A police chief was under fire today after he recommended changing firearms legislation to allow 10-year-old children to use GUNS.
Adrian Whiting, Chief Constable of Dorset Police, wants the age at which people can apply for a firearms certificate to be lowered from 14 to 10-years-old.
Children as young as 10 can already legally possess a licence to fire a shotgun as long as they are supervised by a licence-holding adult.
But Mr Whiting has now called for the legal age at which children can possess firearms which shoot bullets – such as rifles – to also be lowered to 10.
He revealed to a Home Office Select Committee that there are currently 26 children aged 10-14 in England and Wales who can legally fire shotguns.
His recommendation has been branded ”dangerous” and ”disgusting” by anti-gun campaigners who want the age limit increased to 18.
Lucy Cope, founder of Mothers Against Guns, said: ”Having guns in the house which can be used by 10-years-olds frightening.
”I’m thoroughly disappointed with this senior police officer. I completely disagree with him. It is disgusting and appalling.
”I don’t think a 10-year-old is responsible to have a firearm.
”Not all firearm murders are committed by illegal guns. We know some gun owners can sell their legally owned weapons for three times the amount to gangs.
”The government should be increasing the age to 18 not reducing it to 10-years-old.
”Why do we want to teach a 10-year-old child how to fire guns?”
Currently the law states that children aged 10 and above can apply for a shotgun licence, which allows them to fire supervised by a suitable adult.
Police carry out interviews of parents and guardians and provide safety lessons to the children before signing off the license.
Children must currently be aged 14 to possess a firearms licence which lets them fire guns with bullets, such as rifles.
On Tuesday Mr Whiting told the Home Office Affairs Select Committee into the Derrick Bird shootings in Cumbria both ages should be brought in line with each other.
The age restrictions were imposed by the government during the 1920s, Mr Whiting told the select committee.
He was asked by committee chairman Keith Vaz what age he would recommend.
Mr Whiting said: ”The minimum age should be 10, I would suggest.
”When the certificate is granted it does not give the young person the ability to purchase firearms or ammunition, nor does it give them an opportunity to shoot other than when they are supervised.”
Mr Whiting told the committee that the risk of children shooting other people is hugely minimised in a supervised environment.
The remarks were made in discussions about Mr Whiting’s report into Cumbria Constabulary’s firearms licensing procedures after taxi driver Derrick Bird murdered 12 people and injured 11 in June with a legally owned shotgun and rifle.
The committee supported Mr Whiting’s recommendations that patients holding firearms or shotgun licences should have their medical records marked so that doctors can inform the police of any medical reasons why the individual should have the licence revoked.
wow thats crazy
i’m gonna be getting a gun den if i am allowed 🙂
My son is 12 years old. Because he already knew so much about guns because of Xbox games that he is legally allowed to play and are aimed at his age, I have decided to teach him the correct use, respect, and management of firearms.
In turn he has now told his friends about respecting firearms as its not like it is in the game.
Well…i support the 2nd amendment so it should be allowed for a child to use a firearm as long as he is properly educated about them. it is better to avoid the situation all together but if you own a gun, you better damn well teach your kids never to touch them or they will most likely will hurt someone or themselves. Guns don’t kill people, ignorant people kill people.
L. Cope’s statement: ”Not all firearm murders are committed by illegal guns. We know some gun owners can sell their legally owned weapons for three times the amount to gangs.”
Displays her ignorance of logic thinking, “If” said gunowner were to sell their gun to a gang, they have instantaniously commited a crime. & she states: “some gun owners can…” only an extremely desperate indivdual would take such action.
I think I’ll start GAMM, “Gunowners Against Moronic Moms”
Where we live, most kids have shot rimfire rifles by age six or eight, and shotguns and centerfire rifles and handguns by age 10 or 12. Gun accidents are incredibly rare in that age group – around 1 per 10,000,000, and violent crime is very rare. Travel to a neighboring area where guns are not commonly owned or allowed, and the streets are full of gangs of criminals, including kids with guns (even though there it is illegal).
I will bet that the headline writer knew exactly what they were doing when they wrote it in such a false and inflammatory manner. That photograph is misleading and inflammatory in the context of the story, as well. So much for ethics in journalism.The police chief is not advocating that children be allowed to “own” guns, merely that it be made legal for them to fire a gun while supervised by a suitable adult.
I am a firearms safety instructor, and have taught children as young as six to safely fire centerfire handguns, rifles and shotguns.
The best way to deal with accidental shootings is education, and children are more capable of learning and intelligent, mature thinking than many adults would believe.
I reckon there’s a fair bit of difference between some kid in the depths of the countryside shooting with his Dad or someone, than some slum kid squeezing a cap off into someone’s ass yelling “die muthafucka!!!!”
That is the most outrageously misleading pic / headline, and therefore excellent, web journalism.
A .22 rifle is far more controllable and suitable for a child to handle than a 12 bore shotgun, which can already be owned by 10 year olds. Fear mongering at it’s worst.