Web Forum: Gun law

Jun 24 2009 by Andrew Jackson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

PAT Baker has been a law abiding citizen for 57 years, but two weeks ago West Yorkshire Police made him feel like he was a criminal.

After a number of incidents of vandalism at his Kirkheaton home he rang them to help in the matter, but a comment he made regarding his own preferred punishment the culprits needed led to his licensed guns being confiscated. Think this one could run for a while on the Examiner Forum!

Yeton offered this advice to anyone finding themselves in the same boat: “Don’t make a comment if you are the victim of crime while the police are in earshot, don’t even jokingly threaten to sort out the little scallywags making your life a misery or the full might of the law will punish you.

The police said: “During their visit the complainant made inappropriate comments which from a licensed shotgun holder could not be ignored. The police have a duty to protect the public and for this reason, the shotguns were seized.”

Yeton added: “I think the police are now making up the law as they go along – for public read criminals. I really do despair for the rights of the citizens of this country.”

rj worked with Pat Baker for 22 years. He said: “This sounds like foot in mouth syndrome. The police also suffer from foot in mouth quite a lot – especially their younger men and woman.

“Instead of treating the guy like a criminal, the police should be trying to find the culprits of the vandalism and bringing them and their parents to book.

“There was a time when a good talking to solved problems. No more will that work.”

Otis demanded action: “I think the reaction of most people faced with a pointless destruction of their property would be to let off a bit of steam with the same expressions this non-criminal gentleman did. It is in most cases simply a way of letting off steam and frustration which would have been recognised by an experienced policeman.

“The fact that there were consequences to me shows either a naivety from higher up in the force or perhaps a politically correct and very crude way of bumping up the production figures for themselves.

Either way the police force has shot itself in the foot and as a result of this I demand that the armed response teams in West Yorkshire have their weapons confiscated immediately for their own protection.”