BASC calls on shooters to lobby MPs. Press release.

[MC]

Also done

[Christopher Graffius]

Immediate reply received from Bob Ainsworth who would like to meet and discus the local shooting facilites etc etc - I have passed that on to the BASC who I hope will assist me in the politics of such a meet. Even though he is the ex-Defence Minister he still has a lot of influence.

 

Bob Ainsworth is sensible and generally supportive - owned an air rifle when he was young - and was helpful to us as a junior Labour Home Office Minister. He then went to Defence. Give me a call at BASC - 01244 573 000 and ask for me - and we can discuss how we can assist you.

 

Christopher

[Christopher Graffius]

One other thing, will BASC be contacting all its member on this subject i.e. all its members that are not on this site? Also will BASC be suggesting this to other shooting organisations such as the CPSA, NRA that their members should also follow suit.

 

Yes, and the BASC facility - which is a one off developed by us before the election - is not limited to BASC members.

 

Christopher

[Teal]

Emailed. I edited it a bit and included reference to Miss Widdecombe's article here: http://www.express.co.uk/ourcomments/view/179973 because I thought she tackled the issue very well.

[Beardo]

this is not a moment too soon going by the latest reports i heard on the radio.

lots of talk of amending the firearms laws etc.

[crimthan]

Done, and local MP supportive of shooting as noted on BASC site and from previous reply I had from him on other shooting lobby pre election. Well done again BASC.

[unclestuffy]

done

[sheepshed]

this is not a moment too soon going by the latest reports i heard on the radio.

lots of talk of amending the firearms laws etc.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/politics/10275371.stm

David Cameron also confirmed that the government is already reviewing the UK's gun laws but warned against a "knee-jerk reaction".

The reviews would be made public.

'review' is usually government speak for 'lets spend lots of time talking about it and then do nothing'

[blindasabat]

done.

[allthegearandnoidea]

I don't like this comment from DC:

 

"If we're looking for what the problem is, the problem is clearly we have a huge number of guns in our society we need to get rid of"

[Simon Clarke]

Thanks everyone. Please remember to forward any replies to politics@basc.org.uk so we can collate them.

 

Regards

 

Simon.

[al4x]

I don't like this comment from DC:

 

"If we're looking for what the problem is, the problem is clearly we have a huge number of guns in our society we need to get rid of"

 

 

we do though lots of illegal ones, the stats that seem to be shown are for overall guncrime figures, I'm yet to see figures for legally held guns used in crime in the UK these would put the issue far more in perspective.

[mazza]

done,mine is supportive.

[allthegearandnoidea]

we do though lots of illegal ones, the stats that seem to be shown are for overall guncrime figures, I'm yet to see figures for legally held guns used in crime in the UK these would put the issue far more in perspective.

 

I agree, maybe it was just the way that I read it in the context of reviewing gun laws and Bird being an FAC and SGC holder.

[al4x]

It must be worthy of a freedom of information request or perhaps BASC already have the data but it would make far less sensational reading if the true picture was revealed.

[Vipa]

It must be worthy of a freedom of information request or perhaps BASC already have the data but it would make far less sensational reading if the true picture was revealed.

 

Agreed, BASC surely must have access to these numbers. I think it would also be sensible to try and obtain the figures minus any suicides as they will, proportionately, skew the stats massively and let's face it, if some one has a mind to kill themselves and a gun is available, it is more than likely the gun they will choose over other methods however, not having a gun is unlikely to stop them.

[Bloke]

Done and sent on !

[Simon Clarke]

Try these articles:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/ma..._from_guns.html

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10220974.stm

 

At the end of the second is the following:

 

Police figures show that there were 39 firearms-related deaths in 2008-09 and that seven of these involved a shotgun. That total was the lowest recorded by the police in 20 years. Guns play a role in just 0.3% of all recorded crimes - one in every 330 incidents.

[mike68]

Done.

[Bigweed]

Thanks everyone. Please remember to forward any replies to politics@basc.org.uk so we can collate them.

 

Regards

 

Simon.

 

 

Reply from my MP forwarded

[243win]

Done

[al4x]

are those figures are overall gun crime ones or are they saying legally held guns acccount for 0.3% of all recorded crime. What is needed is firm evidence of how much crime / how many killings go on with guns that are on ticket

[Christopher Graffius]

There has only ever been one piece of research into the number of legally held guns used in crime. This was in the wake of Dunblane and commissioned by the Home Office. It found that the numbers were negligible. I understand that this was a small study and the governmnet has never published it. I belive an FOI request would not apply retrospectively of the FOI law. This study may account for Cameron's comment during PMQs yesterday that the number of legally-held firearms entering the black market was "virtually none".

 

Christopher

[al4x]

the figures as far as you can go under FOI would be a start, as you say its not been done presumably as its not newsworthy, but its pretty powerful data for us to say that out of x million legally held guns a minute number were used in crime it puts license holders in perspective as the law abiding citizens they usually are

[Buzzsaw]

Sent mine.

 

Was slightly worried about the 'Would you like me to brief you on shooting sports in your constituency?' part at the bottom so edited that out, I hardly feel I am the person to do that!