Since the Dunblane tragedy Britain has had some of the toughest gun regulation in the industrialised world. Has it made the country a safer place ?.


In 1997 a ban on handguns was introduced. Each year since has seen an increase in gun crime. In the year 2000 firearm offences were up by 10% (England & Wales).

early gun control (1895-1967)    modern gun control (1968-1998) Legislative changes(tabular form) Government docs relating to firearm matters the Dunblane shootings 'Gun culture' the anti-gun lobby the current situation in Britain gun incidents in Britain gun control: Lott, Kopel, Kellerman et al .. British gun control The British Libertarian Movement & the writings of Dr Sean Gabb(more on British gun control) Links Sportsmans Association of GB bulletin board

The British state has always cited public safety as the main concern when legislating on firearm ownership. A laudable aim but it is one that can be justified by the facts ?. As early as 1895 attempts to regulate and control pistol ownership were defeated due to concerns over individual rights. No-one, I would suggest , would argue for unfettered gun ownership, however, regulation and control must take into consideration individual freedoms. Blanket bans of certain types of firearm have been ineffective in stopping gun crime. What they have done though is restrict and curtail the activities the law-abiding without producing any real benefit to society in terms of public safety. more In London alone there were 429 murders between 1997 and 1999, the highest figure for 10 years.A fifth of ALL murders now involve guns.(The Observer) International studies indicate that the United Kingdom now has a higher violent crime rate than in the USA and other western nations, see US Department of Justice 'London's shooting murder rate triples' Ananova 13/6/01 'For the first 20 days in April, killings were taking place at the rate of one a day.......' London Evening Standard, 13/6/01 on the growing gun crime problem in London. "England near top of world violent crime league" " England and Wales second in crime victims league " (Feb 2001) "Ministers consider ban on replica gun market",(Sunday Times 4/3/01). More flawed thinking from our 'masters'. Just how many replicas were responsible for the 70 odd gun murders last year ?. US gun deaths fall sharply - 12/04/01 ACPO come up with another bright idea !. 'Police can no longer stop crime' (Sunday Times 13/5/01). ACPO now calling for a ban on replica guns AND for reloading machines to be licensed - Police call for stricter gun laws to curb the criminals. It is almost beyond belief. Clearly no-one in ACPO even has a modicum of common sense to realise that all the past gun laws have failed to prevent criminals from using guns. So whats their answer ? - Pass yet more futile legislation that will ONLY affect the legal gun user. Truly, the lunatics ARE running the asylum !. Please email me @ BTinternet with any comments.