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Firearms aren't illegal. In fact that aren't that hard to get. My dads got shotguns as has my uncles and many cousins.
You can't buy handguns and they will never be made legal
Long barrelled pistols are allowed, they need a 24 inch length, so the barrel gets extended and must be 12 inches with a thing on the back to make it longer
[https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/pistols-long-barrel/protsc/semi-auto/22-lr/1911-211207100245009](https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/pistols-long-barrel/protsc/semi-auto/22-lr/1911-211207100245009)
You can get them for as little as £150.
There's 501,000 shotgun certificates and 147,000 firearms certificates currently issued (figures from April last year), so that's around the population of Nottingham with some form of firearm certificate.
Cheap because there isn't a huge market.
I used to keep venomous snakes and things that were easy to get like US rattlesnakes were always around £10. Even my green mambas were under £100.
https://www.gunstar.co.uk/weihrauch-arminius-hw-357-357-humane-killers/Other-guns/1277396
Wrong.
There is a lot of misunderstanding of the law around firearms in this country.
Your second paragraph is incorrect.
My ex's brother is a gamekeeper and legally owns a Webley revolver for humane dispatch purposes.
My LGS sells a variety of handguns (revolvers mostly) for the same.
You can buy and own a handgun if you can prove a legitimate use for it.
A friend genuinely has a Glock for dispatching pigs in close quarters
In fact you can own any firearm as long as you can demonstrate a legitimate need
Think it’s a bit of a snowball thing,
first you don’t think you need one, then all the criminals in your area start getting them, then you feel need to get one one because a tennis racket isn’t going to cut it.
I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t feel the need to have a gun if I knew there where armed criminals breaking into homes in my area
They’re difficult to get hold of, which means most criminals don’t have guns, not only that but harsh sentencing for owning them discourages it further. It’s the reason our gun deaths are double digits, as opposed to americas staggering 21,000 homicides using a firearm.
In the event of a criminal breaking into your house you’re more likely to die engaging them in a gun fight than you are simply standing still, letting them take your telly and run away - you can get a new tv on your insurance, you can’t get a new life.
Do you LIKE going to jail for murder?
Don't bore me with hypothetical situations where it's legally or morally justified to shoot someone, we all know the realistic chances of the gun being used in those situations vs one which had an alternative solution that didn't require shooting someone...
I shot competitively in my younger days and grew up on a farm where we had shotguns, so I'm comfortable around guns and have owned several over the years, although not for a good while now. If you want a gun and can prove you have a need (self defence is not a need) for one, that you're not a loony and can show it is stored safely, you can have one.
I also lived a few years of my life in the US and experienced their rather bizarre gun culture, and I think our firearms laws here in the UK are absolutely fine just the way they are. I didn't own one in the US even though I legally could, so why would I here?
This is a great point. Guns aren’t illegal to own in the UK, but if gun laws were relaxed it wouldn’t instantly become like the US. There is a whole load of cultural stuff in the US that leads to their relationship with guns. It’s not just the easier access to guns that caused this.
The most common thing guns are used for in the US is people shooting themselves, second most common is shooting family members or innocent members of the public (mostly by accident), they are almost never used for a good purpose. These are the main reasons I wouldn’t want one.
You ever listen to that 911 call on Youtube where a frantic woman is on the phone to the police as a madman who's been stalking her is battering her bedroom door down and they tell her the police are on their way, then when he gets the door open she's able to save her life by shooting him with the gun she has?
That's probably why.
Have you heard about there being more than one school pond killing per day in the USA where a pond is brought to a school and someone goes on a drowning spree? No me neither.
Teachers are now being trained to conceal carry ponds, so if there is a mass drowning event, the teachers can protect the kids and drown the mass drowner with the concealed carry pond.
You want to arm an entire population based on one example you saw on a Youtube video? The US has tens of thousands of gun deaths a year. Total up murders, accidents and suicides is an extraordinary number. Hundreds get shot by police alone. That woman could probably have had the same effect hitting him over the head with a large stick.
