Online Poll Shows 85% of Brits Want to Repeal the Ban on Hand Guns

Originally posted by intrepid
I still think the poll is flawed because anyone from any nationality can vote. That doesn't give a fair representation of what Brits think.

I think you're 100% right and this is about as scientific a sampling of the population as a reader's digest poll. Still, it does show one thing I honestly did not know before. I was under the general impression by media (I know I know..lol) and some posting here, that the British were largely unanimous about their feelings on this and not wanting guns accessible within the public. Even half the % presented comes as a surprise to what I'd thought.

As I see it, IMO, this "let the Govt handle it" attitude espoused here is the actual reason we saw the British citizenry just standing around, doing nothing but taking video and interviewing the killers in Woolwich. They were all waiting that 20 minutes for the govt to show up and use their guns to stop the suspects.

I think everyone there was very lucky these men didn't continue their rampage on others in that 20 minute wait for the govt to arrive, or escape never to be found.

Sorry, but for me, when seconds count, and you need to make a decision based upon your own mind and judgement, the govt is always minutes away to too long for me. And please don't read this as taking a "blazing away" attitude. It's an assess the situation, and if deemed safe and the authorities are not around in time, taking the initiative to neutralize the situation as the situation demands. Then, leaving the rest to the authorities, if/when they arrive.

Originally posted by HomoSapiensSapiens

Originally posted by nake13
reply to post by seabag

 

I quite agree that we in the UK should have the option of carrying hand guns.If Drummer Lee Rigby had had that option,the chances are that he would be alive today.

Or he would have still been run over and shot dead instead and then a firefight would have ensued with public, most likely ending up with several injuries and deaths on both sides (and probably with the Woolwich Two attempting to storm the nearby barracks because they feel bold with their guns).

Some people and their fantasy worlds. They seriously think that a gun would magically solve lots of crimes - how's that working out in the US of A?

It's not a fantasy to think that violent crime is a problem in the UK,I also don't think that it is unreasonable that I would like to have the means of defending family members and myself if faced with a potential life or death situation.Or would you rather that the police were called, turning up 20 minutes later to what would then be a murder investigation?

reply to post by HomoSapiensSapiens


Dude you contradicted your self in same post . You said i have never come up against armed criminals then latter in same post i have come up on knife wielding criminals . Last i checked a knife wielding thug is considered armed.

My personal opinion is that if I would like to own a gun for recreational or self defense purposes I should be allowed to do so.

I'm curious......

Forget all the arguments about whether guns should or should not be available or whether they would or wouldn't make crime less or worse.

What I would like to know is how many of the people who don't like guns and disagree they should be available, how many of these people would actually go and buy a gun themselves if they were made available to all?

I am in the 85% category.
Why 'wouldn't' you want someone to be able to protect themselves?
It has been proven time and again that when gun ownership goes up crime goes down and disarming of the populace is a prelude to atrocities that an armed society would rise up against in protest..

Originally posted by VforVendettea
I am in the 85% category.

Yeah but are you American? And if so did you vote on this poll?

reply to post by Psychotic

My personal opinion is that if I would like to own a gun for recreational or self defense purposes I should be allowed to do so.

You can own a gun for recreational purposes or for hunting you can't own a gun for self defense .

how many of these people would actually go and buy a gun themselves if they were made available to all

Probably most as there would be a need to due to the proliferation of guns and the chances of getting shot by a burglar if you don't have one which is why the law is fine as it is .

You guys keep your guns we're fine with baseball bats and knives

Originally posted by DISRAELI
reply to post by WhatAreThey

 

I don't think the sample is homogenous enough, and I made the point at more length in my second reply
Remember, the question asked was not "Do you want hand-guns, yes or no?", but "Which of these half-dozen new proposals would you prefer?"

To which the answer was?

This means that the sample is automatically weighted in favour of those who would like at least one of those half-dozen measures. Those who want no changes at all, or those who would like a change which is not among the listed half-dozen, are completely ignored. So that is not a genuine random sample.

Of course the poll is in favor of those who want to take the poll (meaning they are in favor of one of those measures). There are no other choices in this poll. Your points here are moot.

So yes, we can all agree that polls are weighted in favor of those who take the polls, and do not account for people who don't want to have anything to do with polls... ahem... *cough cough* except for the people who are represented by statistical probability.... i.e. everyone else.

Your reasoning above is analogous to providing the following criticism on a poll of 1000 people, asking them to pick a number between 1 and 6 in order to come up with the most popular number:

"This means that the sample is automatically weighted in favor of those who would like at least one of those half-dozen numbers. Those who want no numbers at all, or those who would like a number that is not among the half-dozen numbers, are completely ignored."

Also, as Intrepid has just pointed out, we don't even know that all the voters are genuinely from the UK.
That would explain why the only proposal which would have any interest for those outside the UK has so many more votes than those proposals with a UK interest only. That is another kind of skewing.

I think we know that all voters are definitely NOT from the UK. I can tell you this with 100% certainty, because I just voted :-)

Originally posted by WhatAreThey
I think we know that all voters are definitely NOT from the UK. I can tell you this with 100% certainty, because I just voted :-)

So doesn't that mean the the poll is fundamentally flawed then as it relates to the topic? UK people? Hell, it would only take a percentage of a percent of the NRA to mold this poll.

