Time to Repeal the UK's Draconian Gun Laws

The safety of the British people has been gambled on the flawed belief that fewer private guns means less crime. The government believes that any weapons in the hands of men and women, however law-abiding, pose a danger, and that disarming them lessens the chance that criminals will get or use weapons.

The murder of Village Post Master's son; Craig Hodson-Walker, proves this belief is WRONG.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1219030/Village-postmasters-son-shot-dead-robbers-tried-defend-parents.html

The fact is that when you ban guns from society the only thing you succeed in doing is leaving decent law-abiding people defenceless. The criminals remain armed because they don't obey the law, remember - when guns are outlawed, only outlaws have guns.

In turn this actually encourages criminals to commit more crime, as their job becomes much easier when they know they'll encounter no resistance from their victims.

Whilst in the UK, 53% of burglaries occur when the householder is at home, for the US it is only 13%, where burglars freely admit they fear being caught by armed householders more than the police!

Criminals in the UK are emboldened because they know unlike those in the US, British householders do not have the means nor the legal right to adequate defend themselves, their families, or their property.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216840/Heavily-pregnant-woman-raped-home-armed-gang.html

The British people cannot protect themselves, their property, and their loved ones, against gun wielding criminals, armed with just a cricket bat!

It is time the British people had their right to bear arms (effectively abolished in 1920), returned.

Armed citizens deter criminals

Though the number of firearms owned by private citizens in the U.S. has been increasing steadily since 1991 (with a huge increase in gun ownership following the 9/11 attacks in New York City and an even bigger rise when US President Barack Obama came into office) the overall murder rate actually actually decreased by 44 percent between 1991 and 2008.

The rape rate has decreased by 30 percent since 1991, the robbery rate by 46 percent and the aggravated assault rate by 36 percent, with violent crime rates continuing to drop each year.

Concealed carry has helped make the US much safer than it was 20 years ago.

In fact, the more people that acquire legally held guns, the lower the murder rate drops. The reason for this is very simple, armed citizens deter criminals.

( Source - Federal Bureau Of Investigation - 1989 - 2008 Crime Statistics

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_01.html )

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There exists a petition which calls for the repealing of the UK's draconian gun laws. The petition is to relax gun laws to enable law abiding people to arm themselves for personal protection :

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/nogunlaws/

The Difference between the US and the UK.


"Oklahoma: Homeowner Shoots Intruder; OKC Police Arrest Suspects

"Three intruders fled from an Oklahoma City home this morning after being shot at by the home owner, police said.

"The owner told police that he heard a noise at his front door around 1:45 a.m. and opened the door. Three men armed with

knives forced their way into the home in the 6400 block of South Phillips Avenue.

"The intruders forced the residents into a back bedroom when the homeowner shot one of the intruders. The intruders fled in a

dark-colored SUV, police said.

""Police said the homeowner said he recognized one of the suspects. Subsequently police arrested 30-year-old Eric Kutz as well as a 14-year-old male.

"Police said Kutz was transported to an area hospital to receive treatment for his injuries. Upon release, Kutz will be

interviewed by investigators. He is facing charges robbery and assault charges. The 14-year-old was transported to the Berry

House and faces robbery charges as well.

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=11918427



"A 94-year-old man was stabbed to death in his home as he tried to stop a burglar stealing his television.

"William Humphrey was repeatedly knifed by the intruder and left to bleed to death in his suburban flat".

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1248576/Man-94-stabbed-death-home-battled-intruders-trying-steal-TV.html


The US, were Householders kill Intruders, or the UK, where Intruders kill Householders.


Sleep well tonight!!

Full agreement from me, BoR.

An armed populace is a major constitutional bulwark... in that it prevents the rise of tyrannical government.

I rather favour the Swiss model of an armed militia.

One consequence of the Swiss model is vanishingly low rates of home invasion and of firearms-related crime. Another is the wonderful way in which the Swiss avoid getting drawn into "military adventures" - well, you wouldn't vote for war lightly, would you? Not when it might be YOUR boots on the ground of some dusty Middle Eastern desert.

The first step on the route to individual liberties is the withdrawal from the EU and the restitution of a Parliament which is in the business of doing the will of the people, rather than the will of the political elite. The emerging financial crises in Europe might well instigate the destruction of the EU. If these financial crises do not fracture Europe, then we rich nations will be bailing out Greece; then Portugal; then Spain; then Ireland. And all on top of the Eastern European nations which we currently keep afloat with the labour (taxes) of British workers. A scandal of epic proportion.

Couple that with Cameron's promise to give us a referendum....LOL .... surely a lie. But a lie to which he will be held by the electorate, I'm sure.

Now, a government of the people, say UKIP ... well, that would see a restoration of proper British values. IMO, of course.

More guns in law-abiding hands mean less crime. Washington DC, (US) proves the point.

Reading most press accounts, one would be forgiven for thinking Armageddon had arrived after the US Supreme Court struck down the District's handgun ban in 2008. Predictions sprung forth from all directions that allowing more citizens to own guns and not forcing them to keep them locked up was going to threaten public safety. According to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, more guns in homes would cause more violent crime.

This has never been the case. Local politicians enthusiastically embraced the 1977 handgun ban predicting it would make Washington a safe place by dramatically reducing murder rates. But they were as wrong three decades ago as they are now.