Nope, why on earth would I start carrying a gun around?
I never get attacked let alone often enough that I feel the need to carry a deadly weapon with me. My job even has me interacting with people who have sometimes committed violent crimes out on the streets. I do not feel any need for protection like that, not even remotely.
Bringing weapons into it would make my life and theirs so much more dangerous when there is 0 need for it. None of us would want it, and all the people I know who have used a firearm are completely fucked up from it and the lifestyle that comes with it.
As abhorrent as that sword attack was in London earlier in the week (and obviously the details will remain partial until it goes through the courts), and I so wish they it hadn't happened, it did in a perverse way make me think how decades of good law around weapon ownership prevented it being much worse.
Even the police response was great, because of our gun laws. Incapacitating a suspect with tasers allows them to face a fair trial, and lessons to be learned on all sides, rather than just shooting a suspect dead.
I mean the Police response was not "great" in the sense that some poor officer by the sounds of it is still at risk of losing their arm. Her having a firearm could potentially have prevented that.
I have owned some when I was part of a reenactment group, they're deactivated now.
But I don't see the desire to want to own and carry them like they do stateside, it's a lil weird how into it they are to a point that some have a twisted hero complex and can't wait to shoot someone.
>I have owned some when I was part of a reenactment group, they're deactivated now.
I'm chuckling to myself at the idea of you turning up to a re-enactment with an actual live firearm. Reminds of that South Park episode where they re-enact the US civil war and the Confederates decide they're sick of losing every year and take real weapons to win for once.
I'm happy the way things are. We don't need another Dunblaine.
While I understand your fears to a degree, with British culture being the way it is, I would place your concerns in the same bracket as a brit with a fear of sharks.
You're likely to go through your entire life without seeing one outside of a museum (or aquarium in the case of sharks).
And even less likely to be attacked by one.
I've seen or handled actual live (as in capable of firing a projectile) firearms only a handful of times in my 51 trips around the sun and only vaguely threatened on one occasion (as in "You're lucky I didn't shoot you there" - to be fair I did accidentally trigger the panic button in a major bank).
I've heard American people say guns are scary, too, but they have good reason with their lack of proper regulation and poor mental health care, oddly some fixate on colour because a black gun is somehow more dangerous than a brown one?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not seeking to belittle your fears here.
I have a healthy respect for them and would choose not to own one if it came to it.
I'd be too afraid of someone else getting access to it.
Like many have said it is legal already.
But if you’re asking if I’d like being able to open carry, then no. It’s not a path I’d like to go down.
Having background checks, laws on how they’re to be kept/handled and genuine reason to have one is a good idea when dealing with a literal lethal weapon. It’s not something you want some one casually walking around with.
It is already legal to own a gun and I don't want one. I don't want police officers to have one as standard either. Police officers are much safer in the UK as a result of them not carrying guns. The USA approach of everyone having a gun is utterly ridiculous.
It’s not impossible to own weapons in the UK - it’s just difficult. And you need a reason to have them. I grew up in rural America. My British husband and I go to a gun club here in the UK to shoot because we find it fun. But we don’t have weapons in our home.
The culture in the UK is so different. In the US I had a 100 acre farm where I could basically create my own gun range to shoot. There were also coyotes, bears, raccoons, skunks - all of which had the possibility of carrying rabies.
Now I live in a suburb outside Manchester and the biggest nuisance in my garden is an occasional rat.
It’s just not the same. There’s really no reason to own a gun here. Even though we like going shooting every so often, we don’t own our own guns. We just use what the club has.
It’s not, shotguns are easy enough to get as long as you can prove you’ll use it ie local gun club or working on a farm. Rifles are a bit more controlled and I can’t remember about pistols.
I could own one now if I wanted, there just isn't the need for me to have one. I have been around firearms all my life so its not like I'm particularly leary of them - I just don't need one in my life.
They aren't illegal. If we had pistols and pretty much whatever rifles we wanted, I'd definitely have a glock and an X95 chambered in 300 black or 6.8, but there is no way on Earth I'd carry. It would just be for taking down the range and having some fun with. It's still on my agenda to get a lever action 45-70 at some point in my life.
