Posted on 06/26/2002 4:16:31 PM PDT by tarawa
Vicar jailed for keeping loaded gun
The gun was brought into England from the US
A vicar has been jailed for four months after keeping a loaded gun hidden in a grandfather clock at his vicarage in Greater Manchester.
On Tuesday Salford Magistrates' court heard how the Reverend Michael Daggett, 54, kept the gun for protection.
Daggett, a US citizen, came to the UK in 1984, before becoming vicar at The Church of the Holy Rood, Swinton, in 1990.
He pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited firearm and possession of ammunition.
The court heard how police visited the vicarage in Moorside Road, Salford, in February, while investigating another matter.
Howard Shaw, prosecuting, said they found four boxes of .22 bullets in a downstairs cabinet. Another box of bullets was found in a bedside cabinet.
Daggett later told the officer the German-made double barrelled Frontier Derringer was for his protection.
It was revealed in court he had once caught a burglar inside the vicarage.
'Different culture'
Mark Benson, defending, said the gun was a family heirloom that had been given to Daggett by a friend of his father's when he was a child.
Mr Benson said: "He would not have needed a licence to hold such a gun in the United States, there's a different culture there.
"There was a genuine belief on his behalf that a weapon of that calibre was not prohibited."
Mr Benson said Daggett had loaded the gun "out of curiosity" and was intending to use it at a shooting range but had never got round to it.
'Wrong hands'
But Judge John Finestein said: "I reject the suggestion that is being made that you do not know about the gun laws in this country.
"You were in possession of an extremely dangerous weapon for your protection in your bedroom.
"In these situations guns have been used where burglaries have happened and the gun could get into the wrong hands."
Daggett intends to appeal against the sentence, but he was told he would serve at least two months of it before being released.
and your point is, your 'honor'?
As Elmer Keith said about the Colt .45 on his hip: "I wouldn't carry the son of a bitch if it wasn't dangerous."
A .22? Not much dager OR protection. He should have stayed in America....
If it's "used" properly, it won't get into the "wrong" hands, judge.
It's too bad he didn't say that in court. Elmer Keith has made numerous profound, humerous, but deadly serious statements. This is one of them. Great man!
This gentlemen is the voice of tyranny.
Why did they resist the Nazi's ? Seems they would have reached their "chosen" destination much easier by surrendering.
As for his reason for keeping it, well, what better reason could he have? If the toerags who break into people's houses thought they might be shot they would think twice. I can't understand the logic behind taking away the ability of respectable people to defend themselves.
I heard lots of fools after the Dunblane massacre say they thought banning handguns was good, because some people keep them in their homes "just in case". If one of the teachers at Dunblane had been armed, then Hamilton would not have been able to shoot so many kids. Also if the Police had confiscated his weapons after they were told that he had threatened someone with a gun, then that massacre would never have happened. But instead of criticising the Police, the government just blew away the right to own all handguns apart from muzzle-loaders, to win votes of course.
If he wants to protect himself without breaking the law, he might consider a semi-automatic CO2 pistol, these are legal at the moment in Britain and with the right modifications can get a respectable muzzle velocity. The fact that you can get off 8 shots in 2 seconds also makes them capable of knocking a man down, as long as you have good aim. After all, it doesn't require too much penetration to take out the carotid artery or the jugular vein in the neck. However, anyone in the UK who's interested in such weapons better be quick, due to the activities of naughty children, the British government is debating prohibiting air weapons too!
I would hope they would be used where burgaries happen. I don't consider the hands of a Vicar to be the wrong hands. Apparently, the burglers and other criminals already get guns whenever they feel the need, since crimes using guns are way up in the UK, now that all the peaceable folk have been disarmed.
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