With the greatest of respect I think you are making a mistake common to many people of an anti-gun frame of mind. The problem is not the legally licenced weapons, but, as the policeman said, the illegal, far more dangerous ones that find their way into the hands of children in the inner cities.

If you stop and think about it, what child of under 16 has the money to purchase a shotgun without some parental input? What child under 16 has his or her own firearms cabinet (as required by law)? These licences are issued (by responsible firearms officers no less) so that sons and daughters of adult firearms owners may partake in a perfectly legal activities alongside their parents.

Personally I feel a heck of a lot more comfortable with children learning about weapons from adults who own them and know how to use them safely than from television or their gangsta chums at school.

As for accidents? Given the hysteria that surrounds firearms in Britain I would imagine that we would have heard about any such incident, had one occured. Indeed, if one thinks back over the past five years, how many news reports have there been about children being involved in incidents involving a licenced shotgun? Now compare that to the number of reports about children being involved in incidents involving illegal weapons (including knves etc).

The problem isn’t the legal weapons or legitimate firearms owners. I’d even go so far as to say it wasn’t really the illegal weapons either. It’s something much deeper – a problem with the psyche of a significant minority of today’s society.

“Suffolk police said the law does not provide a minimum age for shotgun certificates but children under the age of 15 must be supervised by a person over the age of 21 at all times.”

maybe if we sent kids out shooting at the weekends on a range, they wouldnt want to shoot each other come monday morning

although if you want to ban guns, just go on about the carbon footprint of a single round and your lefty nonsesense will be all over the news by 6pm

I feel that there is some merit in what is said about how we treat everyone as irresponsible in the UK – these people have bothered to get licences after all. Were previous generations stupid to have allowed such a young age for ownership ? Or has the quality of our people deteriorated ? Lowest common denominators again.

A far more deadly issue is the availability of sex for our children. There is rarely a prosecution for underage sex and the state does much to fund the consequences thus perpetuating the problem.

I’d rather kids have a gun under the watchful eye of a parent than their have their own baby aged 12 or so.

So many of the killers on our streets come from broken homes – they don’t need guns to do it either. Just the callous ability to kick someone’s head like a football.

Every time I see the hysteria whipped up in the sensationalist gun fearing press about youngsters & air weapons (or firearms), my Boy gets sent out into the farm yard to shoot rats because out here, vermin control has always been a youngsters job.

Since he has been physically large enough to lift a weapon, he has been taught & is continuing to be taught, all aspects of handling, marksmanship & safety.

I take it that your comments on who might be competent to safely use firearms comes form your lifetimes experience of weapons handling?