Originally Posted by
hobie
I wonder how they will handle the 2012 Olympics in London? .....
Will/can they, drop the event on that occassion ? .....
Any city hosting the Olympics must make provisions for
ALL of the Olympic events that are sanctioned by the IOC. Failure to do so would result in the host city not being awarded the Olympic Games. A similar policy applied for the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
I believe that the Government allowed a waver to the pistol ban for all Olympic Target Pistol competitors for the duration of the London Olympics. I imagine strict controls will be put in place whereby all pistol competitors (including British marksmen and women) will be expected to have their pistols confiscated on arrival in the UK by the Police. The pistols will then be transported, probably under police armed escort (the irony) to wherever the pistol shooting will take place. Once in the UK, pistols will be kept under lock and key and probably armed guard (again the irony) and only allowed to be drawn for practice and competition. Once the Olympics are over they will probably be escorted back to through customs where they'll be handed back to the competitor.
The stupid thing about the whole situation is that the rest of a country's shooting team (rifle, clay pigeon, air rifle, air pistol) will be able to just carry their equipment into the UK with a few checks at customs and then transport their firearms to the ranges themselves (assuming they have the appropriate paperwork for the firearm).