CAMPAIGNERS have called for a "loophole" in the law to be closed after the Manchester Evening News bought a potentially-lethal handgun - legally in a city centre shop.
On the same day new legislation on air guns came into force, we paid é200 for a new German-made Walther CP88, a powerful airgun, which could maim or even kill within a distance of 10 metres.
The CO2 gas-powered gun - which is indistinguishable to the untrained eye from a genuine firearm - can fire off eight rounds in quick succession.
Our purchase on Saturday just hours after new controls were introduced by the government.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 made it an offence to manufacture, sell, transfer or acquire air weapons that use a self-contained gas cartridge system to fire pellets.
Firearms enthusiasts who already owned one were required to obtain a é50 firearms certificate from the police by Friday, April 30.
Anyone now found with one of these guns could be liable to a minimum five-year prison sentence. But the Manchester Evening News has established that some potentially-lethal air guns can still be bought legally without checks or licences.
We bought the CP88 in T Stensby and Co on Shudehill. Their staff acted completely within the law as the .177 air gun falls outside the new legislation.
It is powered by gas cartridges which must be inserted into the handle and which must be replaced on average every 80 shots.
The air guns which are banned under the new law are designed with self-contained gas cartridges, which look like real bullets.
Disgusted
The "loophole" has infuriated anti-gun campaigners Mothers Against Violence, a group set up to fight the gang and gun cultures in south Manchester.
Spokesman Sheila Eccleston, whose son Dean, 24, was shot dead in Longsight on October 9, 2001, said: "I'm absolutely disgusted.
"I would like to see all these guns banned. We go into schools to tell kids about the dangers of the gangs and guns and what message does this give to them?"
Paul Kelly, chairman of the Police Federation in Greater Manchester, has called for a ban on the sale of guns like the Walther CP88.
"Anything designed to be an absolute replica should need a licence in the same way as a real firearm," he said. "And so should any weapon that has working parts and can be converted to accept real bullets."
Linda Mitchell, spokesman for the Gun Control Network, set up in the wake of the Dunblane massacre, said: "All air weapons are lethal, full stop. They are capable of serious injury and there have been deaths. We really need to see legislation that covers all air weapons."
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Sam Cox, Chicago (05/05/2004 at 03:27)
A responsible human, "Not in De Nile" (06/05/2004 at 03:29)
Wake up Linda and Linda-Wannabes! ANYTHING IS and CAN be used as a weapon.
NOTHING injures, maims, or kills someone else UNTIL WE HUMANS MISUSE IT!
Cigarettes, swimming pools, cars, kitchen knives, lye, etc, ALONE OR together kill and injure MORE PEOPLE THAN Firearms or airguns. Why don't anti-sports/guns/self-defense activists and governments restrict and clamp down as hard on those?? (Maybe because it's harder to call a car or kitchen knife EVIL!??)
Linda and her ilk simply refuse to take RESPONSIBILITY for their own actions and the responsible rearing of their offspring. If my child breaks someone's window with a ball, I don't blame the ball...I AND MY CHILD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. My child KNOWS it's wrong to break someone's window either accidently or purposely. My child is TAUGHT to take RESPONSIBLITY for their actions. Is this NO LONGER TAUGHT in ENGLAND???
No Wonder the Sun has set on The Empire. Great leaders and countries DON'T Blame others for their failures or unacceptable actions.
(Gun) Control is all about Escapism and Refusal to Accept Responsibility for one's own actions; "The Evil Inanimate Object (Gun) Made ME Do It, I DIDN'T DO IT!"
GIVE ME A BREAK!
People like Linda Mitchell are simply living in a different country "De Nile" (DENIAL for those slow-witted ones out there.) She DENIES she or anyone else is responsible for their own actions and tries to blame it on an inanimate object. She takes the EASY WAY OUT! Does that sound logical to you?? Taking PERSONAL responsibility is harder and more ADULT!
Well, what else do you expect from someone who runs their life on emotions instead or reasoning and logic?
Pls restore The Empire to its previous glory when we blamed the criminal and not his tools for his socially unacceptable behaviour! Punish him and not his screwdriver, otherwise someday you'll have to pay a fee just to buy and possess that "criminal implement" known as a screwdriver.
Cheers,
From someone living
"Not in De Nile"
PS: I agree with the previous commentor who said basically "Get your facts straight!" I notice that reporters are severely handicapped when "trying" to write accurately about firearm related stories. This story shows the same degree of poor journalism. Facts not checked; incorrect and misleading vocabulary, etc. Journalists, do yourself and your readers a favour, CHECK YOUR FACTS AND NOMENCLATURE. Failure to do so just proves to knowledgeable people what fools you are. The others are just being mislead by your inaccuracies and you're inflicting upon them a great journalistic injustice.
