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THE NORTHERN IRELAND Justice Minister has announced plans to change the law to allow children as young as 12 to use airguns or shotguns in strictly supervised situations.
At present, the lowest age limit is 16. It follows calls from the Northern Ireland Firearms Dealers and Shooters Association and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation.
The Minister’s decision was made following public consultation and discussions with PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott, the BBC is reporting.
According to a spokesperson for the Department: “Following public consultation and having considered the view of the chief constable, Justice Minister David Ford has decided that the age at which a young person may have supervised access to air guns or shotguns will be reduced to 12 years of age.
“This will require further consideration of the detail to ensure appropriate supervision by a suitably experienced adult.”
Steward Dickson of the Alliance party, who is a member of the Stormont justice committee said that although he was “nervous” about the decision, he wouldn’t be opposing it, adding that use by 12-year-olds would be in “extremely supervised circumstances”.
He said one of the factors was that in sport, young people hoping to compete in the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games weren’t getting an early enough start.
The two shooting organisations had favoured lowering the age limit to 10.
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Excellent.
I’m waiting on Sandra o’Fucaif’s comment. Any time now she is gonna come along and tell us how she travels for work and in her travelling experience this sentence is fair
@Stephen Kennedy: LoL
Good. He’s a guilty as sin.
@ktsiwot: Yawn.
“The ruling was made today on foot of an appeal”.
I see what you did there, Journal.
Black Friday for Oscar.
FANTASTIC!
He hadn’t a leg to stand on..
@Tom Kiely: Good man Tom. Originality at its best.
@Kevin Buston: oo maybe he was lagless
@Tom Kiely: #or #legless
@Tom Kiely: go back to bed Tom…
@name cannot be blank: yawn…zzz
@Tom Kiely: you try hard don’t you
Roses are red, violets are glorious…
Don’t ever surprise Oscar Pistorius!
Delighted – he executed that girl and deserves to rot in jail.
Happy days. Still to lenient I reckon.
EXCELLENT. we could learn a thing or two from them.
The average time spent behind bars for murder in Ireland is 22 years. Pistorius was sentenced to less than 14. What exactly could we learn from them?
@JayK: shush. Facts don’t win arguments. Anecdotal evidence and baseless prejudice are the order of the day round here.
About time they saw sense
Beautiful news, no more than what he deserves for murdering a beautiful person!
@Now or Never: Did you know her?
@John Cassidy: He means she was very attractive, therefore didn’t deserve to die.
Yes only the goddamn sewer dwelling ugs should be murdered. Someone moved the goalposts.
@Now or Never: murder an ugly homeless burglar? Half the sentence! Murder the girl-next-door? Normal sentence! Murder a supermodel? Double the sentence!
Did you think before you typed that?
“I don’t care what you say Oscar, no one gonna’s break into your house at 4am just to take a dump in your ensuite” – #things the judge should have said…
Just desserts he murdered that beautiful girl in cold blood & tried to worm his way out of it .
Proper order. It was murder, pure and simple. Tried to use the fact he was legless to get away with it. Disgusting!
He’ll be made toe the line now.
Five paragraph article and six Jaguar advertisements. Honestly really want to buy a Jaguar now.
He should have been giving life … but at lease its an increase
With the original sentence he could have made a comeback but after today, he’ll definitely have to hang up his legs.
Sure he didn’t have a leg to stand on
Couldn’t be happier!! Excellent news!!!
Should have been “Life without possibility of parole”.
I’m glad he got what he deserved ..ive no doubt tho he will have every luxury thrown at him..while there..
He seemed to have the original Judge wrapped around his little finger!
TAKE A BOW , Gerrie Nel , The Rottweiler: ( LOVE YOU )
You spin the wheel and you take your chances.
Every time his cellmate goes for a piss he will be bricking it
@frank sullivan: cubicle in a prison cell?
His first sentence was a big pile of below-knee in the first place :D
Yes!!!
Jim Jefferies described him very well :)
Good, a coward with a gun and that’s all they are. Cowards!
Pis Pis Pistorious
With His Pistol Whip and lack of Leg Grip
Pis Pis Pistorious
Proper order about time..w’ell never know the true story but this guy was a trigger happy..live by the sword and all that
have your say