Of interest to everyone in the uk

[young hunter]

The best thing to come out of the uk government regarding gun laws is the on off, one on deals.whereby u can swap in you current .22 for a newer synthetic one, etc. A not too bad compromise from some Americans free willey approach to fire-arms.

[BLACK]

It is a complex subject. The anti gun lobby will state that had the law not changed the increase in gun crime would have been even worse. I think there have been some positive changes over the years as well as the obvious negatives like the pistol ban. I am a native of NI and I find it hilarious that I can still have pistols there but in England I can't (well done Mo Mowlem) I think the fact that shotguns are recorded on certificate is important so that it can be shown that those recovered from crime scenes are not legally held. The old certificate and the rules that allowed you dispose of a shotgun to a certificate holder but were not obliged to discuss who that certificate holder was, was a system open to abuse.

I have also seen a positive change in some licensing departments. My local one appears to be exceptionally understanding and helpful. I never thought I'd hear the words "can I interest you in a firearm certificate" when visiting their stand at a game fair after telling the FEO that I was engaged in vermin control.

The only time constraint in getting my FAC was my lack of availability to have cabinet inspected. Very impressive.

[Richard_16v]

It was obvious that changing the law wasn't going to cut gun crime. Tinfoil hat time - i'm sure governments don't like an armed society as they worry they may revolt one day

[ZZR1100]

Its all about control of the majority. If you can control, you can collect revenue. The minority (criminals) will always have the tools to be criminals with. Its win-win for the law makers. (government)

I have noticed that more and more of these lord it over us law making government demons are being exposed as criminals.

It is possible, that if everyone had a firearm, then the future gene pool may eventually become rich with individuals who don't want to kill themselves, or others and the criminals wouldn't want to advertise their status by having a fake limp.
Also, my ZZR1100 is only capable of 69mph.

[Alecto22]

A thorny subject as illustrated by the number of posts.
An interesting statistics would be how many gun crimes were carried out using LEGALLY held fire arms?
I speculate, very few in comparison to the overall figures.
One of the corespondents summed it up very well, " People kill people not guns" Folks get killed with all manner of objects from Kitchen knives to sledgehammers from syringes to chainsaws. This world of ours is full of sharp, heavy, pointed, and the ubiquitous blunt instruments, which in the hands of so minded people will get the job done.
But we the law abiding gun owners are an easy target for the anti gun lobbyist and Politicians alike, inspite of the fact they are aiming at the wrong target. Excuse the pun!
This is our gross to bear but we must continue to vigorously defend our sport.