Virginia Tech And Lessons From Dunblane
Virgina Tech and lessons from Dunblane – from the Anorak Forums:
Michael North, whose daughter Sophie was killed at the mass shooting in the Primary School at Dunblane, Scotland, wrote the following comments in the Sunday Times [13th October, 1996] , writes AGW.
“It is time to turn the tide against gun culture. Hand-guns were designed for one purpose only -to kill. They weren’t banned after Hungerford (a previous UK mass shooting) because of the pressure of the gun lobby. Public safety was sacrificed to preserve a privilege for a minority who have had a disproportionate influence on our law-makers. Campaigning for a total ban on hand-guns will ensure that this country becomes a safer place.”
The campaign was successful and a shocked UK Government rushed through a total ban on hand-guns licensed for use by the general public. Restrictions were also introduced relating to possession and storage of rifles and shotguns which are still widely used in rural areas for pest control.
There are few reported incidents of these licensed rifles, or shotguns, being used in either personal violence or general crime cases.
Stolen guns and illegally held firearms are said to be freely available to criminals and youth gangs. Incidents of gang-related gun crime are soaring and the incidents of gun crime in the UK have more than doubled since 1997 (when the current Government came to power).
The harsh truth is we in the UK have a legally gunless society. No law-abiding citizen processes a hand-gun. Penalties for illegal possession are harsh but still people die.
The ban is in force but the tide of gun culture is still rising.
Michael North was correct; the only purpose for a hand-gun is to kill. Regretably he has been proved correct again and again in the UK in the eleven years since.
Do not be too quick to condemn the gun-owning culture of the USA; despite our very strong efforts to counter the problem here in the UK, the same risks exist.
Many of these gang-owned guns and the associated ammunition are believed to be held by gang members who still attend British schools.
Posted: 19th, April 2007 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
