22nd
January 2008
Minister Agrees to Examine BB Gun
Licensing
MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan
McNeil, has welcomed Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill’s, comments that
properly licensing the sale of BB guns could be explored by the Scottish
Government.
Mr
McNeil quizzed Mr MacAskill on what action he could take to stop the dangerous,
yet freely available, weapons getting onto the streets during Thursday’s
Scottish Parliament debate on firearms (17th January).
Mr
McNeil told the Chamber:
“The
minister may be aware that Sheriff Swanney raised some concerns about
ball-bearing guns. Such guns are
available for £4 and cause serious damage to victims. Does
the minister have existing powers to deal with the sale of those cheap weapons
and restrict their availability? They can be used to intimidate innocent people
in our communities.”
The
Justice Secretary replied:
“Off
the top of my head, I do not know. I
presume that we might be able to do something through a licensing regime. I
took a call on the point from the Greenock Telegraph, and I made it clear that
we would discuss the issue. Clearly, it is not simply a matter of air weapons
but of the other matters that Mr McNeil raises.”
He
then added: “I am happy to look at what we can do”.
The
Minister’s commitment comes after a Greenock
Telegraph investigation revealed that the weapons were freely available in
the town for a little as £4.
Speaking
to the Telegraph after the debate, Mr
McNeil said:
“This
doesn’t have to be a constitutional confrontation with Westminster. If
the Minister has powers to act, he should use them and I’m glad he has
undertaken to explore the possibility of restricting the sale of these menacing
weapons.
“As
the Telegraph’s investigations
uncovered, these weapons are readily available for a few pounds.
It’s no wonder they are falling into the wrong hands and being used to
inflict fear and pain on innocent members of our community.”
ENDS
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