Gun licensing laws must be tightened after Plymouth shootings – Yorkshire Post Letters

THE tragic and indescribable events in Plymouth, with the deaths of five innocent victims, have shocked the nation, and rightly so.

The burden on local police forces trying to deal with individuals like the suspected gunman is already intolerable. and the calls for officers to look at social media posts to identify the culprits responsible for hate, racist or perverted sexual views takes them away from all aspects of local policing.

I can remember working closely with the police when they had a rigorous system associated with the issue of firearm certificates and gun licences, as far back as 1960/1961.

The police would not only interview the applicant, but visit the home where the licensed weapons were to be kept under lock and key.

The place where the gun was to be housed was visited every three months from the issue of the licence, and any annual renewal was only granted if the police were satisfied as to the mental state of the applicant/owner – and this before a magistrate in the presence of the police.

Clearly something has gone very wrong in Plymouth, and Devon and Cornwall Police, as well as other forces, must review their gun licensing practices to make sure a shooting like this does not happen again.

For the safety of the public, gun ownership must be kept to a minimum and applications for licences refused if there’s any doubt about the merit of the application.

From: Andrew Mercer, Guiseley.

IS the fact that the police did not check the social media history of the evil Plymouth mass murderer evidence of a lackadaisical approach on the part of the Devon and Cornwall constabulary, or evidence of the extent to which cuts in policing since 2010 are now compromising?

We have a right to know, and sooner rather than later in the wake of this unspeakable tragedy.

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