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
just to point out - gun cluns are still legal - merely limited in the firearms thier members can own

and i defy anyone to explain how " repealing the ban on hand guns " will make the UK any safer

i want the 1997 ban repealled - but repeal of the 1988 ban would be far more use to far more gun owners

just dont pretend " saftey " will be increased

By the same token, don't pretent that blood would flow in the streets if it was repealed. Criminals have guns if they want them. Criminals do not obey the laws or the bans. This would only relax the bans on law abiding citizens.

reply to post by luciddream


How will you defend yourself from those young thugs who want your car or money when you get 60 years old . With out a gun they will have free reign . How about your parents when some thug breaks in to do them harm ?
You need to get off your but and find out why the Powers that be want to disarm you then you might not want to give up your gun . The Police state you are about to live in isn't going to be so nice . You might want to resist the NWO .

I never knew there was such an appetite for hand guns in the UK. I can't think of anyone I know who has ever wanted to back this sort of legislation. Must just be the people I hang around with,

reply to post by woodwardjnr


People want guns because they do not trust their governments and because old people can not fight the young thugs that want to do harm . And of course they want to be able to fend off those really bad thugs trying to extort from them or terrorise them . Some people call that Government thugs .

reply to post by luciddream

Problem here is the mentality that gun solves everything, that is whats the difference between America and rest of the developed worlds who has restriction on guns.

US does have many gun restrictions, friend. And nobody believes guns solve everything…that’s ridiculous.

If you look at the statistics of gun deaths, US is probably the only "1st" world country to have a 3rd world statistics.

Violent crime is violent crime. If you want to know whose citizens are more likely to be victims I would defer to this chart rather than taking your opinion.



You are statistically at greater risk of being a victim of violent crime in UK than US. US violent crime has been dropping dramatically for decades while UK’s has continued to skyrocket!!

UK Mail Online’s James Slack reported on the soaring gun violence sweeping the country. Slack wrote in his article entitled, “Culture of violence: Gun crime goes up by 89% in a decade,”

“Gun crime has almost doubled since Labour came to power as a culture of extreme gang violence has taken hold…In some parts of the country, the number of offences has increased more than five-fold.”

The UK Home Office figures for that period showed the total number of firearm offenses in England and Wales had increased from 5,209 in 1999 to 9,865 in 2009… An alarming rise in gun violence for a whopping 89 per cent.

granitegrok.com...

How can UK's gun crime be increasing with the strict regulations in place???

reply to post by woodwardjnr


I don't know anyone who wants a gun (except a few stalkers, 'keepers etc, who have them anyway).

I suspect the vast majority of those supporting this change are those who were members of gun clubs adversely affected by the post-Dunblane law change. It does NOT reflect the views of the UK population, very few of whom want a gun for any reason at all.

That said, I do think the post-Dunblane law change was daft knee-jerk reaction and I would have no problem with that law being repealled.


Edit: to say that the thread name is totally misleading, because 85% of Britons do not want a repeal. 99% of Britons will be unaware (as I was) of this very small poll.

In actuality, 85% of a very small group of people who respondied to this poll voted in favour of a repeal of the hand gun laws as opposed to any of the other available options.

The very idea that adult humans cannot handle owning a gun so we make them illegal is a
guage of the arrogant attitude those in power have towards the people.
The ability to defend ones self from assault or harm by another is inherant to every human being.
The fact is gun ownership DECREASES CRIME....every time....
The stats are unskewable by the anti gun nuts.
The British citizen drives on the left side of the road there, due to the tradition of horse riders approaching each other
passed on the sword arm sides.......
This is the tradition.
Brits have the same rights as any other human, that of the ability to defend ones self family and property from threats of violence.
The sick, the elderly, the weak,and women, deserve the same protection as the able bodied man,, and arming themselves may be the best option.



I am also sure that should more innocent bystanders get chopped up by supposed "radicals"
the louder will be the cry to repeal the bans on personal defence weapons.

I find it funny that in nearly every UK zombie movie (they seem to be so prevelant in the uk these days) the charachters wander around to randomly find a cache of guns so they can finaly defend themselves.

Good think the UK has the Kitchen knife ban propsal coming.....

I know several people from the UK and EU and nearly all of them have no issues with people owning weapons.


Oh yeah and this: police department selling guns obtained in buyback program

So please lets not talk about nobel agendas and hows its all for the good

reply to post by AndyMayhew

Edit: to say that the thread name is totally misleading, because 85% of Britons do not want a repeal. Obviously .....

It’s not misleading. You’re missing the first few words; Online Poll Shows 85% of Brits Want to Repeal the Ban on Hand Guns. That IS what the poll showed.

Also, it’s not so obvious that 85% DON’T want repeal of the hand gun ban. That’s your opinion backed by NOTHING.


Video LINK: British Want Their Guns Back!


There are even Brits on ATS who disagree with you.

Either way, Id rather be shot than get my head lopped off in the middle of the street. When people don't have guns they start stabbing and slashing and I get squeamish about knife fights.