Why have we got such a negative view on gun ownership? I know that incidences like the Hungerford massacre and the more recent events in Cumbria lead to a blanket ban on semi-automatic rifles and handguns but surely this was an incorrect move. Is there a lot we can learn from the American attitude to firearms?

 

1. Because guns are evil, make people want to kill, and are enabler of mass murder. Guns are scary. Why do you need a gun for? People who want guns must also want to kill others. Guns are tools of death.

 

2. No. Unfortunately, I've seen these kind of mentality too often. The public is ingrained withh the idea that guns are bad. The point of view which guns are good is verboten in mainstream media everywhere. Whether one likes gun or loathe it, can't deny the fact that pro-gun side of argument is almost never properly and positively represented on BBC, Channel 4, SkyTV or whatever broadcast you have in the UK. This is a Goebbels situation, and anyone who deliver counter arguments are shouted down, called as idiots or accused of trolling. You can't fight public indoctrination of this scale, unless one has real life experience of being a crime victim and failure of police protection.

 

Alone this line of thinking, there are people in the UK calling for ban on "dangerous knives" and "replica firearms" that do not function as real firearms. The public safety is really not the issue here. It is the symbol of violence that they are after. Guns are simply easiest targets to shoot down. If you want to become a gun owner, then you should give it up in the UK. The situation is hopeless. Move to the US and stay in a free state where you can get machinegun and sound suppressors as long as you can afford them. I'm sure it's easier for UK citizens to become US citizens.

I think you'll find that the US attitude to gun ownership is more of a political stance on government intervention in society rather than an actual attitude towards shooting as a sport.

The UK has been through numerous pointless revisions of firearms laws and they've done nothing solid to reduce firearms crimes in the UK (as gun control acts usually do)

Cameron nailed this fairly on the chin by stating clearly that there was nothing positive to be gained from a knee jerk reaction to the Cumbria shootings. Problem is, we're in a downward spiral, people who don't shoot often take on the attitude that because they don't shoot, there's no downside to outlawing firearms, which has led to tighter restrictions over the years, taking shooting further from the mainstream.  Which means that the next time something comes up, there are less people shooting..

 There's about a million owners in the UK of shotguns and firearms and in the main, they do no harm. I've been shooting on and off since age 13, have perforated many a paper target. Heavens, I've even fired *pistols* - I'm showing my age here! 

I didn't vote for Cameron this time around but if he holds the line he's taken, I might at least *consider* it. 

I don't think we need to look at the US model for firearms controls, but I do think the underlying legislative approach has actually changed - particularly with respect to issuing firearms and shot gun certs, which at least a few weeks back stood at "Grant the request unless there is an overwhelming reason not to"

Sadly, current events will make it very hard for a government to relax the current rules. I hope Cameron and the majority of the cabinet views prevail here.

 

Ian

 

Why have we got such a negative view on gun ownership? I know that incidences like the Hungerford massacre and the more recent events in Cumbria lead to a blanket ban on semi-automatic rifles and handguns but surely this was an incorrect move. Is there a lot we can learn from the American attitude to firearms?

 

Quite a few years back, an online acquaintance of mine from the UK came over and visited. One of the times he enjoyed the most was when we visited a shooting range and he got to shoot my AK-47 (semi only of course).

 

Of course you would actually need a Green Card (I believe) to own weapons yourself, but shooting ranges which will rent what you want to shoot are quite common in most metropolitan areas (except of course the big anti-gun cities). Las Vegas is a nice choice in that regard since there are ranges there which will rent you full auto weapons. 

 

Personally I bought my own chunk of land here for shooting. The ranges where I live are usually overly busy. 

The first part is partially true. Firearms are used by Americans on the daily basis either as practical ranch tools (due to different way of herding cows) or self-defense tools (on both four and two-legged animals). It is not just a political stance. It is a matter of life and death.

 

The second part is not true. The ratio of firearm-related violent crime dropped after numerous pointless revisions of firearms laws. Most firearm-related crime cases are illegal possession or intimidation. Since victims don't have guns, there is not much point to carry one for criminals in general, especially when they prey on women, children, the old and the weak. Generally speaking, criminals get guns to get even with other criminals. After all, crime is a business that gunning down competition is part of job portfolio. This is good news for Home Secratary. Beating to death by a mob with folding chairs definitely sounds better than gunned down outside a pub on the Daily Mail.

 

One thing you can't go wrong on analyzing crime rate is correlation to birth rate 10 to 30 years prior. Birth rate in the UK was dropping since 1973, and the recent rebound is completely and utterly due to high birth rate from immigrants. All head to the wrong direction.