A.S.A.P. - Allow Shooters Access to Pistol sports

March 18, 2006

This is a petition for the innocent targets, shooters and gun enthusisasts across the UK, who unfairly had their pistols taken away from them after the horrific Dunblane school shooting in 1996.

It was due to a failing of the local police force to indentify that this man was unsuitable to posses a firearm. After the tragedy, it was campaigned for there to be a handgun ban so that it could "never happen again". This was a huge breech of peoples civil liberties.

If you are a safe, respectable citizen who has gone through the appropriate vetting procedures and is a member of an official Home Office approved gun club, and attend regularly (while on this subject I must point out that Thomas Hamilton, the man that commited the atrocity, had been thrown out of his Home Office approved gun club, who had informed the police of this, while no action was taken.), there should be no reason why you should not be allowed to posses a pistol to use at a Home Office shooting range.

Now that London has won the 2012 Olympics, then the law is actually in breech of the Olympic Charter, which states:

Section 4: 'The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibilty of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. The organisation, administration and management of sport must be controlled by independent sports organisations.'

Section 5: 'Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.

Section 6: 'Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC.

Target shooting is an Olympic Sport. The only way that it is possible to practise is to travel to the Channel Islands. This means that traget shooters are unable to own their own guns, and travelling to the Channel Islands is a great inconvienience and makes it practically impossible for the ordinary british shooter to possibly become part of the Olympics (Which they should be able to, according to the charter).

I urge you to sign this petiton in the hope that fairness and justice shall be restored to the thousands of law abiding, safe, pistol shooters who have been denied their sport.