgun homicides rose considerably, as
did handgun robbery, along with a general trend upwards in all armed
robbery.
Police outside Nottingham and London don't generally carry, although each
force has specialised teams waiting. Hunters have been surrounded and
ordered to lay down their guns though, due to urban ignorance of country
sports.
I don't know if your message will ever get through the media hype here but
keep up the good work.
These are my personal views by the way.
All the best.
*** ************, Firearms Solicitor
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- You are right, I want to be able to have protection if I felt that I
needed it and the law here says "no, nanny knows best, sleep tight little
one." The countryside is fantastic (so are parts of the US) and our
traditions are magical. The government is banning hunting with hounds here
having received £1m from an "animal welfare" group. Policy/government
contracts follow political donations - tobacco advertising banned save for
Formula 1 racing whose biggest boss again paid Labour Party £1m. I love my
country enormously, but the government is seriously out of touch with
reality. I love my family more !
- Sure - if there was someone attacking my home at night (or in the day) I
would love to have my 12-bore at hand. I shoot game & pigeons on a local
farm & clays too, which is my legal, and my real reason for having the guns.
If I didn't shoot at all I would not have them and it is unlikely that I
would be allowed them by the State. Too many criminals took freely available
shotguns and cut them down in the 1960s so instead of banning/hammering
criminals they subjected shotguns to an authorisation type regime. They are
now subject to authorisation AND declaration. ie authorise the person and
declare the gun itself by ref to its serial number.
- I quite agree - when I lived in the city of **** the Police were only a
minute away - literally - but that did not stop me loading up my air-pistol
(!) when I found an intruder in my garden ! Waving it about would have put
off most criminals. At home, I have a Beeman P1 (known here as HW45) in .22
cal which is handy and could stop a baddy, but I can't get at my real guns
quickly enough if I need to. I don't know that the Police need arming
generally, the squads are usually adequate.
- My Dad was a policeman - he had a colleague chasing a crook who yelled
"Stop or I'll shoot!" - and the crook stopped long enough for the PC to
catch him up & cuff him ! Apart from drug dealers and bank robbers, most
criminals don't carry as a routine. They can hire a handgun illegally though
if they want to, and have always been able to do so. If I had to go outside
in the dark to confront an intruder I would still probably only take the
Maglite or the airpistol because anything more would make me a suspect in
the eyes of the Police and liable to prosecution if I did shoot someone &
injure them seriously. If more police were shot at, then policy would alter.
- I'd love to but my family, career etc are all over here. And as I said I
really do love our countryside and traditions too much. I would love to
visit one day though, when my family is older.
(my question) What exactly is a Firearms Solicitor?
- you are quite right - a British lawyer who advises clients, represents
them in the lower
courts, and prepares cases for barristers to try in higher courts !!
Nearest equivalent is an Attorney at Law although Solicitors are mostly not
trial advocates.
I specialise in the law relating to the private ownership of firearms,
helping clients with getting police permits, appealing to the higher courts
against the police's refusal to grant permits (Firearm Certficates and
Shotgun Certificates)and advising generally on use/ownership queries. I am a
litigator by training and also work in the area of negligent job references
for aggrieved employees.
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- I recently read a whole list of airgun fatalities but I like to think
that a 15 grain at 300 fps would put someone off if it hit them in a painful
spot !
