Minister Ahern’s knee jerk proposals for the withdrawal of handgun licences shows how out of touch he is with the current situation according to Cllr Richard Daly, leas Cathaoirlaech of Athy Town Council.
“It beggars belief that the Minister’s proposal to limit unlicenced handguns is to immediately penalise the owners of legal handguns. This is akin to banning all driving licences because some drivers drive cars without having a licence. Does the Minister for Justice not know that the problem with gun crime is exclusively in the use of unlicenced guns which are often supplied with drug shipments and not the members of highly monitored gun clubs where members participate in national and international competitions?
Throughout the troubled period in Irish history where the violence in Northern Ireland predominated licenced handguns or gun ranges were not permitted in the south although in the North where the main violence was taking place handguns and gun clubs were still permissible.
Following the Peace Process the licensing of hand guns and the growth of the clubs began. The minister seems surprised that the number of licences handguns has increased after it became legal. This is because for the first time in our history it has developed as a sport.
Gun clubs are strictly regulated and monitored and the storage and control of the handguns is undertaken very seriously.
The minister uses as his excuse the fact that if any of these guns were stolen and used to kill anybody then it would be unacceptable. It would be equally unacceptable if somebody stole a car and killed somebody with it but that should not prevent the ordinary citizen from owning a car.
The gun fraternity are as abhorred as the rest of the country by the recent killings in our country and have become even more vigilant in the operation of their clubs. Like the rest of society they want the minister to go after the drug dealers and illegal guns not the compliant citizens who might have their guns stolen.
Minister Ahern further implies in his statement that if the seizure of all legal handguns doesn’t have the desired effect he will extend it to all legally held firearms.
The implication that the removal of legally held firearms is a response to national gun crime is an insult to the thousands of citizens who own guns and are as far removed from crime as the minister himself.
Most gun owners would agree with stringent regulation for the safe use and storage of their guns. Gun clubs of all descriptions have been proactive in providing safety training for their sportspeople who operate these guns. I am unaware of any instance of the misuse of any of the licenced guns for crime and I am doubly disappointed that the minister’s attack on illegally held guns is directed at the legally held ones instead.
By misdirecting his attack I believe that the minister has shot himself in the foot and has tarnished legal gun owners throughout the country” said Cllr Daly.
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