McDowell you used to be Cool.

So from tomorrow if you have an illegally held firearm you can hand it into your local Garda station and not get arrested. This is as part of the governments effort to reduce crime. But in fairness it is a waste of time.

In Ottawa Canada they ran quiet a successful one where 506 firearms were handed in. So it sounds like a good idea but one of the key quotes from the police chief of Ottawa Vince Bevan. Was that “Our intent was to increase community safety, by reducing the potential of unwanted firearms getting into the hands of those who may use them to carry out criminal acts,” See that is the difference with a gun amnesty in Canada and one in Ireland. In Canada guns are quiet common in Ireland they are all ready in the hands of those who may use them to carry out criminal acts. A gun amnesty is going to do little to curb the rise of gun crime.

Also this has to be one of the silliest things I have ever read.

A person who wishes to surrender a weapon may do so at any Garda Station. When they hand in the weapon they will be simply asked to give their name and address and supply proof of identity. All surrendered weapons will be forensically tested and where any is found to have been used in a crime the forensic evidence and the weapon will be admissible in the prosecution of that crime.

So what do people think the chances are

A.) That a criminal who has used a gun for a crime would hand it in for forensic examination with their name and address?

B.) If they were stupid enough to hand the gun in for forensic examination that they would have avoided capture this long? Or

C.) That a relative who suspects a person in their house has committed a crime is going to hand to gun into the Gardai having previously not gone to the Gardai to give a statemen

Most gun amnesties in the world have worked on a no questions asked basis with weapons bins in the police station (British one pictured left). This was because they thought that people would be more likely to come forward if their names were not taken. That it was more important to get the weapons and stop crime then not get the weapons and not solve crime. So what do we do in Ireland? Take names and address. Brilliant.

I don’t think the minister is foolish enough to think that criminals are going to hand guns in and indeed says so in the statement.

I want to emphasis that I have never held the view that large numbers of hardened criminals are going to hand over their firearms at Garda stations. Such criminals can only be dealt with by applying the full rigour of the law; they are, and will continue to be, pursued relentlessly

He seems to be after catagory C people

However, I do believe that there are people right across Ireland who have guns and offensive weapons and who, for example, would have found it difficult to come forward or to admit that they had weapons in their house or to admit what relative brought them into their house or that they had neglected to licence them.

But I just can’t see it happening and anyway with the amount of guns on the streets if someone takes their gun away do you not think that they will get another one in a day. Also considering that they included such a large machine gun (pictured above )in the list. The type only the provos would probably have I wonder are they telling us something about the IRA decommissioning? Or do they think the Real IRA are going to walk into a Garda Station with one.

Funnily enouogh if the amnesty came out last year he could have got Phil Flynn off. This is a mediocre idea implemented stupidly.

Michael you used to be cool and you had women swooning after you. What happened?