I felt the perspiration running down my brow as I gently squeezed my finger on the trigger. My target didn’t stand a chance. Bang, another bullseye.
Even though I was 13 at the time, and in the controlled environment of a combined cadet force shooting exercise, I still remember the primeval thrill of holding a 303 rifle in my hand.
I’d been told such a gun could kill a man from a mile away, and the power of holding such a killing machine was electrifying to my adolescent self.
Is it any wonder then that killer gunman Raoul Moat finds himself in the throes of a killing spree, even though he has already shot his ex-girlfriend and killed her new boyfriend, as well as blasting a policeman in the face in his patrol car from point blank range.
The fact is that a loaded gun has no conscience, can be indiscriminately fired and do untold damage.
Guns have the unpredictable and hypnotic capacity to turn men into gung-ho monsters which is why I think, as yet another harrowing gun crime unfolds, the time has come to introduce draconian measures: put simply, ban firearms. And slap a mandatory life sentence on anyone caught in illegal possession thereafter.
How many Dunblanes, Cumbrias or Hungerfords does it take for society to learn that guns have no useful place, beyond the security services, in a civilised culture.
Why do we need gun clubs, shooting parties, pheasant hunts, and clay pigeon groups? Is man so lacking in thrills from other acceptable pursuits, such as sport and exercise, that he needs to have a rifle in his hand in order to feel fulfilled?
We all react in horror at the arbitrary tragedy of those caught in the cross fire of gun-wielding maniacs such as Raoul Moat, who, at the time of writing was taunting police on Facebook about extending his killing spree.
Yet despite the spate of such appalling massacres, and a governmental self-belief that our gun laws are tough enough, there seems to be no end to the shedding of innocent blood, which flows unstoppably through nameless streets and blameless suburbs.
It’s bad enough that a subterranean culture of illegal firearms already pervades Manchester, which has one of the highest rates of gun crime in the country.
Many years ago, on a wintry night, I was called to a remote house in the Derbyshire hills where a client, armed with an arsenal of firearms, was holding a random household hostage.
He thought the police marksmen were going to kill him and he wanted me there to get him escorted safely out of the house.
I had no choice but to jog across the moors in a bullet proof vest, surrounded by a crack team of coppers, to get my client to put the gun down and come out.
It’s the nearest I’ve ever been to a genuine game of Russian Roulette, and not one I’m eager to replay. Even though he was my client, the formula of man plus gun can trigger terrifying possibilities.
Of course there are those who’ll say that there are law-abiding citizens who use guns within controlled parameters for legitimate recreational pursuits. But, sorry, it’s too high a risk to take. Guns have no place in our lives and it’s hard enough to stop their illegal usage filtering into the underworld.
Tough on gun crime? Not enough. Tough on guns. Enough said.
The secret of getting a good job? Timing
TIMING is the key. So thank goodness I picked up my 2:2 in law from Trent Poly more than 30 years ago. According to research published this week, 80 per cent of bosses won’t interview graduate applicants who have less than a 2.1 degree.
Market forces, a savage economic climate and sheer scarcity of jobs have forced their hand.
But it also reflects the total betrayal of this generation, who have been encouraged by the prizes-for-all ethos of the last government to get degrees in anything from tiddlywinks to Take That.
Like I said, it’s all in the timing.
A lad like me with a ‘Desmond’ (ie Tutu, 2:2, geddit?) from a provincial polytechnic would, nowadays, probably be kicking his heels down the local job centre.
These brave Staffies deserve a better press
MY congratulations to Oi, the Staffordshire bull terrier who received the canine equivalent of the George Cross, after driving away a machete-crazed, balaclava-clad gang who attacked his family home.
I’m tired of hearing endless negative stories about these truly amazing animals, so was delighted that Oi’s action can highlight the true value of a Stafford.
I can only hope that when mandatory dog licences are introduced the morons who currently abuse and pervert this wonderful breed will crawl back into the sewers from which they came.
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"Guns have the unpredictable and hypnotic capacity to turn men into gung-ho monsters"...
So do steroids Nick, So do steroids...
Why are staffies the most common dog to kill and maim Nick?
Is it because they are the only breed to be abused and perverted?
silly man
"the time has come to introduce draconian measures: put simply, ban firearms. And slap a mandatory life sentence on anyone caught in illegal possession thereafter."
It won't happen because they police will never be willing to put their arms beyond use and the government would never have the strength to make them.
In a legal system that allows those who have more money than others to be found Not Guilty on Technicalities, we will have gun crime like all other crime.
Many years ago, on a wintry night, I was called to a remote house in the Derbyshire hills where a client, armed with an arsenal of firearms, was holding a random household hostage.
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That must have been one hell of a speeding ticket you were trying to get him off.
