if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803
Gold Medal Madness
by Lee
Just when you think the anti-gun hysteria the UK couldn’t get any more draconian…
British lawmakers are being urged to ease a ban on handguns so Britain’s champion shooters can train for the Olympics.
Competitors currently must travel to Switzerland, where their guns are kept locked in an armory at a shooting range in Zurich, the Times of London reported.
The ban was imposed after the 1996 massacre of 16 children and a teacher at Dunblane Primary School in Scotland by a gun collector.
A dispensation for handguns was granted during the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, but the rules were so strict that some international teams lodged complaints, and are now asking for better conditions for the London Olympics in 2012, the newspaper said.
Shooters were escorted from Heathrow Airport under armed guard and their guns were taken in an armored vehicle to the national shooting center. Spectators had to watch events behind screens and shooters were guarded by armed officers.
I can’t really blame the British, I suppose. Considering the massive string of massacres committed by Olympic sport shooters the public is well served by keeping weapons out of the hands of these dangerous menaces. It got so bad there a few years ago you couldn’t open a paper or turn on the TV without hearing about the latest mass murder or rampage by one of these animals. Remember folks, guns don’t kill people, guns in the hands of British Olympic athletes kill people.
Comments
You’re right about that, Harley. I recall a police academy graduate who was working as a security guard carrying his own weapon, a Ruger P90 (traditional DA) COCKED in his holster. He had probably seen someone with a 1911 Colt and just really didn’t know better. I spoke to him about it and he managed not to blow off his foot. I think many Americans would sleep a lot less peacefully if they were aware of the incompetence in firearms among many of our so called professionals.
"Well, you know, if we bend the rules for a few, we’ve got to bend the rules for everybody.”
/sarcasm off
Shooters were escorted from Heathrow Airport under armed guard and their guns were taken in an armored vehicle to the national shooting center. Spectators had to watch events behind screens and shooters were guarded by armed officers.
Hysteria. Plain and simple hysteria.
Aren’t those sport rifles single shot .22’s? Ooooohhhh...<holds back of hand to forehead and faints>
I work with a guy who is totally convinced that the British government was behind that shooting just so they could pass more laws.
But then, he also believes in flying saucers and that the US government set up 9/11 and that there was no plane at the Pentagon.......
Competitors currently must travel to Switzerland, where their guns are kept locked in an armory at a shooting range in Zurich, the Times of London reported.
Ironic they have to travel to a country with a lower crime rate, a country where guns are legal. In fact, most males over 18 have a gun in Switzerland. It’s always easier to blame inanimate objects for our woes though, as long as they can be tied to some ‘evil’ corporation somewhere.
Biathlon is the silly Olympic sport combining shooting and cross-country skiing. The contestant skies around to various targets in the woods, and shoots twice (10 shots); once prone, once standing. For each miss, a penalty loop of 150 m has to be skied before the race can be continued. This is not a good spectator sport, I would imagine.
Those laws aren’t strict enough. British citizens should be prevented from using guns at any time, even in other countries.
Maybe the index fingers of all british citizens should be removed at birth?
Those Olympic shooters are like fucking robots. I watched the biathlon in SLC and while there were a few misses, that was damned rare.
Imagine, all pumped up from skiing through many miles of forest (not just downhill, since the track is a large loop, with just as much uphill as down), yet you can hit a target about the size of a golf ball with a single shot. Twice. Then getting back on your skis and doing it all again a few miles away.
As fast as you can.
Spectators tend to group around the shooting ranges, I imagine, since you would only get to see each skier for a moment or two out on the trail.
Many of these Olympic sports have their basis in warfare, believe it or not. The biathlon, pentathlon and decathlon are all sports that the ancient warriors would need to make their way across hostile territory and fight (running, hurdling, long jumps, high jump, pole vault, and throwing the javelin, the discus and the shot), even in the winter version, they “chase their enemy through the winter forest trading shots”, with the one doing it the fastest and most accurately “winning”.
Equestrian events, swimming, gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, saber, even the marathon - all of the classic Olympic events are based on the mastery of martial skills.
Is there a requirement for biathlon entrants to have scraggly beards? It seems like every one I’ve seen has had that Nordic Norman look.
I’ll admit that it’s an interesting and challenging combination of athletics and skill.
I think the answer is very simple. An Olympic shooting athlete MUST TRAIN primarily in the nation they represent. Which means that over half they time, they should be training with the gun in their native country.
No train in your own country +50% of the time, then no be an Oly shooting athlete.
Not only will this stop the hypocrisy, it will also force the nations that want to compete in this arena to stand and deliver on citizens’ rights to keep and bear arms.
Wouldn’t it be just absolutely silly if a place like Great Britain or Australia won Olympic shooting medals and those nations average citizens can’t enjoy the sport their athletes can.
How about the other sports start getting banned, also? Just as a showing of solidarity against the hypocrisy?
Thrill, that guy should be slapped hard and given a Glock
I like them but I call it the LCD weapon. Lowest Common Denominator. It was designed to be simple for those that get confused by de-cockers etc. Pretty much for those that haven’t touched a gun before in their life. Which is what I’m seeing a lot of in the Training Academy as of late.
*ULP*!
Couldn’t agree more DaCopper. He had been trained at Academy with a Glock, of course. Glocks are popular with recruits and street thugs for the same reasons: Easy to wield, low maintenance. For my part, I’ll be a Sig Sauer man for life!
I’m a recent 1911 convert. LOVE IT!
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They trust cops and solders , who trainning with firearms is rather slipshod, but when it comes to some of the best shooters in the world, they treat them like this?? WTF .........