The home secretary today said the Government would "consider all the options" on gun laws, as the prime minister cautioned against a "knee-jerk reaction".
The home secretary said the Government would “consider all the options” on gun laws in an emergency statement before the Commons this afternoon, as the prime minister cautioned against a “knee-jerk reaction” on gun ownership laws following the murder of 12 people in Cumbria yesterday. The comments came as police confirmed the weapons used by Derrick Bird were legally held firearms – he had held a licence for 15 years.
Though there was agreement from Alan Johnson, the shadow home secretary, that there should be no rush to change firearms laws but they should be reviewed, there were growing calls today for tighter gun control laws in Britain. Peter Squires, professor of criminology at the University of Brighton, wrote in today’s Guardian that “if gun owners weren’t able to store ammunition at home mass shootings would be less likely”.
Professor Squires explained:
“If firearm owners were not permitted to store guns and ammunition at home, the incident could not have happened… the risks are out there – if gun owners are to keep their weapons at home, as they want to, then they should not be allowed to keep ammunition at home as well.
“We can’t look into a crystal ball to say who may or may not be about to go off the rails/encounter depression/be consumed by murderous rage – but we ought not let them have the means to perpetrate a mass shooting outrage if and when they do. Keeping guns separate from ammunition would make such incidents preventable – and our communities safer places.“
International evidence shows that there is a correlation between the percentage of households with firearms and the rate of intentional firearms deaths per 100,000 of population, as the graph below illustrates:
There have, however, been some calls for gun licensing laws not to be tightened, but repealed – citing Israel and the United States as examples Britain should follow. Dr Sean Gabb, director of the Libertarian Alliance, said:
“The Libertarian Alliance notes that these shootings would have been extremely difficult in a country where the people were allowed to arm themselves. In the United States, at least one campus shooting was brought to a premature end by armed civilians. The same is true in Israel, where many members of the public go about armed…
“All the Firearms Acts from 1920 onwards should be repealed. The largely ineffective laws of 1870 and 1902 should also be repealed. It should once again be possible for adults to walk into a gun shop and, without showing any permit or proof of identity, buy as many guns and as much ammunition as they can afford.”
34 Responses to “Calls for tighter gun control in wake of tragedy”
mike
strange as public overwhelming support from public for both measurers
go to your local pub and simply ask the question
Anon E Mouse
mike – Although I certainly believe in power to the people I reiterate my point regarding hanging – go into your local and ask them if they want that back (they do) and Europe – ask if they want to be out of Europe (they do).
Also what pub are you drinking in that thinks it’s OK for a woman accusing someone of rape having her anonymity and the accused not? How is that fair?
Are you sure you’re not drinking in Harriet Harman’s local?
No offence fella but the fact a lot of people support something doesn’t mean it’s right. After all a lot of people bought Spice Girl records and they were still crap…
Stephen
strange as public overwhelming support from public for both measurers
There is mass support for treating the innocent as criminals? Well I don’t believe you and if true, it would just show how sick and depraved this country has become. Something is either right or it is wrong. And treating the innocent as guilty is wrong.
Stephen
go to your local pub and simply ask the question
40 years ago there was a lot of racist talk in pubs. Would you condone that as well?
Look Left – The Week in Fast Forward | Left Foot Forward
[…] Foot Forward looked at the international evidence on the relationship between gun ownership and gun homicides, which shows a correlation between the […]