Chalk up another "victory" for gun control...

[Bailey Guns]

This time in the UK.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06...thern-england/

At Least 5 People Dead in U.K. Shooting Spree, Prime Minister Says

5 killed, 25 wounded in a country with some of the strictest gun control laws in the world. How can that possibly happen?[/sarcasm]

[BigBear]

Easy, only the good guys actually follow the laws.... oh wait, I can't say that can I?

One of my favorites: "Guns kill people like spoons made Rosie O'Donnel fat."

[iamhunter]

gun control ineffective? say it isn't so!

[jake]

5 killed, 25 wounded in a country with some of the strictest gun control laws in the world. How can that possibly happen?[/sarcasm]

Well, if I may play devil's advocate, this is probably the first mass shooting (12 reported dead now) since the stricter gun control laws were enacted after Dunblane in 1996. In that same time period, how many mass shootings have there been in this country?

Personally, I don't think the news today would have been any different whether the gun laws were as strict as they are in 2010 or were in 1995. Hardly anyone owned guns in the UK then, hardly anyone owns guns in the UK now, so it's not as if some armed citizen would have put a stop to this rampage.

And I'm going to guess (although I could be wrong) that this guy used a legally held firearm. Most illegal firearms in the UK are used in inner-city gang-on-gang violence, not some murder-suicide out in the sticks.

[theGinsue]

Gun Control did exactly what it was intended to do...it controlled the innocents and ensured that they did not have the means of protecting themselves.

[BigBear]

Well, if I may play devil's advocate, this is probably the first mass shooting (12 reported dead now) since the stricter gun control laws were enacted after Dunblane in 1996. In that same time period, how many mass shootings have there been in this country?

Personally, I don't think the news today would have been any different whether the gun laws were as strict as they are in 2010 or were in 1995. Hardly anyone owned guns in the UK then, hardly anyone owns guns in the UK now, so it's not as if some armed citizen would have put a stop to this rampage.

And I'm going to guess (although I could be wrong) that this guy used a legally held firearm. Most illegal firearms in the UK are used in inner-city gang-on-gang violence, not some murder-suicide out in the sticks.

Good and valid points, however - below is the bottom line:

Gun Control did exactly what it was intended to do...it controlled the innocents and ensured that they did not have the means of protecting themselves.

[Bailey Guns]

^That.

Sure...less gun control may not have prevented the crime. It did, however, insure the law-abiding could not adequately defend themselves or their loved ones.

Gun control only makes criminals safer. That's the bottom line.

[Hoosier]

We're also talking about the country the restricts the sale of silverware to under 18's. "Chav's" with knives and chains is the new huge deal. People don't seem to grasp that weapons don't cause crimes, criminals do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav

H.

[jake]

^That.

Sure...less gun control may not have prevented the crime. It did, however, insure the law-abiding could not adequately defend themselves or their loved ones.

I think the fact that shooting sports are (and have been for many many years, certainly before either Hungerford or Dunblane) a minority interest in the UK had more to do with that to be honest. I imagine more people play cricket in the US every weekend than go shooting in the UK every weekend.

Different country, different culture, different history, different problems. Using something that happened there as evidence to support or oppose something here doesn't work.

[theGinsue]

We're also talking about the country the restricts the sale of silverware to under 18's. "Chav's" with knives and chains is the new huge deal. People don't seem to grasp that weapons don't cause crimes, criminals do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav

H.

I heard about that as it was progressing but was unaware of how far the legislation had made it.

Once guns and knives, and chains, bows and arrows, and... and... are outlawed, it'll eventually be sticks. You'll need a special permit to get lumber to build a structure - since said lumber can be used to create spears and other illegal weapons.

Until we can fully remove the evil and violence from the hearts of mankind, we will always have some degree of crimes of violence. If need be, man would find a way to use a blade of grass as a weapon.

Instead of going after the tools, society needs to re-engage and go after the CRIMINALS!