Child Of 10 Gets Shotgun Licence

**Standard Dave** · 04-14-07, 12:55 PM

The headline should probably read "local paper gets all in a tiz over country pursuits" all of these licences will have been issued to country folk for farming and pest control, just goes to show how little our city dwelling "elite" actually know about the country they live in. P.S. here is the story

Children - one as young as ten - have been given shotgun licences in Notts, the Evening Post can reveal today.

Some 42 youngsters aged under 16 have been given the shotgun certificates in the past four years.

Mothers Against Guns founder Lucy Cope today said it was "horrific" children were given a "licence to kill".

And Patrick Mercer, MP for Newark - where most certificates were handed out - said the minimum age should be 16 or 17.

Ms Cope, whose son Damien was shot dead on a night out in London in 2002, said the figures were horrific, especially in light of the recent spate of teenage shootings, although countryside groups dismissed links between legitimate use of firearms and gun crime.

"Tony Blair should immediately pull in these certificates and have them cancelled," she said.

"The perpetrators of gun crimes are becoming younger, and so are the victims.

"What are they doing? Making them proper marksmen for the future? They're giving them a licence to kill."

The figures, obtained from Notts Police under the Freedom of Information Act, show 19 youngsters under 16 were given certificates to use a firearm under supervision last year, more than in any of the previous three years.

Seventeen were granted in 2005, five in 2004 and one in 2003.

Of the 42 handed out between 2003 and 2006, 15 were to 15-year-olds, 13 to 14-year-olds, five to 13-year-olds, three to youngsters aged 12, five to 11-year-olds, and one to a child aged ten.

The majority of the certificates - 24 - were given in Notts Police's B division, which covers Newark and Sherwood. Ten were in South Notts, seven in Mansfield and Ashfield, and one in the city division.

A Notts police spokesman said: "All shotgun certificates issued by Notts Police are in strict accordance with the Fire arms Act 1968 and guidelines laid down by the Home Office."

The Home Office said the UK has some of Europe's "toughest firearms controls".

A spokeswoman stressed no one under 17 can buy a shotgun, and certificates would be revoked "if the holder becomes a risk to public safety".

There is presently no minimum age limit for the issue of a shotgun certificate.

Once issued with a shotgun certificate, children can only fire their weapons on private land and must be supervised by someone over 21.

In 2002, a campaign was launched in the House of Commons calling for a minimum age limit.

The campaign won the support of a group of 71 cross-party MPs, including the former Home Office Minister Ann Widdecombe.

A spokesman for the British Shooting Sports Council there was no problem with under-17s having shotgun licences and the Countryside Alliance said there was no evidence linking gun crime to legitimate use of firearms

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/di...pNodeId=133951

These are some readers comments I agree with Ben, Nottingham.

Get real, the few kids who have been given shotgun licences will be farmers kids and such like, who spend all day in the countryside, not kids living in the city centre. How much gun crime is committed by scruffy kids in wellies and grubby jeans, not much I suspect. And it's not as though you just stroll into a police station and pick one up from off the counter either.
Ben, Nottingham

what a disgrace what are the police thinking when they hand out shotgun licences to children as if they were sweets. no child should be given any type of gun licence. it is no wonder gun crime is on the rise. change the law to make anyone under 21 from owning a gun or having a licence.gun crime should be taken seriously.
andy, nottingham

**BigDawg** · 04-14-07, 01:11 PM

I see its not just here that idiot people will take something innocent and blow it way out of proportion. I mean seriously to say there handed out like candy, or they now have a license to kill.....get serious people!!!!

I wonder of the shootings by children (under18) how many of them had received a permit before they committed the crime?? I bet you will find none to very very few.

**Jenna** · 04-14-07, 01:24 PM

So British cops can't have guns but British farmers' 10-year-old kids can? What happens if an unarmed British cop has to arrest an armed British rural 10-year-old?

**Standard Dave** · 04-14-07, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by Jenna

So British cops can't have guns but British farmers' 10-year-old kids can? What happens if an unarmed British cop has to arrest an armed British rural 10-year-old?

Then we call for armed back up.

I know Trojan will be happy to answer the question what happens if British criminals carry guns

**JLK** · 04-14-07, 03:50 PM

So British cops can't have guns but British farmers' 10-year-old kids can? What happens if an unarmed British cop has to arrest an armed British rural 10-year-old?

they ask him to put it up and come with them.
country folks and city folks are different.

**Jenna** · 04-14-07, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by JLK

So British cops can't have guns but British farmers' 10-year-old kids can? What happens if an unarmed British cop has to arrest an armed British rural 10-year-old?

they ask him to put it up and come with them.
country folks and city folks are different.

Is that before or after they call each other "jolly decent chaps" and sort things out over tea and crumpets?

**TXCharlie** · 04-14-07, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by Standard Dave

Then we call for armed back up.

I know Trojan will be happy to answer the question what happens if British criminals carry guns

Yeah, but if your Firearms Car takes 20-60 minutes to get there - How long does it take to pull the trigger on a shotgun?

This story is hilarious - Some of those people need to take a vacation in Texas. Texas kids go hunting and skeet shooting all the time with their parents and none of us Texans need a shotgun license - Hunting license yes, shotgun license no - We just go to Wal-Mart and buy one.

