Anti-gun paranoia

Candidus II felt it fit (On the Dot, July 22) to offer a suggestion regarding the new Weapons Act White Paper.

Alas, Candidus II simply echoes the usual misguided perception that problems regarding firearm misuse can be solved by banning this or that type of gun.

This is completely fallacious. If the suggestion to ban semi-automatic shotguns (automatic firearm technically means a machine-gun) is aimed at curbing hunting abuses, the solution is enforcing the magazine limit already in place!

Banning semi-automatic shotguns outright would solve absolutely nothing. Australia hastily did this in a knee-jerk response to a shooting incident, yet the result was that criminal misuse of firearms did not fall but rise drastically.

The same happened with the infamous ban on handguns in Britain that only destroyed legitimate shooting sport and collecting. Currently, Britain is facing an unprecedented upsurge in armed crime.

It would be interesting to know what Candidus II thinks of the ownership/use of firearms for such legitimate pursuits as target shooting sports and bona fide collecting.

The White Paper as it stands would severely limit the type of target shooting events that could be practised by way of sweeping prohibitions of most pistols and rifles. As to collecting, this would be rendered almost totally blocked through a system of wide discretionary powers and unduly onerous conditions.

One earnestly hopes that the government finally realises that if it wants Malta to form part of the European Union, local firearm and shooting enthusiasts will never accept to be deprived of the full opportunities enjoyed by their counterparts across the European continent!