.... steadfast "never make waves" policy, I have to disagree with you on this particular circumstance....
b3yOnd3r, I would agree with you, on all you said, if the premise is true. That those couple-hundred Swede's solidarity could change things. If that is true, then ... by all means ... form an NRA type solidarity.
I guess where we differ is the odds of those md'rs being able to change things. And I base this on the history we see of this: As seen on md'ing forums whenever the subject of "permits" and "no's" gets bandied about: *Most* of the time, the increased visibility simply leads to more rules against us. Not for us (ie.: not repealing). Or to the extent that some places have turned "no's" into some sort of compromises, they get riddled with silly stuff. Like: "on sandy beaches only". Or "not within 10 ft. of any tree". Or ... "turn in everything you find", etc.... Then that "permit" gets promptly fully revoked a few years later ( since it's now perpetually on their radar as something they "permit")
Might there be an exception to this in the case of Sweden ? Certainly ! By all means fight it. But the perpetual image in front of the archie (whose desks it is that these "pressing issues" cross) will be "yahoos stealing our cultural heritage past". But might they be persuaded to implement something like the UK ? Perhaps. It's risky if you do and risky if you don't . I see your point.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME : I would not hesitate to hunt my own family's land, for objects they lost. For several reasons: A) quite frankly, I don't think any of those 2 or 3 archies (or anyone else who might care) is milling about in your cornfield in the middle of nowhere. B) Even if someone DID see you (on your own private land for pete's sake) and DID raise any issues, then as I say: You're looking for the plow blade or wedding ring.
But assume for the moment that A & B above fail a griper's logic: I fail to see how that changes the outcome of efforts to change the law for other forms of land. What I mean is: We see this tossed out there frequently: Someone will suggest that if you're metal detecting, and someone doesn't like it (assuming it even CAME to that), that you will cause laws to be implemented/created against us. But that doesn't make sense. If the location-in-question were already supposedly illegal, then .... how are your actions making it any
more illegal ?
Heck, in this case, if anything, the fact of someone someone needing to look for their own wedding ring would be a WAKE UP CALL for the effort to get the laws relaxed. It would be like trying to get the speed limit raised. If those that want to keep it lower, try to point to incidents of speeding tickets, does that have a bearing on whether or not to relax the speed limit ?
Maybe I'm just calloused , but no one would ever stop me from metal detecting on my own land, no matter what country I live in.