Mrs King, Bromsgrove, Worcs (11/05/2004 at 11:10)
kenny weddell, edinburgh (22/05/2004 at 01:52)
if you read the legislation properly,(if you can understand it) its 'self contained air cartridges' which have become prohibited , not banned as you published!
a cp88 co2 pistol is perfectly legal to purchase, and as for being 'high' powered and 'lethal' i think not.
the law of the land states that if it is under 6ft/lbs at the muzzle it is low powered.
you will find that when chrongraphed these weapons barely exceed 1 ft/lb.
but i bet your not interested in that!
your job is to supply and publish facts to the public, yet all this incorrect data and publishing is confusing the public!
this so called 'high' powered weapon would be lucky to smash a window at 10 yds let alone 'kill' or maim!
its time that the press started to get there facts right and colaborate with people in the 'know'before you terrorise the public! with your misconception and wrongfull publishing!
await your response
kenny weddell
Orange Monster, Berkshire, UK (22/05/2004 at 02:20)
We have a national speed limit on our motorways of 70mph, which legally permits people to drive at a speed which would clearly injure or kill any individual trying to cross a six lane motorway.
If the sarcasm of my comment passes you by, you probably believed every word of the original press article as well!!!
David Crockett Esquire, Eg. Moston, Manchester (22/05/2004 at 02:24)
I am saddened to hear your daughter was injured and I am glad that she was not hit with a real bullet fired from an illegal machine gun fired by a criminal who has no regard at all for the laws of this land.
I do hope the person responsible is punished useing the already adequate laws that are available to the police and courts.
I also hope that you can see the fact that discriminating against the law abiding shooters of this country with new laws and restrictions is about as sensible a suggestion as making a new law banning ten year olds from drink driving.
Bob, Tucker (22/05/2004 at 02:54)
We as a the great unwashed public belive what is spoon fed to us by the press.
The ban on brocock guns has to be one of the biggest miscarrages served on a british business.
Yes the unwashed public have been told that they are being converted into real guns....total poppycock...has anyone actually come forward with one ...has one been used...mabey one of the investigative reporters should go deep under cover and obtain one.
he can then test fire it.
Once he has learnt how to type one handed after losing his good hand to trying to fire a converted gun made out of monkey metal.
But your honour the accused clearly looked at the chair with full intention of braking off a leg and using it to inflict serious injury and god forbid death.
the defendent had no idea the leg was made from balsa wood it just looked so real and feared for there life.
Lets put things in prospective.
anyone caught misusing a firearm and i use that term to encapsulate all guns be they BB air or bullet guns
the laws in this country are some of the most server in the civilised world yet they are not inforced..WHY !!!!
Shurly the young girl who's skin was penitrated by a BB and had just stopped short of entering her wind pipe was pretty close to her attacker.
she is only a young girl so her parents must have been close by (given the age we live in)
for such a henious crime the criminal should be locked away for the maximum term this crime carrys with an air weapon LIFE IMPRISONMENT !!!
Can we now have a report on this particular storey
Axl, Andover, Wiltshire (22/05/2004 at 02:59)
Make it as hard as possible to get a breath of fresh air,
Fact is licence or no licence irrisponsible individuals will aqire what ever they desire to commit an offence, with or without a licence! When will "people" who call for these pathetic bans realise that? How can we get into their lives and find a way to ban or license what they do .
Get a life and get a JOB!!
Mr A C, Worsley (22/05/2004 at 03:11)
Don't you think it's about time the authorities started to use the powers they already have and tackle the 'thugs' who cause these assaults and not put yet more restrictions on the legitimate sporting shooter?
Andy, Southampton (22/05/2004 at 03:23)
g Waclawiak, Pudsey Leeds (22/05/2004 at 07:46)
There are large numbers of everyday items which are capable of inflicting far more serious damage to people more easily if misused but there is never any mention of banning these. Of couse any deliberate injury is one too many but banning things does not solve the problem. There are already sufficint laws covering the misuse of airguns and everyday objects and the individuals need to be caught and prosecuted rather than targeting perfectly law abiding people by way of a ban.
If I were to go on the street with a kitchen knife, hammer chisel,golf club, cricket bat etc I would in all pobability be stopped and questioned by the police. If i started waving them about I would in all probability be arrested, and rightly so. There have been adequate laws surrounding misuse of airguns for years and these need to be properly enforced. Punish the guilty not the vast majority of innocent owners!
