Dumb and Dumber

After watching the great success the UK has had in eliminating violent crime by banning guns, the Irish are now following suit. Not that guns were ever easy to get legally in Ireland to begin with, but now they’ll be nearly impossible. Hey, this is the same country that outlawed condoms too.

The President, Mary McAleese is expected to sign the Criminal Justice Miscellaneous Bill into law this week after the Dail passed the final stages of what has become known as the handgun bill. The new law which severely limits the licensing of handguns was initiated when Deputy John Deasy repeatedly raised the issue of handguns in the Dail.

Responses to a series of Dail questions over a number of months asked by Deputy Deasy revealed that the number of handguns legally licensed had increased six-fold in the last four years. In 2004 no handguns were legally held and licensed. At the start of 2009 that number had risen to approximately 1,800 handgun licenses. He said, “I’ll never forget the first time I read those figures out on the Dail floor. The reaction was one of total disbelief. It proved nobody was aware of what had occurred.”

Deasy maintains it was a situation that was never intended to happen. He said, “A number of High Court cases were taken against the Gardai by handgun owners, one of them against the Garda Superintendent in Waterford. The ruling in the Waterford case went against the Gardai, and along with similar decisions it had the effect of liberalising the licensing of handguns throughout the country.”

The bill which passed the Dail last week completely restricts handgun ownership apart from those handguns used for participating in top class target shooting competitions such as the Olympics. It is also intended that all those existing license holders will have to reapply to keep their handguns. From now on the ultimate discretion over licensing will lie with the Garda Commissioner and anyone who maintains their license will be required to become a member of a registered target shooting club. The legislation strictly prohibits practical shooting or combat simulation shooting.

So you see, with almost 2000 legal pistols in the entire country, their government had to do something quick!