The British government relaxed gun laws Tuesday to allow shooting teams to prepare for the 2012 London Olympics. Britain banned handguns in 1997 after the massacre of 16 children and a teacher at a primary school in Dunblane, Scotland. The law includes a ban on guns for licensed sports, preventing domestic pistol events. But home secretary Jacqui Smith has invoked special exemptions in England and Wales. A similar exemption allowed pistols to come into Britain for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. "(Smith) has agreed to use her powers under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 to allow a small squad of elite GB Olympic pistol shooters to train in this country ahead of the Olympics in 2012," Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said in a written parliamentary answer. "Scottish ministers have agreed, in principle, to exercise...
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