Children Owning Weapons

Under the Freedom of Information Act, recent data has been released that revealed 7071 gun licenses were issued to under 18's between 2008 and 2010.

These figures were collected by the BBC from 51 forces around the United Kingdom.

Gloucestershire police give a license to a seven-year old, whereas West Mercia and Cambria police both issued license to eight year olds. Ten other registrations were granted to nine-year olds.

West Mercia Police claimed the eight-year-old boy was granted a license only for clay pigeon shooting and was supervised by his father.

The Commons home affairs select committee appealed for firmer restrictions on gun licenses, demanding minimum age limits.

Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) have asked for the introduction of an 'absolute minimum age' set at 10-years old for anyone firing firearms, including shotguns.

Spokesperson for the Home Office, which is examining the laws, said: "Public protection is the first duty of any government and our firearms laws are among the toughest in the world".

"A shotgun certificate is a piece of paper which allows people under the age of 18 to shoot under supervision," said Christopher Graffius, of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the United Kingdom's largest shooting organization.

Graffius said, 'The law still prohibits a person of this age from owning or buying a shotgun or using one without supervision. It is important to remember that you cannot buy so much as an airgun pellet in this country until you are 18. An applicant for a shotgun certificate is subject to the same procedure whatever their age which includes police vetting, face to face interviews and a home security check. In the case of children, they will come from families where shooting sports are a part of daily life and where the police are convinced that the young person and their family will act legally and responsibly.'

A representative of West Mercia Police said "They are not allowed to own a firearm and cannot even have access to a gun cabinet - a member of their family or the gun club would supply them at the appropriate time and then take back possession of the firearm afterwards".

On average one child dies from gunshot wounds every 3 hours. It was reported in 2009 that the U.S.A. is most heavily armed nation in the world, with a total of up to 60 million Americans bearing 200 million firearms.

In 'Locked and Loaded: Kids and Guns in America, a documentary, one family member proudly states that his five-year old son was the youngest to ever shoot an M16.

The youngest person to be granted a gun license was merely 10 months old. The 686 White Onyx Beretta gun was a gift from the childs grandfather.