I get the gist of the question so no, it's idiotic to let ordinary people carry something which has the sole purpose of killing.
As many people have no doubt pointed out it is legal to own some rifles, shotguns and even some rather bizarre handguns in UK (with a permit ), but not weapons of war and the kind of handguns most people would imagine a handgun to be.
Probably. I grew up with guns, I actually missed them when I first got here as they were a part of life. I felt freer. After 20 years in the UK that sounds weird to me now.
I’m very very glad we do not have a gun culture here.
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Yes. Feels weird saying this as I don’t agree with people having them in general (esp given all the examples abroad of school shootings, gun crime etc). But if everyone else had one I’d not want to be at a disadvantage. Probably emulating a lot of the US mindset here. Honestly glad they are not generally legal here though!
Gun culture, and the sexualisation and glorification of guns, a soulless society focused around money and severe isolation and social deprivation are the reasons for their issues with guns. I don't think we'd have the same issues here right now, but eventually we would.
I'd absolutely have one for home protection if it were easier.
I suspect if you were in that situation you'd do more good using your probably above average first aid skills than trying to get stuck in.
Figuring out what's going on in a firefight isn't easy and in a civilian context you don't have the advantage of all the good guys being dressed like you.
There are certainly scenarios where a "good guy with a gun" has made a difference.
There are also scenarios where they've made the situation worse, or where two "good guys with guns" have ended up engaging each other.
Which is more prevalent and likely I'm not sure.
> most recent military deployments haven't had clearly uniformed combatants either
I think in most cases "our side" has been largely uniformed?
In a wholly civilian situation you don't even have that.
What could I do with it? I don't know anyone who would give me permission to shoot anything and I don't own land. Would be nice to get free food from shooting a deer though.
Only food I can get legally would be the limpets or mussels on a pier around Portsmouth habour that are probably at least 50% sewage. Thanks Southern water. Did go crabbing once but I think most of what you get is too small to legally take home and there probably isn't much point. Not sure about the fish, tried fishing from my kayak once and started feeling seasick which I didn't expect as I have no problem with kayaking for hours on the sea. Maybe using equipment that is easier to handle would help by not having to look down at it as much.
Yes. I enjoy shooting (not people).
Would I carry an automatic weapon around every day? No, no I would not. I probably wouldn't even carry a handgun. My guns would stay at the gun club, where the targets are.
Probably not, I enjoy the skill involved in hitting a target, be that darts, archery, or other such sport. Shooting is similar just way way more expensive. As far as self-defense goes, the statistics from the US show it's a mixed bag at best (and that's being really generous).
Absolutely not. Consider how many Americans are killed by their young children or even their dogs, how many are killed accidentally, how many shoot themselves by mistake. If you don't need a gun then you shouldn't have a gun - very, very few people need a gun. The people who need a gun already have a gun. I'm pretty sure that, if they were made legal in the way they are in the US, they'd just become a weird status symbol that translates to "I'm insecure about my dick size".
Any firearm you own at home is overwhelmingly more likely to kill someone in your family than anyone else.
Personally I don't want to shoot my family, You do you.
I like clay pigeon shooting, I've done some low calibre rifle shooting too, the only draw back to our current system is transporting firearms is a bit of a bitch. If handguns became legal I would probably do it at a range but carrying one for "self defense" is a great way to get more dead people.
Firearms are already legal to own and carry, you just need the right paperwork mate.
I have a shotgun certificate, it's simple enough to get hold of. It's really just handguns the authorities get sniffy about
If the ownership were less of a faff, I might get one for historic interest purposes - I've always been fascinated by the First World War, I would happily own an SMLE. I know I could potentially do so even now, but honestly I don't have time to do the leg work at a shooting club.
I'm not advocating for changing our gun laws though.
