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Most stringent gun control laws in the West=89% rise in gun violence over a decade

If we are going to have this discussion, we need to consider this:

The latest Government figures show that the total number of firearm offences in England and Wales has increased from 5,209 in 1998/99 to 9,865 last year  -  a rise of 89 per cent.
In some parts of the country, the number of offences has increased more than five-fold. 
 
In eighteen police areas, gun crime at least doubled.  
The statistic will fuel fears that the police are struggling to contain gang-related violence, in which the carrying of a firearm has become increasingly common place. 
One wonders where all these firearms come from in a country that had large-scale gun confiscation as a government policy.

Oh, yes, I forgot:  the government can only confiscate legal guns, because it generally cannot find the illegal ones.

Comments

Anonymous said…
The sad situation is Conn. could have changed if the shooter's mother has better common sense. Just say if the son was prohibited from possessing guns would that restrict all persons in the household? But to your point, guns are available on the streets and criminal who disregard the laws will obtain them. I do have reservations about assault type weapons and perhaps semi-automatics. Sure they come in handy if under attack but don't see them being used as hunting weapons and at that legally they can't be.
Anonymous said…
I truely believe that if the Govt. ever decided that they were going to overide the SCOTUS and just start confiscating firearms, there would be a civil war in this country. Of course, it wouldnt last long. The Federal Goverments weapons are far superior to anything civilians can buy on the street. The only way a civilian force could hang in against a govt. bent on crushing a rebellion would be to employee tactics like were used against US Troops in Iraq. Pure gurilla warfare.

That being said, the shooting still would still start and I would support the resistance movement. Our right to bear arms is the last check we have to fend off an ever-growing Federal expansion of control. If our liberal friends wish to see gun violence go down, the last thing they would want to happen is see the Feds try to take them away from law-abiding citizens.
NCSDad said…
Its funny that folks want to ban guns despite the constitution and the fact it won't work. The more bureaucracy and laws they pass beyond a certain point, the more folks who can't handle complexity will turn to violence.
This is a dynamic largely unrecognized.
pandora said…
The more bureaucracy and laws they pass beyond a certain point, the more folks who can't handle complexity will turn to violence.

Can you prove that statement?
Hube said…
Anon: You're overlooking the fact that the gov., despite the fact it has overwhelming firepower, would only be successful if the people that make up its forces support it. And if the gov. attempted to confiscate people's guns, I don't think that would happen.
Hube said…
Can you prove that statement?

I second that. Please elaborate. I find the tax code ridiculously complex but I've never turned to violence. Yet. ;-)
Anonymous said…
"despite the fact it has overwhelming firepower, would only be successful if the people that make up its forces support it"

I agree!
NCSDad said…
I'm shocked you would not see this as self-evident. Start here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=anger-management-self-control
Maybe you need to hang out with more '"powerless people"?
NCSDad said…
Link problem?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=anger-management-self-control
delacrat said…



The number of homicides in the UK has actually dropped from 750 in 1998/99 to 550 in 2011/12.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9411649/Graphic-how-the-murder-rate-has-fallen.html
pandora said…
NCSDad claimed that:

"The more bureaucracy and laws they pass beyond a certain point, the more folks who can't handle complexity will turn to violence."

I read the article you linked to and I don't see where it backs up your claim.
NCSDad said…
P:
I have not had a chance to do more than a quick Google search and I am dismayed to find so little. Maybe I'm wrong. I'll look more later.
I draw on personal experience specifically with alcoholics. They frequently take the frustration of dealing with bureaucracy personally. I have known many "thug" types that do the same. I think what I am describing is along the lines of Robin Good and vigilante justice.
delacrat said…
Despite the "89% rise in gun violence over a decade", allegedly because of the "Most stringent gun control laws in the West",

The firearm homicide rate in the UK is only 1/30th of the US.

An even more interesting comparison are the non-firearm homicide rates.

Back of the envelope math from the link below, gives:

Non-firearm homicides in US = 4,221

Non-firearm homicides in UK = 580 (equivalent to 2,900 US)


The non-firearm homicide rate in the US is 45% higher in the US vs. the UK.

So what's wrong with Amerika, ain't just guns.

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/335-156/12554-58-murders-a-year-by-firearms-in-britain-8775-in-us
NCSDad said…
From Reason:
New York Daily News reporter Douglas Feiden suggests one option for the new legislation that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has promised: Feiden defines "assault weapons" as "flesh-piercing, fast-firing, killing machines." There is another term for that kind of weapon: a gun.
Jeez, could we have an intelligent conversation?

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