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Oscar Pistorius shoots girlfriend

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etcetera said:
BIB A bit more than "significant restrictions", methinks! Private ownership of handguns was barred in the UK, (except for Northern Ireland for obvious reasons), consequent to the Dunblane school kid massacre at the end of the 90s of the type now sadly only too fashionable in the US. Also barred is applying for any firearm's license giving reasons of self-defence (again except in NI and for the same obvious reasons).

Hi and hope not to upset by chipping in. I'm a long term lurker newly posting so unaware if there are any unwritten rules about this.
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Thanks for the info, and welcome to the fun-factory where all opinions are held in contempt by somebody! It's guaranteed, no matter what you say someone here on the forum won't like it. :D
 
Camillus said:
It's actually not difficult to own a firearm in the UK. The significant restrictions are on handguns and you can't own high capacity rifles or shotguns but otherwise it's fairly simple to get a license.
....
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There might be a difference of opinion about "fairly simple." The application process includes providing multiple personal references, police visits to your home and police contacting your doctor. And you better have a reason that the police like.
http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/shootin...edium=email&utm_campaign=suk140611#difference
http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/shooting/start-shooting/get-firearms-certficate-39303
http://www.bbc.com/news/10220974
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_Kingdom
 
etcetera said:
BIB A bit more than "significant restrictions", methinks! Private ownership of handguns was barred in the UK, (except for Northern Ireland for obvious reasons), consequent to the Dunblane school kid massacre at the end of the 90s of the type now sadly only too fashionable in the US. Also barred is applying for any firearm's license giving reasons of self-defence (again except in NI and for the same obvious reasons).

Hi and hope not to upset by chipping in. I'm a long term lurker newly posting so unaware if there are any unwritten rules about this.
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Hi etcetera and welcome to the forum!
 
Skwinty said:
....
I am not saying that one shouldn't have security with armed response and a panic button, just don't place your trust in that alone.
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Does South Africa have actual city police forces? Do you have 911 or something similar? Do private "armed response" companies have any legal authority? The U.S. has private security companies that basically provide watchmen and property guards, but in an emergency they call the cops. Police in the U.S. (and probably many countries) would not take kindly to private gunslingers racing through town to answer an alarm.
 
There are many private security and armed response companies here. They do work with the South African Police Services and the Metro Police. In many cases they are better than the regular police. I speak umder correction here but I recall reading that more money is spent on private armed response than national police.
 
Colin from France said:
Slightly lighter and very enlightning ....http://www.biznews.com/oscar-pistor...s-brilliant-summary-athlete-wants-us-believe/
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Some of that is priceless if it weren't so tragic:
2. OP wakes in the night and immediately puts his hands over his face. He takes them off long enough to glance over and notice Reeva’s legs under the duvet. He then puts his hands back over his face to get out of bed – pushing aside a duvet that is not actually on him.
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Masipa:

"If the accused for example had awoken in the middle of the night and in darkness saw a silhouette hovering next to his bed and had in a panic grabbed his firearm and shot at that figure, only to find that it was the deceased, his conduct would have been understandable and perhaps excusable."

...

"Because you said that you would have to have had aimed higher if you wanted to kill, it shows that you were consciously thinking...consciously thinking that you didn't want to kill the intruder, only incapacitate them which shows mercy on your behalf."

Remind me never to visit South Africa.
 
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Scordatura said:
Masipa:

"If the accused for example had awoken in the middle of the night and in darkness saw a silhouette hovering next to his bed and had in a panic grabbed his firearm and shot at that figure, only to find that it was the deceased, his conduct would have been understandable and perhaps excusable."

...

"Because you said that you would have to have had aimed higher if you wanted to kill, it shows that you were consciously thinking...consciously thinking that you didn't want to kill the intruder, only incapacitate them which shows mercy on your behalf."

Remind me never to visit South Africa.
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If OP gets a slap on the wrist, as I suspect, this verdict will be appealed. Both those comments are ridiculous. Does the judge not realise that the army and the police are not trained to shoot at the head if they decide to kill someone, but the body mass?
 
Scordatura said:
Masipa:

"Because you said that you would have to have had aimed higher if you wanted to kill, it shows that you were consciously thinking...consciously thinking that you didn't want to kill the intruder, only incapacitate them which shows mercy on your behalf."

.
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This is just beyond bizarre. I thought his entire defense was based around the fact he wasn't "consciously thinking" - that he had a panic attack and just started blat, blat, blat into the door on autopilot.

Aside from that, surely firing 4 shots of that type of ammunition at that range into a tiny space like that would make it almost impossible not to kill the person behind the door.


Remind me never to visit South Africa
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Quite.
 
lionking said:
If OP gets a slap on the wrist, as I suspect, this verdict will be appealed. Both those comments are ridiculous. Does the judge not realise that the army and the police are not trained to shoot at the head if they decide to kill someone, but the body mass?
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Two subjects.
Did Oscar knowingly shoot Reeva?
Asolutely not.
Did judge Masipa guild the lily?
Yes. For reasons unknowable to us until further cultural enlightenment is furnished.
 
Octavo said:
Oh please. That's like hearing about the Trayvon Martin case and vowing never to visit the US. What a airhead position to hold. I thought this was a forum for rational thought and critical thinking?
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Not to mention the moral absolutism that abounds.:rolleyes:
 
Bob001 said:
There might be a difference of opinion about "fairly simple." The application process includes providing multiple personal references, police visits to your home and police contacting your doctor. And you better have a reason that the police like.
http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/shootin...edium=email&utm_campaign=suk140611#difference
http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/shooting/start-shooting/get-firearms-certficate-39303
http://www.bbc.com/news/10220974
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_Kingdom
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Having known many people who've gone through the process (and provided references for some of them) it's not that difficult and is more procedural than anything else. I'm struggling to think of anyone I know who wanted a gun license and didn't get one.
 
etcetera said:
BIB A bit more than "significant restrictions", methinks! Private ownership of handguns was barred in the UK, (except for Northern Ireland for obvious reasons), consequent to the Dunblane school kid massacre at the end of the 90s of the type now sadly only too fashionable in the US. Also barred is applying for any firearm's license giving reasons of self-defence (again except in NI and for the same obvious reasons).

Hi and hope not to upset by chipping in. I'm a long term lurker newly posting so unaware if there are any unwritten rules about this.
Click to expand...

It's perfectly possible to own a handgun in the UK. As I said there are significant restrictions but ownership is not barred. You might want to have a look at the legislation proper (the 1997 Act). People are often surprised by what they find (particularly when the discover that the Act does not explicitly refer to handguns).

Last time I checked NI is part of the UK.
 
Samson said:
Two subjects.
Did Oscar knowingly shoot Reeva?
Asolutely not.Did judge Masipa guild the lily?
Yes. For reasons unknowable to us until further cultural enlightenment is furnished.
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You should learn the difference between "not proven" and Absolutely not.
The prosecution failed to prove he knew it was her behind the door. Considering the man's general selfish character and his known stupidity handling firearms, it wouldn't surprise me if he actually did kill her in a rage. But, it's not proven he knew it was her.
 
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