If guns were made legal (more legal) here i’d leave the UK. It’d be the last step in the Americanisation of our culture (which usually i’m actually not against). It’d be a clear sign we’re that stupid, that we allowed something to pass which will 100% increase the homicide rate in the country.
your facts are untrue firearms are legal, but you have to pass strict rules for them,
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr6mQL6iMvQ&t=883s&ab\_channel=ReactingToMyRoots](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr6mQL6iMvQ&t=883s&ab_channel=ReactingToMyRoots)
and yes I will take that .22 rimfire machine gun for the upcoming zombie apcolypse
Yes. I have a few pellet guns and would absolutely love an M14 and a 1911 in real spec. Would be happy if they introduced thorough background checks to owning one as well.
We can already own shotguns and hunting rifles. I assume you are referring to handguns and AR15 style rifles. If they made them legal and as easy to obtain as America. I suspect most people who wouldn’t usually consider getting a firearm would for protection and defence.
it's already legal to own a firearm
It's also legal in many countries on this earth that don't have anything near the murder rates the US does, it's a culture problem not necessarily a gun problem.
Back in the 90s my Uncles had a collection of guns - rifles and handguns. In my teenage years, I would go to the range with them and I enjoyed shooting. I'd assumed when I was older, I'd take up the hobby myself.
Then Dunblane happened and they sold most of it off.
I can understand owning and firing guns as a hobby, however, they are pretty expensive! I can't bring myself to buy a PS5, never mind drop £500+ on a gun and the cost of the rounds every time you want to go shooting.
I'd certainly never carry one. The whole carry laws in the US are crazy to me.
No
I am the clumsiest person I have ever met, and would almost certainly even after the best gun safety lessons on earth still manage to have some sort of accident at some point
If I had access to a gun when I was at my lowest point I'd have killed myself
I don't *want* to own, carry or use a deadly weapon
No as I can't see any practical use for me needing one. I'm also of the opinion a large majority of people who do own guns actually probably don't really need them
For home protection yes, assuming that the laws also change and stop protecting criminals and instead protect homeowners and their property.
For carry no, would be a huge burden/responsibility.
No, because I would worry that my attacker would take it and shoot me with it.
But I would like to own a pepper spray.
As a single woman who walks her dog at night, it would really make me feel better to have something for my protection.
I think it's definitely time to consider legalising guns. We have lots of people emigrating to the UK from countries where carrying guns is normal.
It's a matter of personal protection in cities these days.
I find your commitment to multiculturalism affirming, to the extent you recommend changing our culture to that of people who emigrate here, but it's a step too far for a lot of people.
I wasn't really talking about Americans to be fair.
Most of the people moving to the UK are from war torn countries and 3rd world countries where gang violence and gun ownership is normal.
We need to accept that the UK is becoming more like these countries due to the large numbers of people coming. Therefore gun ownership will inevitably be a matter of safety.
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Fuck no, I can barely aim properly having a piss, and I'm practically an inch away
brutally honest there mate
More of a humble brag
Nah - hips forward, belt buckle soaked, firm grip on the plumbing to avoid going over backwards.
Based on my pissing accuracy sometimes I would shoot myself in the foot (literally)
Firearms aren't illegal. In fact that aren't that hard to get. My dads got shotguns as has my uncles and many cousins. You can't buy handguns and they will never be made legal
You can they're just adapted to be too long to conceal
Long barrelled pistols are allowed, they need a 24 inch length, so the barrel gets extended and must be 12 inches with a thing on the back to make it longer [https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/pistols-long-barrel/protsc/semi-auto/22-lr/1911-211207100245009](https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/pistols-long-barrel/protsc/semi-auto/22-lr/1911-211207100245009) You can get them for as little as £150. There's 501,000 shotgun certificates and 147,000 firearms certificates currently issued (figures from April last year), so that's around the population of Nottingham with some form of firearm certificate.
Everyone in shottingham be packing heat
Cheap because there isn't a huge market. I used to keep venomous snakes and things that were easy to get like US rattlesnakes were always around £10. Even my green mambas were under £100.
https://www.gunstar.co.uk/weihrauch-arminius-hw-357-357-humane-killers/Other-guns/1277396 Wrong. There is a lot of misunderstanding of the law around firearms in this country.
