It’s about the U.K.!
I am horrified to read that the youngest holder of a shotgun certificate was aged seven, according to new firearms figures from the Home Office
He was one of 247 children aged under 14 who had a shotgun licence in the year to March 2020 with a further 2,482 aged 14 to 17 also having a firearm or shotgun certificate.
Children under 14 are allowed to possess shotguns provided they are supervised and after rigorous police checks. They are conditional on them abiding by specific uses that include for sporting purposes, for use at a rifle or pistol club or cadet corps or at a miniature rifle range.
The youngest in most previous years has been eight but in 2012 there was a child of just five with a certificate.
As of March 31 this year, 586,351 people held a firearm and/or shotgun certificate, a decrease of 0.8 per cent, or 4,951, compared with the previous year.
Even on farms and in country areas, should we allow children - which they are - to use guns of any sort?
The areas with the highest number of firearms (held on certificates) per 100,000 people are rural, including North Yorkshire (2,887), Dyfed-Powys (2,675) and Cumbria (2,565). The Home Office said ownership of firearms and/or shotguns in these areas was largely linked to employment, such as gamekeeping and farming, or leisure, such as target shooting and game shooting.
I realise this has little if anything to do with inner city gun crime, but honestly, how can a minor hold a firearms licence?