Since the 1960’s, Britain has had some of the strictest gun laws in the world, which goes so far that only 10% of the country’s police force is armed. Citizens need to obtain special permits from the police must be obtained in order for one to own a firearm and “[…] a number of criteria must be met, including that the applicant has a good reason to possess the requested weapon.”
Self-defense is not considered a good reason to own a firearm and according to the government’s Police National Legal Database, a citizen could be arrested for purchasing anything not approved as a self-defense product.
In a 2013 poll by British newspaper, The Telegraph, 85% of responders want the ban on handguns fully repealed and with the recent attacks in Manchester and London, British citizens are wanting the ability to purchase firearms again.
Gun Advocacy groups have also started taking to social media to protest the country’s current laws. Dave Ewing of Firearms-UK stated “These tragedies may have been the eye opener to just how ineffective our laws are.”
Carry Now, another Gun Ownership group, stated in response to the attacks “allow law-abiding, reliable and trained citizens to carry CCW for self-defence in Europe.” The group released a video titled Because We Can’t Disarm Them With Kindness… to demonstrate the need for British citizens to be able to purchase firearms and other products to defend themselves.
Unfortunately, Britain has no constitutional Right to Bear Arms like the Unites States, so their government can regulate as they please. If the government truly wants their citizens to be safe, they must allow them to be able to defends themselves when the next terrorist attacks occurs or allow their police to be armed (or both just for good measure).
Libertarians can support British citizens in their right to defend themselves by liking Firearms-UK on Facebook to show your support.
The quoted poll is totally discredited nonsense. It was open to anybody anywhere in the world. It was totally ignored by the vast majority of the UK and partly because all the choices were nonsense. However, it was distributed widely among US pro gun groups. Evidence of this can be easily found. There is no serious call for arming the public in the UK and articles like this tell me what I have known for a long time about the gun fans. Let’s put it this way, the truth does not keep you happy.
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