AIRGUN OWNERSHIP AND CHILDREN
The following was issued as a Press Release by GCN on
26 August 2008
The
tragic shooting of the toddler Rashid Rullah highlights once again the
terrible consequences of the ‘boys’ toys’ culture surrounding airgun
ownership. This culture results in easy access, casual regard and
non-accountability.
Because airguns are not treated as ‘real’ weapons they are not thought
worthy of registration or regulation. They are not taken seriously.
Yet
they are responsible for around half of all firearms offences and over a
quarter (1054 in 2006/7) of all serious firearms injuries.
Children pick up air weapons that are left lying around and use them to
kill, blind and injure other children, often siblings or friends. The
adults who own these guns are rarely held to account. There is no law
requiring them to store their weapons safely nor is there any record of
ownership. The terrible tragedies of Rashid, Mitchel, Alex, Danny S,
Danny M, David, George, Kazim, Lorna, Matthew, Micah, Nicola, Somma and
others are not merely ‘accidents’. They are preventable and culpable
incidents.
Two
years ago twelve-year-old Mitchel Picken was killed by another child
while friends played around with a father’s air weapon. Had this gun
been properly secured Mitchel would be alive today. His parents join
the Gun Control Network in calling upon Government to bring in
legislation to register airguns and their owners, and make them liable
for the misuse of their weapons.
Andrew Picken, Mitchel’s father, says ‘The irresponsibility of an
air gun owner has once again led to the shooting of a young child. The
Government cannot hide behind recent changes in legislation, which
failed to take the airgun problem seriously enough and make owners
responsible for storing their weapons safely. Airguns and their owners
could be registered, and they should be.’
> See
Press Release from March 2005
