Should America Have More Gun Control? Ask Great Britain

If America goes the way of Great Britain for tougher gun control laws, what will it accomplish?

The following post contains excerpts and statistics from the article, “The UK Gun Ban” published July 16, 2009 at Associated Content by writer Tony Vega, and used with his permission. Original sources are given at that site.

Not to insult the UK and its lawmakers’ decisions, these statistics should instead encourage Americans to assess by fact and not by fad. The trail blazing UK’s 1997 handgun ban became the "gold standard" of gun control - the toughest firearm restrictions of any democracy.

Since 1997, how has that UK gun ban been working?
-From 1997 to 2001, the rate of violent crime more than doubled.
-The chances of being mugged in London are now six times greater than in New York.
-England's rates of assault, robbery, and burglary are higher than America's.
-53 percent of English home burglaries occur while the residents are at home, compared with the United States’ 13 percent.
-In a United Nations [2002] study of crime, England and Wales led the Western world's crime among 18 developed nations; nearly 55 crimes per 100 people. [1]
-In a 2001 BBC report, officers stated there had been a 100% increase in firearms-related crime in the capitol. [2]
-2008 UK statistics show a significant rise in gun crimes, the biggest since 2004. [6]

By adopting a radical gun ban, the UK abandoned the principles of their own 1689 Bill of Rights calling for the citizenry to "have arms for their defence."

The Second Amendment in the United States’ Bill of Rights states: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Thomas Jefferson said: "No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

Criminals will never comply with gun laws. Criminals will remain armed and the gun black market will only flourish. Innocent people will be stripped of their right to self-defense. Recalling prohibition (the American alcohol ban of the 1920’s), a new league of criminals and mobsters was created who got rich off of bootlegging liquor. Organized crime rose considerably.

Facebook recently did a gun control poll of more than 215,000 Americans to see if they want increased gun control. The vote was a resounding 92% against more gun control.

To see more of Mr. Vega’s political insight and other writing, go here.