Club Obi Wan

Just a short word or two which will have our American cousins turning apoplectic....I can't own a handgun now in the U.K at all. I used to do sport target pistol shooting (I had a .22 Ruger)about 20 years ago; however, after an infamous massacre by a deranged Scot at a primary school in the 1990s (Dunblane in Scotland), legislation was rushed through the British Parliament to outlaw private handgun ownership. So even if I wanted to shoot for pleasure now (which I don't) I couldn't under our 'liberal' laws. You don't realise what an authoritarian state the UK now is - don't lose YOUR freedoms in the US; they are hard won and easily lost.

Of course we don't have the NRA in the UK and we don't have a tradition of being able to have private weapons - but - and this is a big but - I have no right now to hold anything more lethal than an air pistol. I could own a shotgun if I were a farmer, but thats about it.

I got rid of my pistol back in the 1980s but the point is the US and the UK are 2 very different countries. We have a strong what we call 'nanny' culture here in the UK and plenty of 'do gooders' who seek to outlaw anything that moves. I would say be very careful about government - it is good and we have to have it - but don't let it get too big and too dominant otherwise freedoms long fought for will go.

Poor old Indy would have been able to have a sidearm in the Britain of the 1930s but NOT in the Britain of the 2000s! So no Webley or Colt or whatever for me now

I guess I'll just have to rely on the old bullwhip!

Take care Indy fans,

Capt.Farell

That's too bad, though understandable in the European way to look at things... our gun crime rate is low and our governments want to keep it that way. Sadly, instead of improving psychiatric care and keeping severely disturbed people off the streets, guns are abolished - no way to sort out the problem at hand.
Sweden is about to kill off hobby shooting as well. Hopefully, I'll begin my qualification course for a sidearm this spring - unless legislation changes over here too...

I know there are still a few exceptions - in Northern Ireland you can own a gun if you have sufficient reason of self-protection. But you are right in general about how difficult it is.

Ken

Wow that does sound extreme the world should find a happy medeom when it comes to gun control/gun rights. Were I live you see the other side of the spectrum you can get a gun at a yard sale and during hunting season I can go in to my bank with a side arm and a rifle over my shoulder and thare cool with it it dont seem right to me but hay thay let me.

I agree with Scandinavia Jones, sadly a few deranged people have spoilt the (sane) majorities fun. Good luck with your course by the way Scandinavia.

Oh just another thing....we have just banned hunting with hounds in the U.K. (not that I was a fox hunter myself) and bang goes another 1,000 years of history tradition (and jobs for country folk).

British Labour M.P.s seem totally out of kilter with how ordinary people think - a dangerous position for democracy I think!

Anyway I'd rather live in the UK than some other places I could mention :!:

Capt. Farrell

I don't want to put the lock on this topic. However, I am going to have to ask that we not post anymore to this topic. This section is for the discussion of IndyGear.

To quote Michaelson regarding this section...

Let's also try to keep this area clear of political discussion. Indy carried and used firearms. We're here to discuss those arms, and not the often complicated and diverse opinions regarding gun ownership.

I will not leave you empty handed. I understand there is a need to discuss these topics. Allow me to direct you to a forum where this can be discussed more freely... http://www.glocktalk.com Although it's heavily Glock driven, there are plenty of other discussions.

This is a very active board and there are many sections to the forum. One in particular is Glock Talk > the Right to Keep and Bear Arms > Gun-Control Issues. And, there is currently a sticky on British Gun Crime.

Like COW, registration is free and you will find me on there from time to time.

Regards,
Pyro.

Excellent redirect, Pyro! It looks like the perfect pace for those of us who need to vent our frustrations regarding this issue. Maybe this basic info could be added to Michaelson's sticky?
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*message deleted by the author*

MK wrote:....or....you can talk about all brands of guns...and our freedoms at:

The Fedora Lounge. I don't do much inviting here out of respect, but since this topic is being discouraged.....

Oops,...I mean yes. I totally forgot. Silly thing is I wrote that post and had FL open in another browser window.