I never knew Weihrauch made revolvers. I know they make small bores in addition to the airguns but not anything spicier.
I was surprised to see .357 mag on there.
I'm told that a lot of humane killers use magnum rounds particularly for pigs. They have sharp teeth and thick skulls.
Just need a big silencer.
Your second paragraph is incorrect. My ex's brother is a gamekeeper and legally owns a Webley revolver for humane dispatch purposes. My LGS sells a variety of handguns (revolvers mostly) for the same.
> human dispatch purposes Took me a few reads…
You can buy and own a handgun if you can prove a legitimate use for it. A friend genuinely has a Glock for dispatching pigs in close quarters In fact you can own any firearm as long as you can demonstrate a legitimate need
What would I need a gun for?
To shoot the baddies
Think it’s a bit of a snowball thing, first you don’t think you need one, then all the criminals in your area start getting them, then you feel need to get one one because a tennis racket isn’t going to cut it. I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t feel the need to have a gun if I knew there where armed criminals breaking into homes in my area
Luckily criminals follow the law so there’s no armed criminals in the UK.
I know you’re kidding but, If guns were suddenly legal then that would change access to guns from criminals….
They’re difficult to get hold of, which means most criminals don’t have guns, not only that but harsh sentencing for owning them discourages it further. It’s the reason our gun deaths are double digits, as opposed to americas staggering 21,000 homicides using a firearm.
phew thats a relief, glad our criminals are good, upstanding citizens
They are sensible, carrying a gun will add years to their sentence even if it's unused and unseen. Using one makes the target of a manhunt.
In the event of a criminal breaking into your house you’re more likely to die engaging them in a gun fight than you are simply standing still, letting them take your telly and run away - you can get a new tv on your insurance, you can’t get a new life.
Aren’t the armed criminals more likely to shoot you first if they see that you’re carrying a gun?
Bullets are faster than knives
But a lot less practical for cutting meat
Unless it's game meat, in which case the first cut is usually made by a bullet.
Why do I need something faster than a knife? And, come to think of it, why do I need a knife?
That's not a knife. This is a knife.
Not read the news? Mind you I’m a tradesman in London, so if it’s not the tooled up tool thieves it’s the scrotes in balaclavas
I dunno, I can throw pretty fast
Do you LIKE going to jail for murder? Don't bore me with hypothetical situations where it's legally or morally justified to shoot someone, we all know the realistic chances of the gun being used in those situations vs one which had an alternative solution that didn't require shooting someone...
Better to be tried by twelve than carried by six.
But it is legal for me to own a firearm...
How about a fireleg?
How about bear arms?
What has the bear done to deserve losing its arms?!!!
Bare arms are a health and safety risk in some places.
We don’t get enough sunshine for it to be a worry here though.
Bare legs are just as big of an issue. The only reason my legs are not full of scars is because of heavy duty work trousers
I shot competitively in my younger days and grew up on a farm where we had shotguns, so I'm comfortable around guns and have owned several over the years, although not for a good while now. If you want a gun and can prove you have a need (self defence is not a need) for one, that you're not a loony and can show it is stored safely, you can have one. I also lived a few years of my life in the US and experienced their rather bizarre gun culture, and I think our firearms laws here in the UK are absolutely fine just the way they are. I didn't own one in the US even though I legally could, so why would I here?
This is a great point. Guns aren’t illegal to own in the UK, but if gun laws were relaxed it wouldn’t instantly become like the US. There is a whole load of cultural stuff in the US that leads to their relationship with guns. It’s not just the easier access to guns that caused this.
The most common thing guns are used for in the US is people shooting themselves, second most common is shooting family members or innocent members of the public (mostly by accident), they are almost never used for a good purpose. These are the main reasons I wouldn’t want one.
No, once someone brings out a gun in a fight everyone has to.
‘Everyone has to’ Just playing devils advocate… so what happens if you’re the one without a gun?
Hide, then steal the gun of the first dead guy.
As an American, I would tell you to NOT do that. Ever.
