To think that no one in this country needs a firearm in their house

[MumNWLondon]

Title says it all really.

Killer in Cumbria had a gun licence.... why does anyone in this country need a licence to have a gun in their house?

AIBU to think that no one should have such a licence?

Ewe, actually I disagree with you. it is incredibly hard to do as much damage as Bird did, without using a firearm.

I'm with Magdelena, be there's more shooting by people with illegal firearms.

Scarily easy to get a gun licence in Cumbria, it's probably easier to get hold of a firearm here legal or otherwise than in London.

Having said that gun crime etc is far lower than the national average (virtually unheard of tbh )the whole of Cumbria has something like 3 murders a year.

Which is why all this has come as a shock

We used to feel so safe, idealistic I know..... just so tragic

He could have started a fire, used a knife, ran people over, created an explosive device... Don't you remember that sicko who stabbed loads of children in a nursery a couple of years ago? Not here but can't remember where.

If someones knee jerk reaction to whatever it is that triggered this is to kill lots of people and then kill themselves they will find a way to achieve that goal.

People could argue that if everyone carried a gun then crime rate would be lower, in the US for example whilst gun crime is much higher than it is here we have higher rates of violent crime - our criminals just don't use guns.

I personally believe that the gun laws we have right now are adequate, I'm just playing devils advocate here.

That city people argument is just tosh. We are as rural as they come (AND live on a farm) and I can't see any good reason for non-farmers/pest control/game shooters to own guns at all

I suppose the question to ask is why people should have guns in their houses. The reasons against are obvious - it reasons for are more problematic,

I had this issue with a friend living in Florida. She posted on her blog about getting firearms for her house (in which lived four sons aged 8-12 who had been brought up using toy weapons and also real weapons as toys from an early age) even though she lived in Palm Beach in an area where there was practically no risk.

The U.S readers were all "yeeee haaaaa wooooo-hooooo!" about the legal rifles and pistols which were being bought and wondering why she had left it so long with four fecking children in the house and fantastic security anyway!

I found it a bit sickening to be honest.

I know a number of people who have guns in their houses so that they can practice dry firing for their particular sport
lots of gun clubs and ranges don't have armouries and therefore they need to store their rifles in their houses to enable them to practice

it is a nonsense to try to regulate against every eventuality however extremely unlikely and rare
simply because you don't understand or nejoy something is not reason enough to ban or legislate against it

It was a terrible terrible incident, but not a reason to change gun law in a kneejerk reaction. The current law in the UK is already quite strict and restricting it further will restrict those that have legitimate reasons to use a gun. People that go off the rails will find an alternative or an illegal weapon.

Well said Ronaldinhio

And your name says it all.

I have a tennis racket in the shed.

Be warned!

Why qwould anyone want to keep a gun in theri house?

I couldn't hope to get away with those items though rubyruby. We're not a sporting sort of family.

And we'd fall apart under questioning regarding cricket. Didn't go to that sort of school

DH did used to like a game of snooker though...

have been thinking about this and agree with op too - no need at all

Ban cars
Far too many people die because some idiot decides rules apply differently to them and get behind a wheel drunk or drive too fast.

But cars actually serve a useful function in society, so we accept the risk. Guns don't.

FIL has a gun in his house and I don't see the need for it at all. It is locked away but I don't feel comfortable with the idea of it being there. I think they should be kept at a gun club, and not allowed out the premises

The problem with keeping all guns in gun clubs is that, all the local ne'er do wells will know they are there - hey presto instant access to masses of weapons.

What about all the policemen and soldiers that have access to weapons? It is quite feasible that a soldier coming back from Afghanistan could have a mental breakdown and cause havoc - I speak as a Forces wife, not someone who is anti military.

Personally I think we should legislate the sale of ammunition. Guns are useless without the ammunition.