Right. Ahnold even has his own M47!
Posted on 05/26/2007 11:09:40 AM PDT by 68skylark
Splendid idea! For any who frequent the Kenmore Range in the Seattle area, I'll be the one with the thundering boom box playing the 1812 Overture. I'm sure Crazy Bill will be impressed (he loved my suggestion about hiring cocktail waitresses we could call the "Targettes."
I’ll have to do a bit of research to find them again. Will send them to you when I locate them. Bear with me, here.
Must've been the units that swooped in on the London girls with toy squirt guns: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836306/posts
The difference is that those restrictions are in violation of our highest law, the Constitution of the United States. Since you do have a written Constitution, the government is free to do whatever restrictions they can persuade the populace is needed. Or convince them after putting the restrictions in place that they were needed, which is not quite the same thing. Compare:
A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.
To:
That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law;
The latter is from the English Bill of Rights of 1689. Of course that is a mere act of Parliament, and not a fundamental limitation on the actions of the Government of the United Kingdom, which is why it is so easy to violate.
Your basic premise is that you can shoot for sport, so what the problem. Neither the above prevision of Your Bill or Rights, nor the one above it which comprised the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, had anything to do with sport, nor even with taking game. Today in the UK, self defense is not a valid reason for owning a firearm, be it handgun, rifle or shotgun, let alone defense against any would be tyrants in government.
For those who doubt this, here is a link to the Thames Valley Police which lays out the restrictions on ownership and the requirements for obtaining permission to own one.
One little tidbit
Applicants for firearms certificates have to show 'good reason' for possession of each and every firearm. In practical terms that means which firearm they want, what they what to use it for and where they are going to use it. For example, a .22RF rifle may be authorised for shooting vermin on a specific piece of land or a 7.62mm rifle may be authorised for target shooting whilst a member of a specific club.
...
All applications are subject to standard checks with the police national computer (PNC), Criminal Intelligence and several other departments. Firearms applications must be supported by two referees and shot gun applications must be countersigned. All applicants are visited by an FEO (Firearms Enquiry Officer) to establish their bona fides.
And this, to clarify that even shotguns commonly used for sport shooting and hunting in the US are heavily restricted in the UK.
: What's the difference between a firearm and a shotgun?
A: In simple terms, a firearm has a rifled barrel and fires bullets, a shot gun (or musket) is smooth bore and fires cartridges or blanks. However, a multi-shot shot gun (capable of holding one in the chamber and more than two in the magazine) or has a detachable magazine requires a firearm certificate as does a short barreled (less than 24 inches) shot gun.
For those in the US, these are the sorts of "reasonable restrictions" our home grown gun grabbers would impose upon us, if allowed to do so. The next quote from that Police page shows what the Authorities consider legitimate reasons for owning firearm and shotguns:
: Why do people want firearms or shotguns in this day and age? A: There are many reasons for possessing firearms and shotguns.
People have them for shooting vermin (rabbits, foxes etc), target shooting (an Olympic discipline), game shooting (pheasant, deer etc), humane killing of animals in distress, and occasionally to slaughter animals. Firearms (and ammunition) are also collected.
They are also used for signalling purposes and starting races. Re-enactment societies such as the Sealed Knot use cannon and muskets for their displays. Firearms can be held for use overseas in expeditions or big game hunting.
Veterinary surgeons' tranquillising equipment is also subject to firearms legislation.
One other little factoid. In the dark days of WW-II, before the US entered the war, the UK was pretty much bare of lawfully owned civilian weapons, although not to extent true today. The Germans were serious about an invasion. But their were not enough arms for the Army (many having been lost at Dunkirk), let alone any for the Home Guard. So the appeal went out, and the US National Rifle Association and it's members responded with donations of their privately owned weapons suitable for repelling the Hun on the landing beaches, on the order of 7,000 of them.
Here's a non NRA link indicating that the collection did indeed occur, with the following quote
Meanwhile, the NRA continued its commitment to training, education and marksmanship. During World War II, the association offered its ranges to the government, developed training materials, encouraged members to serve as plant and home guard members and developed training materials for industrial security. The NRA's call to help arm Britain in 1940 resulted in the collection of more than 7,000 firearms for Britain's defense against potential invasion by Germany.
Of course I meant "Since you do not have a written Constitution,"
I’m bookmarking this thread with a brief post. Gotta run. But British gun owners’ apparent trust in their government is disturbing and yet another reason why the American Revolution took place.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.