Chamber and committees

25 years after the Dunblane Massacre which prompted current community firearms legislation, and which still informs many Scots’ opinions regarding access to guns, it seems that firearms legislation hasn’t kept pace with the technical range of 50 calibre rifles.

Although Petition PE1874 has been inspired by the recent firearms range applications beside Eskdalemuir’s Samye Ling Monastery, updated legislation would equally protect the peace for Scotland’s other rural places of international spiritual importance:

Dunblane Cathedral

Cathedral of the Isles (Cumbrae)

Pluscarden Abbey, Elgin

St Magnus Cathedral, Orkney

Ring of Brodgar, Orkney

Iona Abbey, Iona

Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian

Callanish, Lewis (Calanais)

Holy Isle Project, Arran

It doesn’t seem reasonable that any new firearms range should ever be approved within 5 miles of an established cathedral, temple, synagogue, mosque, or monastery?

Currently there is no law to prohibit firearms use beside Scotland’s places of national spiritual, tourist & cultural importance. Scottish Parliament legislation would guarantee and protect the peaceful environment sought by people visiting and staying at these places by ensuring that they’re not subject to the intrusive and violent noise of regular gunfire.

The oldest Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in the western world, Samye Ling has attracted international visitors globally to Scotland seeking peace of mind for over 50 years. The monastery offers retreats for groups of military Veterans. Exposing these individuals, some of whom are recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to the sound of regular gunfire, in the very place where they have come to find peace from past traumatic conflict experiences, isn’t helpful.

There are currently two planning applications to develop shooting ranges beside Samye Ling, although neither site has ever received any previous planning consent. One, is only 1½ miles from the monastery. Both applications include the use of 50 calibre, high velocity rifle ranges, with targets up to two miles away. The peace of the monastery has already been disturbed by the exponential growth in commercial game shooting by one of the operators. Dumfries & Galloway Council; Eskdalemuir Community Council; Police Scotland and other organisations confirm that both firearms ranges have already been in commercial use, despite neither having planning permission.

Indeed, in March 2021 Capt. Kevyn Kaler of the US Air Force formally admitted that they had used a range, a mile from the 53-year-old Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist monastery, for multiple events within the past seven months.

22,000 people have signed a Change.Org petition opposing both firearms ranges; as reported by: ITV; BBC Radio Scotland; The Guardian; The Sunday Times; The Herald & The Scotsman.

Such places are important to many more people (nationally & internationally) in addition to the local residents who have a voice in local planning applications. These special places belong to everyone in Scotland as part of our national heritage, benefitting mental health and well-being of the many who visit them to find peace of mind.

Previously, few might have thought that new legislation was necessary, as most would have assumed that no-one would actually develop private firing ranges in such inappropriate locations. Most might also have assumed that Scottish Law would already prevent incongruous firearms activity beside such places.

However, the real-world experience of Samye Ling has demonstrated that local planning oversight hasn’t been sufficient to prevent, what many petition signatories believe is, the wholly inappropriate and insensitive use of firearms beside a place of national spiritual importance. Thereby giving an incontrovertible demonstration of how things can go wrong for our places of peace in Scotland under existing legislation, without the creation of firearms exclusion zones.

Responsibility for range safety was removed from the Ministry of Defence in a 2006 UK Government review. Self-regulation clearly isn’t enough, regarding private ranges being developed for 50 calibre sniper rifles with a range of up to 4 miles. So should the only reasonable place for such shooting be on existing well-regulated Ministry of Defence Ranges? Local planners and police firearms licensing departments are not logistically able to provide equivalent oversight.

This is a matter for Scotland’s Parliament to guarantee that our peaceful places of spiritual and tourist importance are protected for everyone in Scotland (as well as thousands of international visitors drawn to our country by them).

Hence why we are asking that 5-mile firearms exclusion zones be created around these special places.

Such legislation is worthy of cross-party support, as it would:

1. Benefit both the people of Scotland and visitors to our country, seeking spiritual peace of mind in these places;
2. Enhance Scotland’s reputation as a progressive country on the world stage as a welcoming and friendly nation;
3. Ensure inclusive non-sectarian social justice being extended to religious minority communities within Scotland;
4. Emphasize the importance of responsible and appropriate rural land ownership that benefits the people of Scotland, rather than solely large-scale landowners; and
5. Demonstrate the value of Citizen Participation with over 10,000 signatures supporting such new legislation.