Dear British Prime Minister, Can We Get Our Guns Back, PLEASE??

Some on ATS may know that I am a recent convert to the “pro-gun” crowd mostly because I have been convinced that there is a direct coloration between gun ownership and lower incidents of violent crime mostly thanks to ATS. When comparing the violent crime rates of America with the UK the statistics all appear to show that America has less violent crime than the UK, these statistics I have found vary depending on the source.

This got me thinking, surly if I attribute Americas lower violent crime rate, at least in part to gun ownership the perhaps it is time we, the British people ask ,for our guns back just like we asked for the gun to be banned back in 1997 in the knee jerk reaction to the horror of Dumblane.

Furthermore surly if we British learn from the mistakes of the American system we could enforce strict gun control laws that allow for the individual to have the right to own a hand gun for the means to protect ones property and family. At the same time we could do this in such a way that the laws were strict enough to prevent the American style “mass-shootings”. We could do this by for example, having the legal age to own a gun set to 25, we could stipulate that one must have a “gun licence” much like a drivers licence and other measures such as rigorous background checks including a medical certificate from a medical professional to demonstrate the individual is of sound mind at the time of buying the gun. I don’t think it is right that we should go as far as carrying permits that allow you to walk into a supermarket with a gun for instance but we should at the very least have a means to protect our families in our homes. How exactly we would potentially legislate and control this I really don’t know yet.

What I do know is that the criminal fraternity in the UK own and use guns in violent crimes and that with a ban on guns there is little in the way of a deterrent for criminals to break into our homes when they know that we really only have our fists to fight back with. Fists are not really of much use if you are a guy living on your own up against 3 guys robbing you with knifes (or guns, or lightsabers). Where guns made legal, for the law abiding citizen then surly it would be quite a deterrent for the crack addict smashing in your door to steal your valued stamp collection or whatever you hold dear if he or she saw the “robbers will be shot” sign on the door.

Of course I don’t think this will ever be politically viable we gave them our guns and now I really don’t think we’re going to get them back.

But I thought i would ask

Mr. Cameron, can we, the British people get our guns back, please?

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


The very fact that you have to ask permission is why I fully support the 2nd amendment.

S&F

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin




Sorry, I'm speechless...

nice thread im with you on this one . if we was allowed guns in our homes i would sleep alot better at night.

i live in a rural area in England and the police are pretty much non existent in emergency's .
i had a strange man knock on my door in the middle of the night while my two young children was in bed.
now this doesn't sound that bad so , my partner answered the door to which a drunk man was urinating in my garden with his parts in his hand demanding a taxi.

authorities would have been called but when ever we have had odd instances like this in the past police do not appear till hours later. anyway ill get to the point so i asked the man to go away or we would get the police . he did not leave in fact he decided to stare through the windows of my house intimidating everyone for quite some time . if i had a gun i can guarantee he would of been gone a.s.a.p.

he eventually left i guess when he was bored of terrorizing us and we spent the rest of the night on edge. seems living in the countryside means there is no law and order just do what you like!

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


Gah! do we really need another gun thread? it's not more than three weeks or so since the last couple of guns in the uk threads talked themselves to a standstill too

and you dont just have your fists to defend yourself in your home, not that burglars in the uk use guns anyway. get a shotgun, a dog or an axe. sod it, get a blooming spear, that'll put a proper case of the sh1ts on a crim.

dammit, i got involved

We already have our guns.

You are fully within your right to own a shotgun, the police have to prove (criminally and medically) that you are unfit.

You are fully within your right to own a rifle or semi-automatic rifle, as long as YOU can prove why you need it (gun clubs etc).......criminal and medical background checks permitting of course.

The only guns you cannot own in the UK are handguns and/or fully automatic rifles.


EDIT: Some nice guns here....... if you have the appropriate license(s)

i was discussing the handgun issue with a friend not long back, and was told that there are apparantly circumstances in which one is allowed to own a handgun in the UK, including pest control - maybe the OP and interested others could look into the law relating to this?

Britons legally own over 1,800,000 guns

Hardly a gun free zone!

www.guardian.co.uk...

Even kids can own guns (whether they should is another matter!)

reply to post by woogleuk


And you bastards can have silencers and SBR's without jumping through extra hoops and paying outrageous taxes for the revenuers.

On one side of the world they're safety devices and tools for being a good neighbor. On the other side of the world they're seen as evil assassin tools. WTF???

I just want to post this, I didn’t include it in my OP and it was quite an apparent oversight.

