Two Years In Her Majesty's Prisons For....An Air Rifle?

In the country formerly known as Great Britain, Karl Blennerhassett, 29, of Up Holland, West Lancashire was sentenced to two years in prison for having four air rifles and bullets without the "proper licenses". Mr. Blennerhassett is a collector of antique firearms which he legally possessed.

These four pellet guns were found when police raided his apartment last December along with 140 other antique firearms.

Blennerhassett admitted possessing one air rifle without a certificate, which was just over the permitted velocity limit, and was convicted by a jury of illegally possessing three others which had been modified, and two charges of possessing a bullet.

'Each of these three rifles are deemed specially dangerous under the legislation,' said Judge Mark Brown.

'Each was of high specification in that each had been fitted with a sound moderator and telescopic sight. Each had been modified and modified in a very professional way.'

The judge accepted that Blennerhassett had not modified the weapons himself but he did not accept that he had not known they were modified.

Specially dangerous? I guess he means that it could put your eye out - and do it quietly. Judge Brown then goes on to ask the prosecutor to ask the Home Office to consider legislation for antique firearms as he is concerned about them.

Judge Brown then told Mr. Blennerhassett as he was sentenced that "The control and regulation of firearms is an extremely important matter in relation to maintaining public safety."

Public safety or control of the populace? I think we know the answer to that given that criminals and gangs in the UK seem to obtain firearms now more readily than ever before. It is only the non-criminal class who are impacted by these laws.