@ manic ha-ha-ha
No-one wants to read your moral stories when you specialise in making the guilty free! Surely It carry's little weight with the majority of the readership and we rarely see positive comments following your articles yet both you and the M.E.N continue to ram your (bi-proxy) murkey judgements and opinions down the throat of Greater Manchester does anyone really want to read this or am I alone?
SO WHAT WAS WRONG WITH MY PREVIOUS COMMENT?
I wish you had no place in society Nick.
Dog Egg, A Corner flag at Eastlands
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Here Here!
Well said that man.
I live in a city neighbourhood teaming with legally owned handguns. We've not had a gun-crime locally for years. WHY ARE YOU SO FRIGHTENED? Maybe you should ban anything "not-nice" and wear a helmet too?
Nick ,
the majority of greater manchester dispise what you stand for!! You make money out of devalueing the legal system for the benifit of the rich. Shame on you! Will you continue your sad practice if one of yours were hit by a drunked celebrity?? I think the law is for everyone regardless of income or status. Am i in the minority?
The MEN have now elevated you to celebrity in a way that encourages greed at any cost to society. When you have made your money go away and let the decent people deal with the scum on a right and wrong basis rather than rich and ... poor/normal basis
Britain has the toughest gun laws in the world and banning guns does not work after Dunblain the act came in to ban guns and still the death toll mounts, if you want to kill someone then you can get a gun, buying a replica gun and converting it instructions via the internet.
In Switzerland everyone has to have a gun at home by law we never hear of massacres there in America where gun ownership is at its most gun crime is low as to the proportion of the population and guns. Yes you hear of the Waco’s and no amount of gun banning would of stopped David Koresh doing what he did, Columbine happened because the two shooters were playing out some video game in their heads so if guns are banned then video games should be banned. People go out to kill because they have mental issues no sane person would commit such heinous crimes, the same as the British mum who suffocated her two children on holiday in this case no gun needed, sane people find it hard to comprehend. Rhys Jones died because he was innocently caught up in a gang war he was killed by an illegal gun so how can a country legislate against illegal guns when so called gangsters are prepared to use them at any price.
A majority of gun owners in America are responsible people as in every society there is always one who acts against the norm be it killing with a gun, a knife or at someone’s hands. Raoul Moat has issues with his girlfriend and the police people who normally get jealous of a girlfriend usually give the new boyfriend grief not go and shoot them dead. It is stated that Raoul Moat was on steroids it is well know that steroids warp the mind, Guns do not kill it is the man who fires the gun that kills.
"No-one wants to read your moral stories when you specialise in making the guilty free"
If they were not found guilty then that means there Not guilty.
Funny but I never thought of Switzerland, a place where nearly all citizens own & know how to use a gun, as uncivilised. Quite the reversemost people would say that Switzerland is in fact one of the most civilised places to be.
In the UK any criminal who wants a gun can get one, the problem is then a power imbalance. If the criminal knew that the law abiding people around him were also carrying weapons, and would probably shoot an kill him if he even drew his, then he would think twice. The problem in the UK is that a criminal draws a gun, and none of us can do anything about it, - that would be different if we were allowed to carry guns.
A funny thing that Mr Freeman chooses to congratulate a dog, which some people regard as being used by some as a weapon when it drove away a machete weilding gang. If the house owner did not have a dog, but had a handgun he would have been able to defend himself, in the current Uncivilised system, we are all made to be victims - just the way the greedy lawyers like it.
Go away freeman you are not wanted here.
The Gun? the thing that has been abused for ever and a day in the pursuit of expansion murder and mayhem the world over by people with ideologies of idiocy. What was the maker of the first gun thinking Defence or oppression or both. What was the main goal? I would say oppression because man is mad and greedy.
The only real reason for a gun should be to defend against the enemy and maybe food.
It may be 34/35 yrs but it will never be 37yrs., Mossley
Both Switzerland and the USA (and Canada) suffer many more gun deaths and injuries per capita than the UK
citycentre, you are correct of course, but I wouldn't waste your time talking sense to the man from Mossley above. His posts are always the most uninformed, ridiculous things on this site and that is an achievement in itself. The other day I read something by him that showed a complete ignorance of both the force of gravity and the concept of the sea.
"We never hear of massacres" in Switzerland? I think you mean "you" never hear of massacres in Switzerland, which is a totally different matter.
1. Banning firearms wont stop the flow of illegal firearms- there are plenty on the streets and plenty more where they came from. It appears this latest incident may stem from illegal firearms as there has been no mention of him having a licence so far.
2. Dog licences wont stop people abusing dogs- those law abiding amoungst us will end up obeying while all the yobs and scum whose animals do cause the problems will carry on- I will remember your comments next time one of my dogs is attacked by a staffie- Im sure you can come and defend its owner.
3. Get in the real world Nick.