No, you're wrong, you're not safer, you only feel that way. The UK is as vulnerable to internal violence as it was to invasion in 1940. Pardon me, but I don't find any bragging rights in being disarmed. Furthermore, if one removes the gun homicides of black and Hispanic males between 15 and 25 years of age, the rate becomes insignificant to the US population and the number of US firearms.
There may come another day when Britain has to ask Americans to send them guns as they did in 1939-40. BTW, we'd like some of them back.
If you remove blacks from the UK figures too, the real gun crime rate becomes nearly non-existent. Almost all UK crime with real guns is committed by black drug dealers against their fellows. Frankly, no great loss to society. I'm reliably informed that gun handling and care is poor: the guns are largely fashion accessories. There's nowhere they can legally do target practice, ammo supply is erratic, and carrying a gun brings an AUTOMATIC 5 year jail sentence on top of whatever other crime was committed.
The British gun crime figures also include crimes committed with imitation firearms, toys and airguns/BB guns, so are artificially inflated.
Violent crime takes in mainly low-level street brawling, pub altercations, domestic strife. No big deal, and almost never fatal, precisely because nobody has a gun. Drunken brawls like this are part of British culture.
Anybody who can't defend himself without a gun is a wuss anyway.
As it happens, though, I agree that the legislation was over the top and needs reform, particularly given the target shooters' plight. But I certainly would't like most of the UK population being able to purchase a gun, because that means criminals can get them too. I'm not scared of anybody armed the same as me: i.e. boots, fists, broken bottles/clubs etc.
In America it's different, and you're welcome to buy as many guns as you want. Hell, you can even buy bazookas and hand grenades for all I care - but you're not THAT free, are you?
But in Britain we (or most of us) are very happy the way things are. The only people with guns are the army and the police, and if you ask me the latter are already out of their depth with them.
Pay no attention to the elephant in the room.