SATURDAY'S Evening Press draws attention to the ban on low-powered air guns that use the self-contained gas cartridges (Gun law targets owners, February 28).

A number of these were purpose-made from zinc alloy and some were firearms converted to fire the gas cartridge. This conversion was approved by the Home Office and the guns were made available to the public.

This was some 20 years ago and since then hundreds of thousands have been sold. Now the Home Office says that these guns are easily adaptable to fire live ammunition. So what has changed? The answer is nothing.

With the spiralling gun crime in the country, the Home Office, at a loss for solutions, has fallen back on its old ploy of persecuting the law abiding. Owners cannot sell the guns, and the only way they can dispose of them is by handing them in to the police. If they want to retain them they have to apply to the police for a firearms certificate at £50. If they are lucky enough to get one they have then to buy a Home Office approved steel cabinet at about £120 to keep the gun in.

On the granting of a firearms certificate ownership is lost and the user is simply the licensed keeper. But that is not all that has been lost. The average cost of these guns is about £200 and by this Act hundreds of thousand will be made worthless purely through the Home Office's duplicity.

The cost to the former owners will run into millions. If this isn't legalised theft, what is?

Jeremy D Fox,

Malton Avenue,

York.

Updated: 11:57 Tuesday, March 02, 2004