And except for the occasional psychos & dopers, it works out pretty good. Criminals are usually stopped by the instant background checks, but they still get weapons by illegal means, just as criminals in the U.K. do - After all, they're criminals.

This has GOT to be the most retarded statement I've seen in a long time:

"What are they doing? Making them proper marksmen for the future? They're giving them a licence to kill."

**Doc_Holliday** · 04-14-07, 04:15 PM

Boy Jenna, sometimes your liberal sterotyping comes thru loud and clear....I would have to agree with JLK, there are still some kids who have been raised the right way, taught respect, and if they are asked to do something by an adult, let alone a police officer, their response is simply "yes sir"or "yes ma'am" ...and usually given WHILE in the act of complying.

**cntryboy0531** · 04-14-07, 04:45 PM

LOL, I've had my own shotgun since I was in the 4th grade. Been shooting prior to that.

**countybear** · 04-14-07, 04:49 PM

I have a confession to make... I trust that you will all understand and try to remain objective when I reveal this deep, dark, closely guarded secret about me and my family.

My name is Bear, and I own a gun...

actually a few guns

. Not only that, what's worse... I was given a gun to use by my father (under his supervision) when I was 7 years old. He owned guns too

. He gave my brothers guns as well

. We used them to kill things whenever he would take us... well... hunting.

His Dad...

owned guns too... and ... would.. kill things too when hunting.

(I'm sorry, but this is sooooo painful for me to talk about, someone please get me a tissue).

Sometimes, I go to gun shows... and I...

buy and sell guns.

Thus far, I have been able to hide such habits because I ...

conceal guns on my person whenever I am away from my home.

The good side of this terribly depressing story is that none of us ever murdered another human being. I have no idea how we avoided it, other than to say that we... obey the fucking law and have respect for human life.

**BigDawg** · 04-14-07, 06:23 PM

Thank-you Bear for sharing that with us. I too own guns.........sniff sniff........Im sorry I cant go on, please exscuse me.

**countybear** · 04-14-07, 06:49 PM

Originally Posted by BigDawg3533

Thank-you Bear for sharing that with us. I too own guns.........sniff sniff........Im sorry I cant go on, please exscuse me.

**TXCharlie** · 04-14-07, 09:43 PM

I must also confess... I own an AK-47, three shotguns, an SKS, 22 rifle, and I lost count of the pistols - I'd have to consult my inventory list.

When I was a kid I used to go squirrel hunting by myself. (sniff) and in Louisiana during hunting season where we lived it wasn't unusual to have hunters coming into a convenience store with a pistol on their hip, with shotguns in plain view in their muddy pickups. I think that sight screwed me up for life, with PTSD or something, because - And I hope this isn't going anywhere else - I used to shoot tin cans on the Jonesville Louisiana airport property when I was a kid.

But Ted Kennedy has killed more people than I have

**countybear** · 04-14-07, 09:53 PM

Originally Posted by TXCharlie

I must also confess... I own an AK-47, three shotguns, an SKS, 22 rifle, and I lost count of the pistols - I'd have to consult my inventory list.

When I was a kid I used to go squirrel hunting by myself. (sniff) and in Louisiana during hunting season where we lived it wasn't unusual to have hunters coming into a convenience store with a pistol on their hip, with shotguns in plain view in their muddy pickups. I think that sight screwed me up for life, with PTSD or something, because - And I hope this isn't going anywhere else - I used to shoot tin cans on the town's airport property when I was a kid.

But Ted Kennedy has killed more people than I have

Tell it brother... we all understand. We are your friends.

**TXCharlie** · 04-14-07, 09:59 PM

Thank you County Bear for your support.

**Rhino** · 04-14-07, 10:14 PM

Jenna's probably wringing her hands right about now.

When I was a child I was fascinated with guns. I thought they were so cool and I was always trying to get a chance to "play" with my dad's shotgun

So one summer he took me into the mountains of Virginia and put a shell in the chamber, showed me how to old it and let me shoot it.

I was a small child. So after I picked my ass up off the ground and rubbed the pain out of my shoulder, I realized what a awesome weapon a gun really is and from then on, I had a healthy fear and respect for firearms and realized they were not toys.

If my parents just preached to me how "evil" guns were, I'd probably have still been fascinated with them and God knows what kind of damage I would have done.

**Jenna** · 04-14-07, 10:44 PM

**countybear** · 04-15-07, 12:20 AM

Jenna, we are having some group therapy regarding our Hoppe's No. 9 gunpowder solvent addiction... do you have something that you want to share with the group?

**Buzzy** · 04-15-07, 12:47 AM

OMG, it's true, I love the smell of Hoppes #9. It all started when I was 8 years old and my dad told me he'd buy me a .22 if I could shoot his 12 gauge. I can still remember that old Rislone can riddled with #6 shot and I got the .22, a Harrington and Richards single shot a few days afterwards. Although I would have rather had a repeater of some type my dad was a big believer in making every shot count, he was right.

**mfranklin01** · 04-15-07, 01:29 AM

you'll have to forgive me as this is hard to type. Bear...i to go to gun shows

and (sob) rarely leave the house without a firearm of some kind

but the worst thing that ever happened to me was when my grandmother gave me her fathers (my great-grandfather) single shot .22lr winchester bolt action rifle

some times it is hard for me to face myself with this addiction. hopefully we can all get some form of healing from these post.