# Paul Clarke: Gun Possessor **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 14, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567 "2009-11-14T17:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/21 "2009-11-14T22:13:02Z")
So it’s true after all. When guns are outlawed, only some other class of citizen will be allowed to possess them. My parents lived for a while next to a retired pathologist who told tons of stories about delivering harvested body parts by motorcycle. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/22 "2009-11-14T22:43:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Well, to be fair, motorcyclists going 120 MPH often are transporting organs to be donated. They usually just don’t know it yet. Kudos. I tried to work the whole “donorcycles” angle into my post, but you did a far better job than what I ended up deleting. Thank you. **jjimm** , I’m shocked. Do they have a somewhat less exciting method now? Or do they at least let the police know ahead of time? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/23 "2009-11-14T23:27:26Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > **jjimm** , I’m shocked. Do they have a somewhat less exciting method now? Or do they at least let the police know ahead of time? I believe [this sort of service](http://www.ml-ambulance.co.uk/organretrievals.html) is the norm these days, and I presume they coordinate with the cops - and are probably not officially allowed to speed, either. I followed one down the road the other day, and one of the drivers was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 a few weeks ago. However, a brief search of the BBC site for the above interview (a failure) reveals that [at least one driver has been prosecuted this decade](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/2937910.stm) for speeding during organ transfer runs - while driving an ambulance too. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/24 "2009-11-15T13:26:46Z")
K, so gun possession is illegal over there in most circumstances(no clue if there are non police/military exceptions). The goal of this is apparently to get guns out of the hands of the general public, specifically that portion that are criminals and/or idiots. I don’t really agree, but whatever, no big deal. Given this, the fact that a guy who VOLUNTARILY TURNED IN A GUN to the the police is guilty of a crime is absolutely ridiculous. I can’t think of any worse way to encourage people to turn in weapons than to arrest them, try them , and convict them for doing so. What a horrible, stupid law. I hope that this leads to the law being amended so that voluntary turn ins are legal. ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/25 "2009-11-18T16:48:37Z")
Seriously - this guy sounds like a bit of a plank. Why did he do something as stupid as wander around with a sawnoff shotgun in his bag, when a 2 min phonecall to the police would have been not only safer, but wouldnt have contaminated the scene where the gun was originaly left. I dont see the outrage. He did something idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/26 "2009-11-18T17:00:29Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Most of the craziest nanny-state gone amok stories I have been hearing have been coming out of England these days. Doesnt mean they are true mswas. Actually - rereading the Surrey article shows he is even more of a dolt: “I didn’t know what to do, so the next morning I rang the Chief Superintendent, Adrian Harper, and asked if I could pop in and see him.” So he had the Chief Superintendent on the end of the phone - and STILL didnt think it would be helpful to utter the words ‘i just found a gun in my garden’. Didnt know what to do ? ASK THE FRIGGING SUPERINTENDENT WHO YOU HAVE ON THE END OF THE PHONE ! “I thought it was my duty to hand it in and get it off the streets.” - Hey dickhead - it wasnt on the streets. It was in your garden, then in your house. YOU put it on the streets the moment you walked out of your front door with it. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/27 "2009-11-18T17:41:05Z")
One issue that comes up a lot is that most any civilized society can’t actually make its laws right. They’re always filled with endless idiocy and boondoggles if applied literally. And when applied in such a manner, they will more or less never help anyone, and can only be used to hinder and harass honest citizens. This is why since the dawn of civilization, humans have ginored the laws the time: this means we get the wonderful benefits of law without the ugly side effect of making everyone a criminal all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/28 "2009-11-19T00:38:41Z")
> [@sinical\_brit](#): > > I dont see the outrage. He did something idiotic. Even if it wasn’t the optimal way of handing the gun over to the police, do you really think he should go to prison for that? Second, what’s so “idiotic” about transporting an unloaded shotgun in a bag? ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/29 "2009-11-19T11:28:40Z")
> [@Stealth\_Potato](#): > > Even if it wasn’t the optimal way of handing the gun over to the police, do you really think he should go to prison for that? Yes. Not for 5 years. I can go to prison for not paying my TV license fee. > [@Stealth\_Potato](#): > > Second, what’s so “idiotic” about transporting an unloaded shotgun in a bag? Well, the ‘idiotic’ bit would be the ‘transporting’, which: a. didnt need to happen b. removed / contaminated evidence c. was done in such a bizzare way. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/30 "2009-11-19T11:35:36Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > IANAL, but the crime of possession of an illegal firearm does not take into account intent: he committed the crime - for whatever reason - and is therefore guilty. So if I slip a bag of cocaine in your coat pocket, are you guilty of illegal possession of drugs, even if you had no intent to possess them? Laws are open to interpretation and discretion. Should everyone driving one mile over the speed limit be cited? ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/31 "2009-11-19T12:51:41Z")
Am not sure of the possession laws in that instance but if possession doesn’t require intent, then if it was on his enclosed property then wasn’t he already liable under UK law? Secondly, walking into police station with a shotgun does not seem to me the way to go if you want to live very long. ---
**Author:** ![Gryff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gryff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gryff)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567/32 "2009-11-19T17:30:49Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > K, so gun possession is illegal over there in most circumstances(no clue if there are non police/military exceptions). Actually Shotguns (not sawn off ones) are legally permitted to UK citizens for the asking, in that you just need to ask for a permit (and pay £50) and the police need to provide an argument against it. Rifles are the other way around, you need to provide a reason that the police will accept before you can get a permit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-clarke-gun-possessor/517567.md?page=1)