Basc

nuttyspaniel

Well-Known Member
Ive noticed tonight a basc lads on the site and posting on threads. How about you lads look at my thread "hicup" and post your thoughts on my situation




nutty
 
Ive noticed tonight a basc lads on the site and posting on threads. How about you lads look at my thread "hicup" and post your thoughts on my situation nutty

Yes Nutty it seams that i have told the truth about my situation and stirred up the Hornets nest within BASC. I get the impression with all the bad posts on here about BASC and all the good one's about the NGO they are now getting worried that they may loose memberships to the NGO. I ask one question the NGO acted for me but i contacted BASC first but they did not. WHY NOT i told them exactly the same as told the NGO and BASC charge almost double for membership than NGO so, to my mind have more money to fight members cases. If the NGO can do it then so can BASC. As they say it's to late to close the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Jimbo
 
Nuttyspaniel,

Your situation is a lot easier.

You just have to show the communication you have received from your Chief Constable's representative and we will all be able to offer advice.

Stan
 
No hornets just trying to make sure that people understand the reality of the inconsistent licensing regime in the uk and the legislative framework. We are all best fighting together in the best way possible. It's one thing being upset with an organisation, that's your prerogative but I can assure you we are all parts of a big jigsaw and once the realities are understood then people will see that the NGO have simply spun a quote given by a DCC who has no legal power to influence other forces. That said we hope he will do his best. I think that we could have all written to our MPs, police authorities and chief constable's staff officers by now in the time it's taken to get these issues off our chest on this forum.
 
Have to say when I first applied for my FAC I was refused due to having depression on my medical history - BASC were no help.

I didn't know about the NGO at the time but luckily had a friend who knew his firearms law (rifle club owner) and he helped me out. Rather than appealing I simply wrote a letter explaining the circumstances, and got a couple of extra references from very reputable people. They were very decent about it all and issued me a licence!

The FAC application form doesn't leave much room for explanation!

All left me wondering what the point in BASC membership was though...
 
Nutty I just can't get my head round I was basically in the exact same situation as you and was told the complete opposite it just doesn't make sense does it
 
Yes Nutty it seams that i have told the truth about my situation and stirred up the Hornets nest within BASC. I get the impression with all the bad posts on here about BASC and all the good one's about the NGO they are now getting worried that they may loose memberships to the NGO. I ask one question the NGO acted for me but i contacted BASC first but they did not. WHY NOT i told them exactly the same as told the NGO and BASC charge almost double for membership than NGO so, to my mind have more money to fight members cases. If the NGO can do it then so can BASC. As they say it's to late to close the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Jimbo

Watching the threads over the past few months its seems very apparent that BASC are failing so many, with so much. No longer are they the go to organisation for help when you need it most... unless your prepared to shell out ££££'s on a solicitor! Fair enough they shout the loudest, have the biggest budgets & are "the voice of shooting", but thats not all i want from my subsciption fees.

Most of the smaller organisations are caring for their members far better & looking after the average shooter & not only the tweed donned, range rover driving snobs that BASC pander to.

SACS, SGA, NGO are definately the way to go.

DA
 
Have to say when I first applied for my FAC I was refused due to having depression on my medical history - BASC were no help.

I didn't know about the NGO at the time but luckily had a friend who knew his firearms law (rifle club owner) and he helped me out. Rather than appealing I simply wrote a letter explaining the circumstances, and got a couple of extra references from very reputable people. They were very decent about it all and issued me a licence!

The FAC application form doesn't leave much room for explanation!

All left me wondering what the point in BASC membership was though...

Depression is a mental illness incompatible with holding a certificate plain and simple and invariably the police will not take any risk. Newly diagnosed depression is less predictable than years of a managed condition without side effects or violent or self harm tendencies. But each case must be looked at on it's merits as each persons trigger will be different. Again BASC, NGO and SACS have no power to tackle a refusal apart from paying for an appeal which is fraught with difficulty where mental illness is concerned and public safety may be at stake. When a persons condition gets better they of course stand a better chance of success. BASC can certainly help but we don't have a magic wand or a crystal ball. We can't keep everybody happy but we will give it a damn good go. But as this gentleman said, each case is different and the police should look at individual cases as it seems they did in the end but they are risk averse because they don't know what each person is capable of. It is my experience that the majority of decisions to revoke based on mental illness that I have been involved with were justified at the time of assessment and were later reviewed as people got better.
 
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Depression is a mental illness incompatible with holding a certificate plain and simple and invariably the police will not take any risk. New depression is less predictable than years of a managed condition without side effects or violent or self harm tendencies. But each case must be looked at on it's merits. Again BASC, NGO and SACS have no power to tackle a refusal apart from paying for an appeal which is fraught with difficulty where mental illness is concerned and public safety may be at stake. When a persons condition gets better they of course stand a better chance of success. BASC can certainly help but we don't have a magic wand or a crystal ball. We can't keep everybody happy but we will give it a damn good go. But as this gentleman said, each case is different and the police should look at individual cases as it seems they did in the end but they are risk averse because they don't know what each person is capable of. It is my experience that the majority of decisions made about mental illness were justified at the time of assessment and were later reviewed as people got better.

I'm afraid that highlights your lack of knowledge on this; 1 in 4 of us will experience depression at some point in our lives - be it due to death of a family member, divorce, redundancy, major surgery, or a combination for the former etc.

