On 20th November 2007, Mary - the Secretary of the Phoenix Shooters Association UK - addressed the Parliamentary all-party working group on Shooting and Conservation in London.
The subject was "Young People and guns" which - as you can imagine - is a very topical subject.
It's a very daunting experience to stand up in front of MPs, members of the shooting organisations and the press, so to speak knowledgably and articulately for half an hour as well as answering searching questions in is very difficult - yet Mary managed it extremely well.
advertisement
It was interesting to hear the group coming to the conclusion that the shooting sports are a part of the solution to gun crime, rather than being a part of the problem. - something we've known for a oong time.
In effect Mary said that target shooting in schools -
Promoted self-discipline
Produced a calm, safe approach to firearms
Gave students real responsibility for themselves and others
Was an antidote to "gun culture" (whatever that is)
and therefore had benefits not only for individual students, but for the whole school, as some normally disruptive students leant the meaning of self-discipline and self-control.
Mostyn House School, The Airgun Training & Education Organisation, Phoenix Shooters Assoication and the Saltney Ferry Scouts all were used as examples of good practice in this area - all good publicity.
Speaking personally now - I was very proud of Mary and they way she dealt with a really high-pressure situation, and I'm sure all PSA members are too !
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
This article was submitted by a reader who has agreed to our terms of use. Its content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention.
To make a complaint about any post Email us here
Mike Eveleigh is a member of the Phoenix Shooters Association. 
Print
Email this
Comment
