An open letter to Thames Valley Police

It saddens me that Chief Constable Peter Neyroud thinks it appropriate to suggest that it should be illegal to buy and sell replica firearms:

The move is part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. Anyone carrying an imitation firearm or air weapon in public without reasonable excuse* may face a six month prison sentence or £5,000 fine. Chief Constable Peter Neyroud said: “I welcome this but I would like to see further legislation making it illegal to buy and sell replica firearms.”

Such legislation would effectively destroy the popular and legitimate pastime of Airsoft enjoyed by thousands of honest and hard working people across the UK.

He already has the necessary legislation to stop criminal misuse now that the Anti-Social behaviour bill has become law and I suggest that he uses it.

Further failure to curb such illegal use should be put down to lack of manpower or mismanagement of resources (too much red tape, too high wages for Chief Constables etc) and not used as an excuse to once again limit the liberties enjoyed by honest men, women and children.

I also note that the Chief constable uses the language of the state when issuing his suggestion. He would like to destroy legitimate use without having to pay compensation, hence the phrase make it illegal "to buy and sell" rather than to ban outright (which would require compensation).

The Chief Constable has all the legislation he needs. Now let's see some results.

Posted by JohnJo at January 22, 2004 03:17 PM | TrackBack