Peter Smith, London (22/05/2004 at 08:51)
Please come join me in my fight for a better world.
Register your views at
www.kneejeckreaction.com
Gaz, Kent (22/05/2004 at 09:18)
anyone reading this whilst in the possesion of a CO2 gun, please PLEASE contact the local authorities because this has absolutely no facts in it what-so ever. CO2 pistols and rifles are completely legal.
Darren Petts, Wakefield (22/05/2004 at 09:31)
If someone is to misuse one of these guns there are a multitude of laws to prevent them and to use to prosecute them. Calls for banning of guns completely fail to follow the facts that banning has never increased public safety in the past.
mark lufkin, london (22/05/2004 at 09:49)
Responsible, uk (22/05/2004 at 10:00)
hence owners now face the prospect of what can they do with these banned guns the date for amnesty has passed and so they are in a catch 22 position...the law states that ignorance is not defence...yet very very little has been done to correctly inform the general public of this ban..
Jim Evans, Northamptonshire (22/05/2004 at 10:21)
now really , can you see our youngsters queing up to spend B#200 on an airpistol (which it is already illegal to buy under 17 years of age , how many kids have that kind of money , these Umarex (manufacturer) pistols are aimed at adults who wish to enjoy the challenge of pistol shooting within a responsible club atmosphere.
If you want to incorourage a knee jerk ban from the government to protect children from being shot by police marksman you should look to the sale of spring powered BB guns on EVERY market in the country these too look identical to real handguns from more than 12" away and cost around B#3 THESE are what kids are buying and these are available to any age group , THESE are what are going to get taken to school , THESE are the kind of thing that are going to get people shot.
As for the original Brockok pistols which have been banned , can you see "Yardies" or "Gangsters" paying B#500 for a replica wild west single action revolver ? collectors up and down the country are having to hand in thousands of pounds worth of airguns with NO compensation because new licencing has been brought in so quickly that government agencys cannot meet the demand for licences.
yours sincerely Jim
P Williams, Wales (22/05/2004 at 10:54)
Secondly the reporter mentions "air pistols and airguns" - current legislation in the UK limits airpistols to a muzzle energy of 6 foot-pounds and rifles to 12 foot-pounds. A more powerful pistol becomes a banned weapon under existing law and more powerfull rifles require the aquisition of a Firearms Certificate, which takes a lot more than simply paying "B#50" as suggested in the article.
Britain has sufficient laws covering the use of both air powered and live round guns and these should be enforced to the full in any event covering gun criminality whether it be the armed gang robbing the bank or the thug who shoots a pedestrian with an airgun.
clark bullock, wolverhampton (22/05/2004 at 11:12)
Dave Shaw, Darwen, Lancashire (22/05/2004 at 11:46)
Derek Waldron, Kent (22/05/2004 at 12:16)
In the wrong hands any number of items can be 'lethal' but it would be ridiculous to call for a ban on the sale of baseball bats or kitchen knives for example.
There are many thousands of responsible airgun users in this country who will always be tarred with the same brush as the minority of idiots who behave irresponsibly. Furthermore, the majority of 'lethal' incidents involving guns will not have been committed with an airgun. Whilst the possibility remains that an air pistol can be lethal, it would take a very lucky/unlucky shot for it to be so.
Scott Strachan, Portsmouth (22/05/2004 at 12:55)
CO2 pistols are not classed as SCGC guns, as the gas and pellet are seperate. SCGC guns utilise a power source that couples a single charge of air with a single pellet in a brass cylinder. Again, all these pistols are below the 6ft/lbs legal power limit. The new legislation covering these guns states that to retain ownership of the guns, the owner must apply for a firearms certificate from their local police authority, as I myself have done. The new law also bans the sale, importing, exporting (except by section 5 firearms dealers, of which there are only 2 in the country) and trading of SGSC guns. Should an owner decide not to keep his, they must be handed into the police for destruction, without any compensation.
Foreigner, Abroad (22/05/2004 at 16:00)
A crossbow bolt will go straight through a phone book or a human body, while the pellet from the CO2-gun will be stopped by a leather jacket!
As for the fact that some CO2-guns look like real guns; they don't sound like one...
A blank firer makes a much better tool for robbing banks et.c.
A CO2 CP88 is practically impossible to convert into firing live ammo, but some blank firers are not.
Barrie_G, Northumberland (22/05/2004 at 16:47)
Ace, Essex (22/05/2004 at 18:20)