Yes in the UK one can own some weapons, but the focus is always on them being used for things such as pest-control or recreation. What i am talking about is a gun for home defence I am talking about a change in gun culture in the UK shifting from this idea that all guns ownership is negative in some way to a more liberal take on it that permits the use of guns explicitly to defends ones property and family and changes in laws to reflect as much.

well i was not aware that i could own a gun i knew if u had a license and went to a gun club yes . i just want to defend my house not attend a gun club lol!

Originally posted by Wide-Eyes
reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin

 

Sorry, I'm speechless...

edit on 20-2-2013 by Wide-Eyes because:

errr why?

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin




Oh really? So some gun morons have convinced you that guns aren't an issue and now you want people armed in the UK?

Really?



No.... just.... no.


If you own and carry a gun... you are MORE likely to be killed or injured by a gun

So you don't think the fact that the USA has the highest rate of firearms related homicide in the industrialised world is an issue?

www.newscientist.com...



You could also read this article, instead of reading NRA BS that gun nuts will spout at you

www.minnpost.com...


Also it's a misconception that we ever had our guns "taken away", It is perfectly legal to own and store guns at home in the UK.

We in the UK just don't want a culture where everyone from the guy serving you in a shop, to the old lady going to bingo to the student coming home from college to the postman are all packing heat and paranoid of everyone else because they're all carrying guns too.


I remember in the thread I started on guns a few years ago, everyone was throwing around facts and statistics and everyone can counter everyone else's stats with their own.

That's why this argument can never be won.

It's like stubborn, blind faith.... Gun Lovers will never want to hear the truth and Anti-gun people will never change their opinion on guns either.

May as well all stand around and bang our heads against the wall.

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


You can use a shotgun/Rifle to protect your home.....as long as you can prove you had no other means of stopping the intruders, and feared for your life (and you have the appropriate license for the weapon).

reply to post by blupblup


Blupblup.....you should know from other threads that I am anti-gun, 100%, especially after what happened up here in Cumbria.

But like you said, neither party can win the argument without wall/head damage, so I try and stay out of the argument.......in this case though, I am just pointing out facts on a subject most people seem unaware of.

EDIT: I know you weren't replying to me.....I just wanted to put that out there in case it looks like I am pro-gun by giving the information.

Good for you OP for breaking free from the brainwashing over there.

If the rest of the UK folks here also try to think for themselves in regards to this topic, they TOO will understand that the gun culture needs to change over there.

NO law-abiding good guy should be defenseless. In the UK the good guys have to jump through way too many hoops' to own a firearm. And no law-abiding good guy should fear getting prison for defending his home and family by way of the so-called "unreasonable force". Who the HELL has the right to judge a person who defends their home and family? To be put in prison for using "unreasonable force" to someone whom is a dangerous and harmful threat to your family is ridiculous.

And there will always be major degenerates out there who will do harm to your family and property without a thought. Law-abiding good guys should have no punishment whatsoever when defending their family and home. Its ridiculous over there. Has to change. They protect the bad guys way too much over there.

And the police there take HOURS TO ARRIVE when they are called upon???????? Thats scary. Completely unacceptable actually.

They couldnt pay me a million dollars to move my family there to live. I would never jeopardize my family and my safety to live somewhere in which bad guys are favored and the good guys punished and restricted from defending themselves, their families, and their homes. Damn pathetic, disgraceful, shameful, and completely UNACCEPTABLE.

No, just no..
The UK is already becoming more and more like them in the US, and now you want to shoot everything up like them too?
Whats wrong with you?

reply to post by leopardpimps


look into it rather than just assuming you cant have one - just about anyone can get a shotgun license, and rifles are not so hard to get hold of either - you could get a semi auto .22 rimfire too (pretty scary for a burglar i am sure you would agree), but you would need to join a gun club for that afaik

reply to post by ResistTreason


Read the thread and you will find out that guns aren't banned in the UK, and we could have them for defence, if we wanted them, which most of us don't.

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin

What i am talking about is a gun for home defence I am talking about a change in gun culture in the UK shifting from this idea that all guns ownership is negative in some way to a more liberal take on it that permits the use of guns explicitly to defends ones property and family and changes in laws to reflect as much.

How about addressing some of society's core issues which feed the existing cycle and foster the atmosphere of fear, suspicion, greed and envy?

Anyone who knows anything about UK society knows that any relaxation of our gun laws in regards to hand guns will only result in a massive increase in gun deaths - especially on Friday and Saturday nights!

For all that we have much in common the UK is not the USA and what is right for one isn't necessarily right for the other.