|
crazyml -> RE: Gun control in the U.K. (3/23/2014 2:20:07 AM)
|
To the OP...
We have strict gun control in the UK because our elected representatives in Parliament voted to implement those controls.
If there were a significant number of people in the UK who advocated the freedom to own guns it would become a political topic, and something that political parties would have to take a stand on one way or another. If a majority of British MP's were elected with a mandate to relax gun controls, they'd be relaxed.
Right... I appreciate that that's a somewhat simplistic take, but I'd say it was pretty close - The reason we have tighter gun controls in the UK is simply that the vast majority of the people in the UK are opposed to more relaxed gun regulation.
If something terrible happened, and the number of illegal guns in the UK rose to such a level that ordinary people felt it necessary to carry a gun, we'd have a change in the law.
As an example, when the Labour government banned hunting with dogs (largely targeted at fox hunting) close to 100,000 people held demonstrations outside Parliament to protest. When the 1988 Firearms (Amendment) Act was passed (In the wake of the Hungerford massacre) , there was no protest (or if there was, none that I was aware of), the same was true of the 1997 act to ban all hand guns (in the wake of the Dunblane massacre).
It's also really important to point out that, I can own some pretty awesome rifles if I want to... I just need to demonstrate that I have a good reason (something I can legally shoot at, and land I have permission to shoot on). Sure, autos and semis are banned... but a chunky bolt-action rifle is eminently ownable.
As many people have pointed out - there are massive historical and cultural differences between the UK and the US that make comparisons really difficult.
Firstly, gun ownership has never been that widespread. For starters, we don't have a culture of hunting (lacking anywhere you can meaningfully hunt). We also don't have the same history of discovery and expansion as the US has, it's been a long time since settlers had to forge out into wilderness and establish themselves in the face of a hostile environment and sometimes hostile natives.
Our "revolution" happened in the 1640's, since then we've had a pretty stable and more or less functional democracy. One of the side effects of this is that Brits, and I'd say Europeans generally, are more trusting of Government than Americans. (In fact I think this is by far the biggest difference between the US and Europe).
None of this, of course, is because Brits/Euros are better or smarter (which is nonsense) it's just a question of history.
So simplistic comparisons between the UK and the USA aren't worth shit. But that isn't to say that lessons cannot be learnt.
One of the key reasons that we have a lower rate of gun crime in the UK is definitely the fact that we have fewer guns. Note that I don't claim a lower rate of violent crime here, but if guns were freely available, I'm pretty fucking sure we'd have more gun crime.
Equally, if there were a magic wand that could immediately make every gun in the USA disappear, I don't think that anyone can rationally deny that this would have an immediate impact on gun related crime. That is to say, in order for there to be a gun related crime there's no getting around the fact that there has to be a gun.
I appreciate that this idea is absurd.... there is no magic wand. But it's not necessarily a pointless exercise. Thinking it through... would there be an impact on violent crime? Well, it certainly wouldn't eradicate violent crime, but there's not much doubt that it is harder to kill someone with a knife than a Colt 45.
But... the magic wand solution ain't going to happen - on account of "magic" not actually being a "thing".
And there are so many guns in circulation, and so many unregistered guns, that "passing a law" wouldn't actually work. So a blind belief in "more gun regulation" isn't going to solve the problem. But I would also say that a blind belief in "no gun regulation" isn't going to solve it either.
So yeah, I can understand the frustration that many of my American friends feel at the default stand by some Brits/Euros that the gun situation we have somehow makes us "better " or "smarter" - Because we know that is bullshit.
But equally, setting aside the gun control poseurs... I'm pretty sure that there are some lessons that can be drawn from the British/European experience.
|
|
|
|
