Viewers of the BBC's television news programmes will have noticed they have a new bee in their bonnet this week - the use of shotguns by children.
The Corporation sent Freedom of Information Act requests to Britain's 52 territorial police forces asking how many shotgun certificates they had issued to under 18-year-olds in the past 3 years.
Fifty one of the forces responded, confirming that 7,071 certificates were issued. Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed that it had given a shotgun certificate to a seven-year-old in 2008.
Cue BBC News scaremongering, with the implication that all children trained to use a shotgun run the risk become gun-toting, Post Office-robbing delinquents.
This morning BBC Breakfast wheeled out Lucy Cope, a Mothers Against Guns campaigner, to extol the evils of these heinous weapons plaguing Britain's streets. Cope's views, whilst heartfelt and impassioned, are blinkered by the grief of losing her own child to gun crime.
The unequivocal fact is that the vast majority of these young shotgun users become highly proficient and conscientious in their skill. They know how to handle and store their weapons safely and securely. They use their weapons for the perfectly legal pursuits of shooting game or targets on private land.
They have the right to enjoy their hobby without the persecution of well-intentioned but ill-informed busybodies.
Those intent on criminality don't bother to apply for a firearms or shotgun certificate.
The Corporation sent Freedom of Information Act requests to Britain's 52 territorial police forces asking how many shotgun certificates they had issued to under 18-year-olds in the past 3 years.
Fifty one of the forces responded, confirming that 7,071 certificates were issued. Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed that it had given a shotgun certificate to a seven-year-old in 2008.
Cue BBC News scaremongering, with the implication that all children trained to use a shotgun run the risk become gun-toting, Post Office-robbing delinquents.
This morning BBC Breakfast wheeled out Lucy Cope, a Mothers Against Guns campaigner, to extol the evils of these heinous weapons plaguing Britain's streets. Cope's views, whilst heartfelt and impassioned, are blinkered by the grief of losing her own child to gun crime.
The unequivocal fact is that the vast majority of these young shotgun users become highly proficient and conscientious in their skill. They know how to handle and store their weapons safely and securely. They use their weapons for the perfectly legal pursuits of shooting game or targets on private land.
They have the right to enjoy their hobby without the persecution of well-intentioned but ill-informed busybodies.
Those intent on criminality don't bother to apply for a firearms or shotgun certificate.
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