Only 21,571 people signed the petition against Scottish government’s plans to licence airguns. That’s a pretty pathetic response given that one estimate indicated that there were as many as 500,000 airguns in use north of the border. However, this might be one case where lethargy is entirely understandable. Petitions are useless, unless of course they are led by someone with the kind of charisma that attracts the attention of the press. Example? Joanna Lumley and the Ghurkhas.
But timing is everything too. Ms Lumley might not have enjoyed quite so much success had she raised the issue a year after the election rather than a year before it. We wish Scottish air gunners good luck and wag a finger at all those shotgun owners who couldn’t be bothered to add their name to the list. If Scotland votes for independence next year, firearms policy will become a matter for Holyrood. So hands up those who think that under these circumstances an independent Scottish Government will stop at airguns?