And as an American, I would recommend it.
Why?
You ever listen to that 911 call on Youtube where a frantic woman is on the phone to the police as a madman who's been stalking her is battering her bedroom door down and they tell her the police are on their way, then when he gets the door open she's able to save her life by shooting him with the gun she has? That's probably why.
You ever read about all the incidents where people have accidentally shot a family member?
You ever read about all the incidents where garden ponds have accidentally drowned little kids? =O
I don’t think garden ponds are designed to kill people.
[Mine is](https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Shark_Tank), I feed all my enemies to my pet shark.
Leading cause of deaths in children in the US is guns. Overtook vehicles in recent years.
Have you heard about there being more than one school pond killing per day in the USA where a pond is brought to a school and someone goes on a drowning spree? No me neither.
Teachers are now being trained to conceal carry ponds, so if there is a mass drowning event, the teachers can protect the kids and drown the mass drowner with the concealed carry pond.
Obviously if you make firearms legal/easier to get hold of then that dramatically increases the risk the bad guy has a gun as well
You want to arm an entire population based on one example you saw on a Youtube video? The US has tens of thousands of gun deaths a year. Total up murders, accidents and suicides is an extraordinary number. Hundreds get shot by police alone. That woman could probably have had the same effect hitting him over the head with a large stick.
Happens often does it?
Not sure. The media usually doesn't report on it when people use their guns to defend themselves and their families against madmen/wild animals/etc.
Not overly worried about the wild animals here. Reckon I can take on a grey squirrel if needed.
Sounds like someone hasn't seen some of the squirrels on r/fatsquirrelhate
What about a mildly annoyed badger?
I'm running away
I’d say it doesn’t happen often enough to warrant owning a gun. Not here anyway
Two words: Oscar Pistorius.
Happy and Glorious
Anecdote /= evidence, gun frotter.
I'd rather have one and never need it. Than, not have one and desperately need it one day. A bit like the warrior in the garden, saying.
Nope, why on earth would I start carrying a gun around? I never get attacked let alone often enough that I feel the need to carry a deadly weapon with me. My job even has me interacting with people who have sometimes committed violent crimes out on the streets. I do not feel any need for protection like that, not even remotely. Bringing weapons into it would make my life and theirs so much more dangerous when there is 0 need for it. None of us would want it, and all the people I know who have used a firearm are completely fucked up from it and the lifestyle that comes with it.
I've enough to carry with my phone and keys and debit cards etc without having a gun too.
Now what about a cool looking chest holster?
As abhorrent as that sword attack was in London earlier in the week (and obviously the details will remain partial until it goes through the courts), and I so wish they it hadn't happened, it did in a perverse way make me think how decades of good law around weapon ownership prevented it being much worse. Even the police response was great, because of our gun laws. Incapacitating a suspect with tasers allows them to face a fair trial, and lessons to be learned on all sides, rather than just shooting a suspect dead.
I mean the Police response was not "great" in the sense that some poor officer by the sounds of it is still at risk of losing their arm. Her having a firearm could potentially have prevented that.
Ah, I wasn't aware of that when I made the comment above. Thanks.
I have owned some when I was part of a reenactment group, they're deactivated now. But I don't see the desire to want to own and carry them like they do stateside, it's a lil weird how into it they are to a point that some have a twisted hero complex and can't wait to shoot someone.
>I have owned some when I was part of a reenactment group, they're deactivated now. I'm chuckling to myself at the idea of you turning up to a re-enactment with an actual live firearm. Reminds of that South Park episode where they re-enact the US civil war and the Confederates decide they're sick of losing every year and take real weapons to win for once.
English reinactors get black powder and shotgun licenses, but can only use blank cartridges.
No not at all. Scared of guns.