I consulted a mental health professional on this - his feeling was that depression alone shouldn't be a barrier, as violent tendencies and self harming are actually in the minority for the majority of depression cases. He went on to say he would be far more concerned about someone who had been cautioned or prosecuted for assault than someone who suffered from depression.

Lymes disease can actually cause depression - and we're all exposed to it due to tick bites!

I'd had post operative depression as a teen (following major surgery and medication known to cause depression), followed by another instance in my early mid twenties after a series of deaths in my family... so what!? - It's an illness and I sought treatment. People who suffer from it shouldn't be branded as lepers and deemed unfit to posses firearms.

Most of the nutjobs who create so many problems for us have no mental health history - i.e. no-one who's actually "crazy" ever thinks they are "crazy"!!!

I'm sure there are a lot of guys out there with firearms who are having tough times and are scared to seek help because they're afraid of losing their licenses - in the past that's probably contributed to them topping themselves or going on a spree. I think it's time everyone grew up.

I'm not suggesting we give licences to paranoid schizophrenics or people in early stages of treatment for severe mental health conditions, but as a general rule of thumb if they let you retain your driving licence then you should keep your FAC too... after all a car or petrol bomb are surely every bit as dangerous as a firearm in the wrong hands?!

Going back to my original point, with the aid of a good friend who knew his law I was able to have a sensible conversation with the licensing dept who treated this as an individual case - they acknowledged my circumstances had been extreme and were unlikely to occur again at that severity (it was some seriously bad luck all in one go!). BASC were of no help.
 
Depression is a mental illness incompatible with holding a certificate plain and simple and invariably the police will not take any risk. New depression is less predictable than years of a managed condition without side effects or violent or self harm tendencies. But each case must be looked at on it's merits. Again BASC, NGO and SACS have no power to tackle a refusal apart from paying for an appeal which is fraught with difficulty where mental illness is concerned and public safety may be at stake. When a persons condition gets better they of course stand a better chance of success. BASC can certainly help but we don't have a magic wand or a crystal ball. We can't keep everybody happy but we will give it a damn good go. But as this gentleman said, each case is different and the police should look at individual cases as it seems they did in the end but they are risk averse because they don't know what each person is capable of. It is my experience that the majority of decisions made about mental illness were justified at the time of assessment and were later reviewed as people got better.

Im sorry but that statement is not true shame on you, I no two police officers who have depression who hold fac's and also two others all of whom have depression and got there applications granted first time ,so not all mental illness is incompatible as you put it far from it ,and yet again shows how far out of touch you are......
 
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MPerring

'Depression is a mental illness incompatible with holding a certificate plain and simple' That is an incredible statement from a representative of a shooting organisation!

Frank
 
Good to see I'm not the only one appalled with BASC for this statement about depression - shame on BASC indeed, they won't be getting my membership money next year!
 
I'm afraid that highlights your lack of knowledge on this; 1 in 4 of us will experience depression at some point in our lives - be it due to death of a family member, divorce, redundancy, major surgery, or a combination for the former etc.

I consulted a mental health professional on this - his feeling was that depression alone shouldn't be a barrier, as violent tendencies and self harming are actually in the minority for the majority of depression cases. He went on to say he would be far more concerned about someone who had been cautioned or prosecuted for assault than someone who suffered from depression.

Lymes disease can actually cause depression - and we're all exposed to it due to tick bites!

I'd had post operative depression as a teen (following major surgery and medication known to cause depression), followed by another instance in my early mid twenties after a series of deaths in my family... so what!? - It's an illness and I sought treatment. People who suffer from it shouldn't be branded as lepers and deemed unfit to posses firearms.

Most of the nutjobs who create so many problems for us have no mental health history - i.e. no-one who's actually "crazy" ever thinks they are "crazy"!!!

I'm sure there are a lot of guys out there with firearms who are having tough times and are scared to seek help because they're afraid of losing their licenses - in the past that's probably contributed to them topping themselves or going on a spree. I think it's time everyone grew up.

I'm not suggesting we give licences to paranoid schizophrenics or people in early stages of treatment for severe mental health conditions, but as a general rule of thumb if they let you retain your driving licence then you should keep your FAC too... after all a car or petrol bomb are surely every bit as dangerous as a firearm in the wrong hands?!

Going back to my original point, with the aid of a good friend who knew his law I was able to have a sensible conversation with the licensing dept who treated this as an individual case - they acknowledged my circumstances had been extreme and were unlikely to occur again at that severity (it was some seriously bad luck all in one go!). BASC were of no help.


Bunny doom you are one hell of a lad your last statement mate (it was some seriously bad luck all in one go!) with what you had going on in your life at that point in time shows you are only human. Your post also shows that you are an inteligent person well worthy of FAC. Well done in being honest and open. BASC TAKE NOTE. NO MORE INSENSITIVE REPLIES. Bunny doom i wish you all the best and good Bunnybashing.

Kind regards Jimbo
 
Bunny doom you are one hell of a lad your last statement mate (it was some seriously bad luck all in one go!) with what you had going on in your life at that point in time shows you are only human. Your post also shows that you are an inteligent person well worthy of FAC. Well done in being honest and open. BASC TAKE NOTE. NO MORE INSENSITIVE REPLIES. Bunny doom i wish you all the best and good Bunnybashing.

Kind regards Jimbo

Thanks Jimbo :)
 
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