The number of gun licences issued in Scotland has increased to 102,861 despite rising firearm crimes, the Sunday Mail has learned.
Our revelations follow a fatal shooting in Skye earlier this month which claimed the life of dad-of- six John MacKinnon.
Finlay MacDonald, 39, from the island, was charged with the murder and three attempted murders.
Official statistics in June revealed there were 341 firearm offences in 2019/2020, an increase of three per cent on the previous 12 months.
The most common gun crime was possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life or to commit crime. Around one in 10 involved robbery.
There was also an increase in the number of incidents where a gun was fired and caused injury, from 27 to 34.
Under UK gun laws, individuals must have a reason – such as work, sport or leisure – to own or use a gun.
And despite the concerning crime figures, a growing number of licences have been granted by Police Scotland.
The figure of almost 103,000 this year was up from 101,440 in 2021, 98,506 in 2020 and 96,247 in 2019.
A police spokesman said: “The number of firearms and shotgun certificates issued has fallen between 2019 and 2022.
“Air weapon certificates have increased steadily since the introduction of legislation in 2017 and accounts for the overall increase in certificates on issue.”
The number of gun licences currently in circulation include 25,345 for firearms such as rifles, 44,503 for shotguns and 33,015 for air weapons.
There has been a jump of 43 per cent in the numbers of permits being handed out for airguns – from 23,062 in 2019 to 33,013 this year.
Licensing of air weapons was introduced in 2017 following the death in Glasgow of two-year-old Andrew Morton.
Andrew was shot with a high-powered air rifle by drug addict Mark Bonini in March 2005 in Easterhouse, Glasgow, and died two days later.
Bonini was the first person in Britain to be convicted of murder with an airgun. He was sentenced to life and told he must serve 13 years before he can apply for parole.
Andrew’s death resulted in calls for air rifles to be banned and his parents campaigned for 12 years for an “Andrew’s Law. Users now have to be over 18 and have a licence to own a gun. Shops have to be licensed to sell them and it also became an offence to carry one in public.
Bonini remains behind bars.
Mick North, whose five-year-old daughter Sophie was one of 16 pupils killed by Thomas Hamilton in Dunblane in 1996, would like to see tougher checks on those applying for gun licences.
At present they are done every five years, when licences are renewed. But Dr North, founder of Gun Control Network, said this should be cut to two or three years. He would also like to see the £90 gun licence fee increased to £200 and thinks it should be compulsory for an applicant’s close family and ex-partners to be interviewed.
He added: “I still think there are worries about the adequacy of the licensing process.”
In the wake of the Dunblane tragedy, more than 500,000 people signed a petition calling for tighter gun laws after a Sunday Mail campaign. It led to a ban on handguns and restrictions on other weapons.
Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay said: “Many people have legitimate reasons to possess firearms and it is important that a fair and robust licensing system has public confidence.”
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