Waterford Today (front page)

marlin vs

I think this makes us look terrible, especially the last paragraph.

Sparks

Web edition of the original post:

Deasy achieves hand gun ban
The President, Mary McAleese is expected to sign the Criminal Justice Miscellaneous Bill into law this week after the Dail passed the final stages of what has become known as the handgun bill. The new law which severely limits the licensing of handguns was initiated when Deputy John Deasy repeatedly raised the issue of handguns in the Dail.

Responses to a series of Dail questions over a number of months asked by Deputy Deasy revealed that the number of handguns legally licensed had increased six-fold in the last four years. In 2004 no handguns were legally held and licensed. At the start of 2009 that number had risen to approximately 1,800 handgun licenses. He said, "I'll never forget the first time I read those figures out on the Dail floor. The reaction was one of total disbelief. It proved nobody was aware of what had occurred."

Deasy maintains it was a situation that was never intended to happen. He said, "A number of High Court cases were taken against the Gardai by handgun owners, one of them against the Garda Superintendent in Waterford. The ruling in the Waterford case went against the Gardai, and along with similar decisions it had the effect of liberalising the licensing of handguns throughout the country."

The next set of Dail questions asked by Deasy focussed on who exactly was handing out the licenses. He said, "I suspected that some Superintendents were dead against giving out these licenses and some were a good deal more liberal. The figures, when they finally came, bore that out."

The statistics in question indicated that in many Garda Districts and Divisions there was almost no attempt to restrict the issuing of handgun licenses while in others there was a clear policy of non-issuance. In one Garda district more than 100 handgun licenses were given out while in a number of other Garda districts none had been endorsed by the Garda Superintendent. Deasy said, "I had to ask for those figures at least three times but when they came it was immediately apparent there was absolutely no uniformity when it came to the licensing system. It was crystal clear that the handing out of handguns had become a completely subjective and arbitrary process and depended on how each individual Superintendent viewed the law. I think that when those figures were publicised there was an acceptance that there was a clear problem."

The case for reforming the licensing of handguns was catapulted into the spotlight when the Garda Commissioner, Fachtna Murphy, appeared at the Public Accounts Committee.

Deasy said, "I noticed that morning the Garda Commissioner was in the Public Accounts Committee. I went down to the committee room and asked a member of the committee to ask the Commissioner what was going on with handguns. His response blew everyone away. His remark about how strange it was to be in a situation where on one hand the Gardai were forced by court decisions to license Glock pistols and at the same time they were trying to take them out of the hands of criminals was shocking. I didn't expect him to be so direct and got the impression he was glad to be able to express the concern of the Gardai. After that exchange in the committee everyone began taking the issue of handguns really seriously."

The bill which passed the Dail last week completely restricts handgun ownership apart from those handguns used for participating in top class target shooting competitions such as the Olympics. It is also intended that all those existing license holders will have to reapply to keep their handguns. From now on the ultimate discretion over licensing will lie with the Garda Commissioner and anyone who maintains their license will be required to become a member of a registered target shooting club. The legislation strictly prohibits practical shooting or combat simulation shooting. On the Dail floor last week the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, warned that this particular form of shooting was being favoured by members of criminal gangs to develop their shooting skills.

Deputy Deasy said, "Senior gardai in Waterford were very helpful throughout. They were under no illusions about the dangers involved in allowing this situation to go unchecked and filled me in about the loopholes in the old system. They had come across disturbing trends when it came to the acquiring of handguns, legally and illegally. Their input was extremely important."

Grizzly 45

Another party that will NEVER get my vote again.:mad::mad:
Wonder when Mr Deasy might be brought to book for breaking the smoking ban in a public bar in Lenstir house??:mad:

marlin vs

And also Waterford's New's & Star
http://www.waterford-news.ie/news/story/?trs=mhausneykf&cat=news

Our man in Havana

Disgraceful imho.