The UK Gun Ban
The English are perceived to be the leaders of etiquette and masters of a polite society. Quite often, too often, it is American chic to consider our neighbors in the UK a model to emulate. Perhaps, to the American ear the English tone represents a higher intellect.
This is not to denigrate our UK neighbors, but rather to encourage our American citizens to assess by fact and not by fad. The trail blazing UK held the distinction of having the toughest firearm restrictions of any democracy and their 1997 handgun ban became the "gold standard" of gun control.
How has that UK gun ban been working?
- In the four years from 1997 to 2001, the rate of violent crime more than doubled.
- Your chances of being mugged in London are now six times greater than in New York.
- England's rates of assault, robbery, and burglary are far higher than America's.
- 53 percent of English burglaries occur while occupants are at home, compared with 13 percent in the U.S., where burglars admit to fearing armed homeowners more than the police.
Gun crime in London is increasing so rapidly that police fear they may not have the resources to cope. In a 2001 BBC report, officers stated there had been a 100% increase in firearms-related crime in the capital. [2]
"When Seconds Count, the police are minutes away."- Viral Internet quote
Northern Ireland [home of the IRA] is the only part of the British Isles where significant numbers of civilians are granted permits to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense. According to the International Crime Victim Survey released in August '01, Northern Ireland had one of the lowest levels of victimization of any of the 15 industrialized countries studied and England had the highest. [3]
To be fair to our English neighbors, 2007 crime stats show a leveling off of overall gun crimes, despite an increase in homicide. [4] Publicizing gun crimes, however, is becoming a bone of contention among UK officials.
After a high profile shooting death of an 11-year old boy, the UK Shadow Home Secretary, noted the huge increase in gun crimes since the ban and claimed the ministers were putting out "misleading and inaccurate figures." [5]
Jack Straw, the UK Justice Secretary, admitted the increase in gun-related incidents, but cited an overall drop in crime crediting the government's efforts. David Cameron, Tory leader, accused Mr. Straw of "self satisfied comments" and "complacency." Cameron also accused ministers of spinning statistics. [5]
With the exception of gun-related deaths, 2008 UK crime stats show a significant rise in gun crimes, the biggest since 2004. [6] The overall picture since the UK gun ban clearly shows that gun control is not crime control and only serves to empower the criminal and inhibit the liberty of her people.
A Church of England vicar had this to say, "It seems as if we have slipped into some bizarre parallel universe where the basic rules about the way human beings communicate have been suspended. What can we say or do? We feel so powerless. "We need to ask hard questions about a kind of society that makes possible such a callous disregard of human life." [5]
By adopting a radical gun ban, the UK abandoned the principles of their own 1689 Bill of Rights calling for the citizenry to "have arms for their defence." The abandoning of such principles is not a practice that a Freedom loving nation desiring the safety, pursuit of happiness, liberty, and justice for all should emulate.
Remember folks, it is the law abiding that abides the law. The bad guys will not comply with gun laws and will remain armed. So what is the purpose of any nation stripping her people from the right of self-defense?
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government"- Thomas Jefferson
What my dear Freemen and women are you willing to give up in the name of progressive ideology?
Resources:
1. Gun Control's Twisted Outcome: Restricting firearms has helped make England more crime-ridden than the U.S. - Reason Magazine
2. BBC News | UK | Police fears over rising gun crime
3. http://dvc.org.uk/dunblane/dbpolicy.pdf
4. BBC NEWS | UK | Analysis: UK gun crime figures
5. Another arrest as Croxteth pays tribute to Rhys | UK news | The Guardian
6. 28 gun crimes committed in UK every day - Telegraph
Published by Tony Jingo
An American Patriot with an independent view on today's topics. Jingo (noun) One who vociferously supports one's country View profile
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46 Comments
Post a CommentThe problem is not the 99% of the legal population with guns. It's the 1% that shouldn't be here in the first place that use guns. Why punish the majority for the sins of the minority? Those 1% will not comply with any gun laws, so why disarm the public?
However, a proposed gun ban has different purposes. It's the start of massive government control and the abolishment of individual freedoms to create a future feudal society. Crazy? Maybe. Maybe not.
1. The US doesn't track guns. Once you get one you can sell it and no-one knows where it went. The UK is better in that respect.
2. OTOH, the UK ban on handguns is ridiculous. I used to like target shooting in the UK, but only with handguns. The reason is I am right handed and left eye dominant, which makes little difference with a handgun, but makes a competitive score with a rifle an impossibility for me to ever obtain, even if I were to practice until the cows come home.
ok, well, for David vvv
i can come up with a logical explanation as to why US gun deaths are higher per 1000, it would be a common thought taht the US's population within its self, would be harboring much more Gangsters, Drug-dealers, and phyco-paths as opposed to the UKs population size, so for every one more ganster or etc that lives in the US with vicious intent, of course theyre gonna raise the Gun-death rate per 1000. but i would put all my money on it, if there a gun ban in the US, that Gun-deaths would Shoot way-the-hell up. becuase those criminals, will find guns on the black market, or from neighboring countries, and use them against the defensless citizens just trying to make an honest living.
Jonathan Vincent, Gun-owner, Pending NRA member
According to United Nations statistics, the United States has over 13 times the number of gun deaths per capita than the UK for the years 1998 - 2000.
US gun deaths are 0.0279 per 1,000 people. UK has a rate of 0.00102 per 1,000.
You might want to question the veracity of your information.
Excellent and informative. I liked this article very much. It's a free republic and no amount of utopian social engineering should supercede natural and constitutional rights of self-protection. If we needed the police where we live, we would have to wait about half an hour or more. So I appreciate that line: "When seconds count,the police are minutes away." But then again, firearms ownership is a responsibility and requires training, so it's not for people unwilling to take the time or who would rather delegate the responsibility to others. Unfortunately, some of the latter become victims.
I may not agree with what you say - but I do think you write well...
Interesting topic and reactions. What does the average gun owner look like? You would be surpirsed.
I felt much safer when I lived in the UK than I do in the US but then again I didn't live in any rough areas of the UK.
Bat...an armed society makes the cretins think twice. Note the burglary stat. After the ban most burglaries occurred when folks were home-53% of the time..compare that to 13% in America...the burglars admitted they fear an armed homeowner more than they fear the police. There should be reasonable common sense regulation regarding owning a weapon..not a ban. Good car analogy...but remember driving a veh. is a privilege not a right.
"An armed society is a polite society" does not jive with any of the statistics on gun crime. Countries with more guns have more gun crime. Humans just aren't programmed to be nice, apparently, and when they fight, the difference between simple assault and murder is usually due to whether a gun is available. It's also not likely a toddler will ever be accidentally beaten to death with a tire iron, but little kids get shot by accident all the time. That said, I believe people should be able to own firearms provided they are STRONGLY regulated (you have to be trained and licensed to drive a car; guns shouldn't be any easier to get).