Gun control

[Pixxie7]

Following the awful killing last night I am struggling to find why apart from a very few professions anyone in this country needs a gun license.

Most gun dramas are completely unrelated to gun licenses unfortunately.

Sorry but you are wrong. My whole family have shit safely for generations. Rabbits and pigeons are major pests,as are squirrels,rats and deer. So we need guns to.humanly control them. We tried miximorthodox on rabbits. It's evil and cruel. But we need to preserve food crops

Userg1234@ as I said certain professions I am only guessing are your family farmers? That I can understand.

My dad has had a shotgun licence his whole life. He now owns guns inherited from my grandfather and late uncle as well as his own. Why shouldn't he be able to do so? He uses them for leisure. You do know there is a huge industry based on safe and responsible shotgun ownership?

The fact that there are roughly 600,000 people in the UK with a firearm and/or shotgun license yet shootings are very rare shows you that we already have fairly robust gun control although I do think there are lessons to be learned from this tragedy around when license should be revoked/not granted in the first place

For comparison, 4% of UK murders involve guns (the majority illegally owned) whereas in America this figure is a whopping 73%.

Shootings are very rare.

Rare isn’t good enough. There shouldn’t be any shootings even one is far too many. It’s very clear this man had mental issues. Why on earth was he given a bloody gun licence.

Nobody should be shooting another living creature for pleasure. Environmental control, fine, preserving crops, fine. But i cannot abide anyone who does this for "sport" even under the guise of control.

People should not have guns other than farmers and other necessary peeps that im too tired to think of.

How many people are killed or injured in shooting accidents, using guns that don't need to be used?

LEMtheoriginal@ my thoughts exactly. Although I can understand collectors to a certain extent but think they should disarmed [ if that’s the right word).

@LEMtheoriginal

Nobody should be shooting another living creature for pleasure. Environmental control, fine, preserving crops, fine. But i cannot abide anyone who does this for "sport" even under the guise of control.

People should not have guns other than farmers and other necessary peeps that im too tired to think of.

How many people are killed or injured in shooting accidents, using guns that don't need to be used?

This! Tighter controls are needed.

My husband and daughter do it as a hobby and for sport.

We do have strict gun laws, but the implementation of them seems to vary from force to force.

This guy was given his licence and gun back after he attended anger management classes.

The fact he had such 'public' mental health issues, should have prevented that from happening.

Perhaps a fitness to have a licence should be reviewed every year.

A police force doctor has an appointment with the licence holder to see if there are any issues.

Failure to attend would mean confiscation.

I understand why farmers want shotguns but why do individuals need their own firearm? If people enjoy shooting (at targets) as a sport, couldn't the guns just be owned and stored by gun clubs?

Just to note, firearms certificates are different to shotgun certificates, a firearm is a gun that fires bullets, firearms can only be held by specific professionals, a shotgun shoots shot, multiple lead pellets from a cartridge, a shotgun certificate can be issued to anyone who wants to take up shooting as a sport, however they do need to be check by police and other authorities and a visit to your house to show you can store them correctly, we have the tightest gun laws in the world, violence with guns is rare in the uk, were-as knives can be purchased from Literally any corner store, and can be carried by anyone and do the same damage you’d be better off focussing on everyday knife crime than worrying about once in a decade gun incidents

Knee-jerk reactions make bad law.

Because of sport, my father and I used to belong to a club and shoot paper targets (if you are interested look up 25 yard 3 position target rifle shooting) it's not a high octane sports, it's about core strength and meditation to lower your heart rate.

We already have gun control, for most rifles and some shotguns you need a licence from the police and it's a complicated and lengthy process to get it, however I can guarantee that because of this incident his GP (who filled a declaration to allow his to have it) and the local authorities who did not act on his mother's concerns will be investigated.

@cariadlet

I understand why farmers want shotguns but why do individuals need their own firearm? If people enjoy shooting (at targets) as a sport, couldn't the guns just be owned and stored by gun clubs?

Firearms are pieces of precision engineering, anyone other than beginners do not share equipment because it can effect their accuracy. Also when you start competing you need to travel to different locations with your equipment.

@1dandelion1 That makes sense. If you apply for a firearms licence for sport, do you have to register with a club and if you do, does anyone check whether you are an active member of a club or whether you actually take part in competitions? Otherwise, surely anyone could just say that they want one for sport.

[quote cariadlet]@1dandelion1 That makes sense. If you apply for a firearms licence for sport, do you have to register with a club and if you do, does anyone check whether you are an active member of a club or whether you actually take part in competitions? Otherwise, surely anyone could just say that they want one for sport. [/quote]
You 'need to have good reason' to own a licensed firearm or shotgun, a club is a 'good reason'.

If you stop visiting/using club or cease being a member the club will inform the police force that issued the licence.

Interesting answers it reminds me of when hunting was being debated.
So can the guns used for sport be converted to just fire dummies?Excuse my ignorance but know nothing about guns.

@Userg1234 I’m sorry, I’m going to be the juvenile one, but “my family have shit safely for generations” has just tickled me

cariadlet To shoot accurately, a gun needs to fit, which means it needs to be tailored and weighted. Most females have longer necks than men so the stocks need to be adjusted (most guns are designed with the male physique in mind). Using standard club guns wouldn't work.

The vast majority of UK murders by shooting (30 in 2019/20) were with illegally held firearms. I can only think of 6 incidents in the last 30 years in the UK where murder was committed with a licensed weapon.

In contrast, there were 285 known murders by stabbing in 12 months to March 2020. Do you also propose to ban the family vegetable knife? Of course not.

The events in Plymouth are horrifying but any reaction must be proportionate. Why this boy's weapon was returned to him when he was already displaying severe anger and hatred is beyond me.
As a member of a gun club for 20 years, I see the benefits of shooting every day so I hope the authorities get this right.

Why this boy's weapon was returned to him when he was already displaying severe anger and hatred is beyond me

This. I don't know how it would be done but someone with his internet history should have their licence revoked, or not be able to get one in the first place.

Game shooting makes a lot of money for landowners with country estates. There are at least 3 big shoots within a few miles of where I live, and when they let the birds out for the start of the season it's roadkill city.

I find the concept of raising birds just to shoot them quite revolting, frankly (there's no market for pheasant and the dead birds end up buried in a pit), and the people who pay a couple of hundred quid to blast them out of the sky for a day are just weird. But it's a big part of rural life and there would undoubtedly be economic consequences if it were to stop.

Not to mention lots of bored gundogs.

Whoever decided that this guy should have his licence back after doing anger management clearly doesn't have good enough judgment to do their job, and I don't think that would happen here. I know someone who had their gun licence revoked after being done for drinking and driving. They appealed to the magistrates court, but the beak decided that being reckless enough to get behind the wheel pissed was an indicator that they were too reckless to be allowed to own a gun.

And I also think that if someone is going to run amok and harm people, they can do it with a knife or a home made bomb almost as easily as with a gun.

Anti guns- except for police, army etc-
No individual needs a gun, don’t care if it’s deemed a hobby or traditional, neither makes it’s a necessity or right!