Brief History:
Tony Martin was a farmer who shot and killed 16 year old, Fred Barras, in 1999 and served three years of a five-year sentence for manslaughter. Fred Barras was a gypsy teenager who at the time of the shooting was trespassing on Martin's property. The fact he was a gypsy seemed to over shadow the fact he was also a 16 year old boy and has lead the majority
of the UK media to disregard the victim as sub-human and Tony Martin's actions as just.

Tony Martin as a personality has previously not openly campaigned for the right for individuals to take up firearms to protect their property, but politicians and conservative spokespeople around him are using him as a tool to promote such powers. He has been described as a "hero", and raised ideas for introducing laws similar to those in southern American states, where it is legal to shoot and kill anyone who illegally enters another's property.

The Mirror continues to trumpet this man as a Hero, and it would be really cool if we say ...eh no he killed a boy. What kind of world is it where a man's property becomes more important than child's life? (This is one of many questions we could encourage people to ask when
question time comes round). I fear our beloved student newspapers may to follow the arrogant line of the Mirror, Mail and the rest of the Vomit, but a sceptical student presence may deliver a significant reality.

If anyone is interested in helping and protesting, more info is available on the Oxford Student Activist Network website:  http://osan.org.uk .