Chamber and committees

Humanist Society Scotland submission of 5 July 2021

PE1874/E - Introduce legislation to create artillery and firearms exclusion zones around places of spiritual importance and religious worship

Humanist Society Scotland does not support the intention of petition PE1874 which calls for specific legislation to be enacted to ensure places of religious worship and 'spiritual importance' are protected in exclusion zones from artillery and firearms developments.

We note the specific planning application that has led to the submission of this petition is in relation to the Samye Ling Buddhist Monastery in Dumfriesshire. We have no doubt that the case made by the petitioners that having a firearms/artillery range within the locale of a monastery would prove detrimental to the peaceful environment of the monastery and we would support the protection of peaceful environments from noise pollution through the planning system. However we question the rationale of the specific ask in the petition that firearms ranges should have a specific 5 mile exclusion zone related to nearby 'cathedral, temple, synagogue, mosque, or monastery'. It is not made clear by the petitioners why places of worship should receive a unique exclusion zone from firearm range development and other places not be covered.

The petitioners state that their proposed legislative response would, 'protect the peaceful environment sought by people visiting or staying at these places and mean they are not subject to the intrusive and violent noise of regular audible gunfire.' However there are many other environments that could benefit from similar protection from firing range developments: schools, sensory centres, hospices, crematoria/cemeteries, wildlife reserves, catteries/kennels/stables as just a few examples. Such places could have vulnerable people or other sentient animals that would have the potential to suffer from the 'intrusive ... noise of regular audible gunfire'. The petitioner's ask would place places of worship in a unique category of deserving specific protection while other vulnerable sites were not afforded the same protection.

We believe that instead of a specific legislative ban on development near places of worship, a more holistic view of a noise impact assessment on any such development through the planning system would better achieve the petitioner's aims. This would also allow for other places who may be impacted by such loud developments to lodge objections and be taken into account by the planning authority before giving permission or refusing an application.