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?

There are very viable reasons for having guns UK has the most strictest gun laws in the whole of Europe and America for that fact so much so that the UK Olympic rifle team can't even train in this country.

What happened was sad but it has nothing to do with guns there are people who go crazy every now and again and no law will prevent people from going on random sprees like this.

Most gun crime in this country involves illegal weaponry they are already banned so a new law would do nothing about these issues any way.

I just think that those with a license to carry firearms should reviewed every couple of years thats all.

A loaded gun has just been found near a kids playground in the city where I live ..scary stuff

So, list all thses legitimate reasons for having a gun in your house, then.

I think what people sadly forget is guns don't kill people; people kill people.

I needed a licence for my gun but not for my sword. How does that make sense?

Still waiting for a list of all the llegitimate reasons to have a gun at home.

There is a bit of a difference betweenn something that can kill at a distance of 2 miles and something that can only kill at a range of a metre!

I am one of the few private individuals in the UK with a firearms certificate enabling me to own, carry in my car and use a handgun. My legitimate reason humane destruction of animals I shoot injured cows, pigs, sheep, horses and deer.
Most of farm animal clients keep a shotgun or rifle not really for vermin control, but to shoot in an emergency that severely injured large animal. Anyone who has seen a 1.5 tonne bull flail around with a broken leg knows why some of us still need guns.
I do not enjoy shooting anything it is a necessary part of what I do. I have to reapply for my licence every 5 years, release all my medical records every 5 years (even the unrelated stuff - yes the police officer has seen all the intimate records of my daughter's rather traumatic birth) and I can be spot checked for storage at any time.

Seeker the man lived in a rural area where guns are used mainly for animals as the person above has given an example of also people may apply for hunting licences.

Lizcat - OK - and presumably there are a handful of people like you in each county. That's a legitimate reason for - say 500 people to have a firearm at home.

And the rest?

Gun restriction/licensing is no joke

To obtain a firearm certificate, the police must be convinced that a person has "good reason" to own each gun, and that they can be trusted with it "without danger to the public safety or to the peace". Under Home Office guidelines, gun licences are only issued if a person has legitimate sporting or work-related reasons for owning a gun. Since 1946, self-defence has not been considered a valid reason to own a gun. The current licensing procedure involves: positive verification of identity, two referees of verifiable good character who have known the applicant for at least two years (and who may themselves be interviewed and/or investigated as part of the certification), approval of the application by the applicant's own family doctor, an inspection of the premises and cabinet where guns will be kept and a face-to-face interview by a Firearms Enquiry Officer (FEO) also known as a Firearms Liaison Officer (FLO). A thorough background check of the applicant is then made by Special Branch on behalf of the firearms licensing department. Only when all these stages have been satisfactorily completed will a licence be issued.

Any person who has spent more than three years in prison is automatically banned for life from obtaining a gun licence. Similarly, persons applying for licences with recent, serious mental health issues will also be refused a certificate.
Any person holding a gun licence must comply with strict conditions regarding such things as safe storage. These storage arrangements are checked by the police before a licence is first granted, and on every renewal of the licence. A local police force may impose additional conditions on ownership, over and above those set out by law. Failure to comply with any of these conditions can mean forfeiture of the gun licence and surrender of any firearms to the police.

Like always though there will be people who snap you cannot legislate for this it's impossible

I know a lot of people have said it - but people have guns in rural areas to shoot animals. Not only rabbits, & rats, but also injured stock. Like Lizcat says - I wouldn't want to wait for the vet to come 15 miles if I had a seriously injured animal in a lot of pain. Guns do serve a useful purpose. Seeker, if you think there are only 500 farmers in the UK, I wonder where you get your food from?

And to re-iterate - people killed in car accidents in 2002 (latest figs I can find) - 3431 - killed or seriously injured - 39407. The figure for those killed includes over 100 child pedestrians and cyclists.

So why are we not legislating to reduce speeds in urban areas, tighten driving licenses, restrict car ownership to those who can prove a genuine need for a car . . .

Should say that I don't have a gun (and couldn't hit an elephant at 10 paces) but I have had cause to call on neighbours with guns plenty of times in my life.

There are loads of farmers. My 500 was my uninformed estimate of the number of people like lizcat who are liscensed to keep a hand gun in their car.

Farmers need to have a shotgun.

So that's two categories of people who need to keep guns in their houses.

Any more?

I agree with everything seeker says.
Bird wasn't a member of a gun club was he?
Why does a taxi driver need a gun? If a gun club doesn't have an armoury to store guns isn't it possible for this to be a requirement of a gun club so people don't have to have the guns in their homes?

I don't have an issue with guns for sport, pest control or for farmers but no one else really needs a firearms licence do they?

Seeker there is also a hunting license which is particularly for rifles.

I don't know about whether he was a member of a gun club etc but then all the details won't be known we can only speculate.

You also have specific police officers who have been trained in use of weaponry for those special occasions where it is necessary for the police to be armed.

Good question Seeker.

My husband enjoys shooting so has lots of guns. He also appreciates the craftmanship, dismantles and cleans them regularly. He shoots deer in the highlands and rabbits in the garden. I have been known to shoot rabbits in the garden using an air gun as I don't have a gun licence - they aren't killed outright. Men enjoy shooting animals (I lived in the US for a while and can vouch for the excitement it induces in them), so I can't see this sport, which requires use of a gun, being banned. Maybe its some caveman instinctive thing.

I appreciate your point but in Britain we seem to bring in too many laws, eg dangerous dogs act, which fail to solve the issue.

OK.

Farmers, people who are specially trained to kill injured animals and special police officers.

Personally I don't think enjoying stalking and killing animals is a legitimate reason - we have banned bear baiting, badger baiting and hare coursing - why not go a bit further and get rid of any killing for sport? That'll get rid of a lot of guns.

So you live in the countryside and spend your time killling and maiming small furry animals...whose affect on the planet is negligible compared to the damge done by people.

I didn't like guns when I lived in the country and I don't like them when living in a town...and I don't like indiscriminate shooting of small furry animals who may or may not "threaten" a six foot bloke in a land rover.

More stereotypes anyone?

I doubt that would happen seeker hunting is a recreational activity done pretty much everywhere in the world it's one of those things humans like to do. And quite frankly knowledge of hunting would be a useful skill to have.

You personally may not like it but laws can't be made due to peoples personal views many things have to be taken into account.

The UK has one of the worlds lowest intentional gun associated deaths and people with legal gun ownership is very low in comparison with the population. We don't need additional gun laws as this was one of those freak accidents you cannot as i have said legislate for that people go crazy there have been people who have gone on killing sprees with a knife killing multiple people and wounding many more these things happen and doing a reactional law introduction would be folly especially since all the facts of this case have yet to be determined and laws should only be made once given time to go over them.

"And quite frankly knowledge of hunting would be a useful skill to have."

Why?