A telling story is illustrated by the murder numbers since the handgun ban and gun-lock bans were struck down. Between 2008 and 2009, the FBI's preliminary numbers indicate that murders fell nationally by 10 percent and by about 8 percent in cities that have between 500,000 and 999,999 people. Washington's population is about 590,000. During that same period of time, murders in the District fell by an astounding 25 percent, dropping from 186 to 140. The city only started allowing its citizens to own handguns for defense again in late 2008.

In the five years before the 1977 ban, the murder rate fell from 37 to 27 murders per 100,000. In the five years after the gun ban went into effect, the murder rate rose back up to 35. One fact is particularly hard to ignore: D.C.'s murder rate fluctuated after 1976 but only once fell below what it was in 1976 before the ban. That aberration happened years later, in 1985.

This correlation between the D.C. gun ban and diminished safety was not a coincidence. Look at the Windy City. Immediately after Chicago banned handguns in 1982, the murder rate, which had been falling almost continually for a decade, started to rise. Chicago's murder rate rose relative to other large cities as well. The phenomenon of higher murder rates after gun bans are passed is not just limited to the United States. Every single time a country has passed a gun ban, its murder rate soared. The UK included.

The choice Britons face isn't between freedom or safety. Washington's US experience with gun bans shows once again that Americans will either be free and safe or unfree and unsafe. Letting people protect themselves is the responsible approach. It's important Britons remember these facts, and vote accordingly in this years Genral Election.

Armed woman fends off burglar

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/1040249.html

A Modesto, California woman reportedly used her gun to fend off a burglar.

Police say the woman walked into her home, and found a burglar. She reportedly feared for her safety, grabbed her gun, and fired a shot at the burglar, causing him to flee. The burglar, who was apparently not hit, fled the scene, leaving the woman unharmed, police say.



Grandmother rape police arrest man, 28

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-349937/Grandmother-rape-police-arrest-man-28.html

A man has been arrested following the rape of a grandmother who was held hostage in her home overnight, police said.

The 77-year-old woman was attacked by a man with an axe at her home during a 10-hour ordeal early on Tuesday.

Her house in the Chesham area of Bury, Greater Manchester, was ransacked and she was raped.


US Law: Protecting Householders from Burglars, UK law: Protecting Burglars from Householders.

Disabled Florida Man Fends Off 2 Home Invaders

As reported (1), a wheelchair-bound man from Silver Springs Shores, FL used his handgun to defend himself against a pair of home invading robbers.

Police say that the 62 year old disabled man was at home around 11PM when he heard a knock on the door. Not expecting a visitor and having a bad feeling, the man reportedly grabbed his handgun then answered the door. At the door was one robber, who posed as a motorist needing assistance, while his mask-wearing accomplice hid in the bushes, according to police. The masked robber is said to have rushed the homeowner, at which point the homeowner fired in self defense. The masked intruder, 24 year old Jeff Kenney, was fatally wounded and the other robber is said to have fled, according to police. Police also say that Kenney had a history of arrests for violent offenses.

Criminals often see the disabled as easy targets (2), and use their physical strength to overpower these more vulnerable members of society. Without a gun, few disabled individuals are able to defend themselves against a single younger and stronger attacker. The situation is even more bleak when such a victim faces multiple attackers (3).

However it is an entirely different story when disabled crime victims are armed for self defense. Here, this armed disabled man was able to defend himself against two younger attackers. Similarly, this disabled veteran (4) was able to fend off a drug addict and an accomplice who were burglarizing his home. As another example, this disabled man (5) used a handgun to save himself from a violent robber who was preparing to beat him with a metal pipe. Armed self defense works (6), and enables handicapped would-be victims of violence to save themselves.

(1) http://www.news4jax.com/news/21978535/detail.html

(2) http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2009/01/10/british-youth-gang-stabs-small-dog-to-death-then-slashes-dogs-disabled-owner-with-a-knife/

(3) http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2009/12/28/2009/06/08/another-elderly-british-citizen-left-defenseless-tortured-to-death-in-his-own-home/

(4) http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2009/12/28/2009/02/22/disabled-veteran-defends-himself-against-two-armed-home-invaders/

(5) http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2009/12/28/2009/05/17/robber-shot-in-foot-by-armed-citizen/

(6) http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2009/12/28/2008/08/01/every-13-seconds-an-american-uses-a-gun-in-self-defense/

The illusion that this and previous British governments have 'protected' us by disarming them only seemed credible because most Britions are ignorant that the country had an astonishingly low level of armed crime even before guns were restricted.

For instance in 1870 a licence was introduced for anyone who wanted to carry a gun outside their home. But there were no restrictions on keeping a firearm indoors.

Did this lead to Indiscriminate shootings? No.

A government study for the years 1890-92, for example, found only three handgun homicides, an average of one a year, in a population of 30 million!!!

Mild restrictions came into force with the 1903 Pistols Act which denied ownership to anyone who was "drunken or insane". It also required a licence for firearms with a barrel shorter than nine inches - what we nowadays refer to as handguns.

In 1904 there were only four armed robberies in London, then the largest city in the world. As we all know over a 100 years and many gun laws later, British firearms restrictions have had little impact in the criminal underworld. Guns are virtually outlawed, and, as the old slogan predicted, only outlaws have guns. Worse, they are increasingly ready to use them.

Side Note:

Currently there is a petition to allow law-abiding people to arm themselves for personal protection - It proposes;

"All adult permanent residents of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland shall be entitled to an Firearms

Permit for life providing that they -

"1. DO NOT have a conviction for a serious violent or sexual crime, a conviction for alcohol related violence or a history of recidivism (repeat offending).

"2. DO NOT have a history of mental instability or serious mental illness..."

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/relaxgunlaws/