Posted on 08/23/2007 5:01:23 AM PDT by Renfield
British laws have some of the most restrictive gun-control regulations in the West. Even so, for years the British have seen gun crime skyrocketing as more and younger criminals realize the advantage they have with a firearm in hand:
'...The number of young people prosecuted for firearms offences has soared by 20 per cent in the past five years, it was revealed earlier this month. In 2001, 1,193 youngsters under age 21 went to magistrates courts on gun related charges. By 2005, that had risen to 1,444. The statistics come after a recent wave of gun crime in Britain’s inner cities, with many victims not even out of their teens.
Shadow home affairs minister James Brokenshire said: “The rise in gun crime demonstrated by these figures is alarming.”
In April Bernard Hogan-Howe, the chief constable of Merseyside Police, insisted new laws to make reporting information on shootings and possession of guns a 'duty’’ were essential because people were too scared to come forward....'
This is not a new story. Over three years ago, I noted the sharp increase in gun-related murders in both England and Wales, as well as other Western gun-control nations. In fact, the murder rate dropped in the United States during the same period, even though gun control had lost steam in American politics.
Britain banned handguns of all kinds ten years ago. Within just a couple of years, the homicide rate had risen over 40%. Violent crime rates more than doubled in three years. The graphic from the 2003 Canadian study shows a hockey-stick increase in violent crime that rivals the chart used by climate-change advocates.
Four years later, Britain still can't figure out why disarming the victims has created a spike in gun-related violence. When criminals have a near-certainty that they outgun potential victims, it removes the most immediate disincentive for an attack. Instead of rethinking the entire idea of criminalizing law-abiding citizens who only want to defend themselves, now British authorities want to criminalize law-abiding citizens who won't volunteer testimony about criminals.
And they don't stop there. The Telegraph reports that one candidate to be the next Metropolitan police commissioner wants to press charges against victims of gun violence who are too terrified of reprisals to testify. That's correct; they want to arrest the victims they've disarmed. He's already ordering police to "stop and search suspects regularly", which at least sounds as if British police have started to conduct searches without any probable cause to find guns.
Why not just allow law-abiding citizens the right to arm themselves? It can't get much worse than it already has become over the last ten years. If nothing else, Britain shows that a national policy of gun control leaves an entire country of victims for criminals to exploit.
The made their choices poorly. Banning firearms from the law abiding made crime more attractive. In nature, a species with few natural enemies tend to over populate. People wonder why crime is so bad, yet do not realize how the legal system is taking away the "natural enemies" of crime.
They gave it up for socialized medicine and a nanny government that protects them from themselves.
“That used to be the case, but I don’t think it’s the norm currently. For one thing the BIG BROTHER cameras are everywhere so usually they know in advance there is gunsmoke in the air. I have to hand it to the Brits, when they need to bring force they bring MASSIVE amounts.”
You’re not wrong; the slightest inkling of a gun being present and they’re out in force. Recently, more than a few shot dead had airguns, & replicas/deactivated. Obviously, they were perceived as a threat but you do get the impression that they’re trigger happy.
Yeah but ya really can't blame them. Look at all the terrorism they had to deal with from the IRA. Now it's the islamofascists? Worse the Jihadis were probably taught the bomb making trade by the IRA who are arguably the best bomb builders in the world. I love 'em but the Brits are so naive! They invited the animals inside the perimeter and were so accomodating and now they're all hurt and surprised when the animal tries to EAT the lambs?
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