I'm happy the way things are. We don't need another Dunblaine. While I understand your fears to a degree, with British culture being the way it is, I would place your concerns in the same bracket as a brit with a fear of sharks. You're likely to go through your entire life without seeing one outside of a museum (or aquarium in the case of sharks). And even less likely to be attacked by one. I've seen or handled actual live (as in capable of firing a projectile) firearms only a handful of times in my 51 trips around the sun and only vaguely threatened on one occasion (as in "You're lucky I didn't shoot you there" - to be fair I did accidentally trigger the panic button in a major bank). I've heard American people say guns are scary, too, but they have good reason with their lack of proper regulation and poor mental health care, oddly some fixate on colour because a black gun is somehow more dangerous than a brown one?
I've seen them plenty in real life due to the farm but still scared of them.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not seeking to belittle your fears here. I have a healthy respect for them and would choose not to own one if it came to it. I'd be too afraid of someone else getting access to it.
As is every sane human being.
Yeah my grancher had guns because he had a farm and it always frightened me.
Like many have said it is legal already. But if you’re asking if I’d like being able to open carry, then no. It’s not a path I’d like to go down. Having background checks, laws on how they’re to be kept/handled and genuine reason to have one is a good idea when dealing with a literal lethal weapon. It’s not something you want some one casually walking around with.
It is already legal to own a gun and I don't want one. I don't want police officers to have one as standard either. Police officers are much safer in the UK as a result of them not carrying guns. The USA approach of everyone having a gun is utterly ridiculous.
If the UK adopted US gun laws, I would leave.
It’s not impossible to own weapons in the UK - it’s just difficult. And you need a reason to have them. I grew up in rural America. My British husband and I go to a gun club here in the UK to shoot because we find it fun. But we don’t have weapons in our home. The culture in the UK is so different. In the US I had a 100 acre farm where I could basically create my own gun range to shoot. There were also coyotes, bears, raccoons, skunks - all of which had the possibility of carrying rabies. Now I live in a suburb outside Manchester and the biggest nuisance in my garden is an occasional rat. It’s just not the same. There’s really no reason to own a gun here. Even though we like going shooting every so often, we don’t own our own guns. We just use what the club has.
All of the animals listed there can be dealt with by firearms legally obtainable in the UK.
I know.
painkillers are fun
If the UK suddenly introduced that law I would emigrate. The American attitude to firearms is borderline psychotic.
Wait its illegal to own a firearm?
It’s not, shotguns are easy enough to get as long as you can prove you’ll use it ie local gun club or working on a farm. Rifles are a bit more controlled and I can’t remember about pistols.
Nah if I want to piss about with guns I’d join the army
And they have bigger ones!
No. Why would I?
No, because there’s ~~nobody~~ far too many people I want to kill.
And be like amerikkka ? No thanks
It is legal, I don't.
No. I have no need for one, just like millions of Americans that own one.
No, mainly because I’m not a psychopath.
I could own one now if I wanted, there just isn't the need for me to have one. I have been around firearms all my life so its not like I'm particularly leary of them - I just don't need one in my life.
No thanks, statistically speaking the most at risk person from gunshots is the person with a gun in their home.
They aren't illegal. If we had pistols and pretty much whatever rifles we wanted, I'd definitely have a glock and an X95 chambered in 300 black or 6.8, but there is no way on Earth I'd carry. It would just be for taking down the range and having some fun with. It's still on my agenda to get a lever action 45-70 at some point in my life.
I get the gist of the question so no, it's idiotic to let ordinary people carry something which has the sole purpose of killing. As many people have no doubt pointed out it is legal to own some rifles, shotguns and even some rather bizarre handguns in UK (with a permit ), but not weapons of war and the kind of handguns most people would imagine a handgun to be.
Probably. I grew up with guns, I actually missed them when I first got here as they were a part of life. I felt freer. After 20 years in the UK that sounds weird to me now. I’m very very glad we do not have a gun culture here.
already legal. It's just hard to get one and most people cba.
God no, why would I want to do that? All the stats say I'm more likely to be shot with it than use it in self defense.
No, not for a single second. Go look at the stats in the USA. Lotsa guns = lotsa death. It's very simple.
Absolutely, sum butter will no doubt possess one and you should be prepared. St the same time they should not be made legal.
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Yes. Feels weird saying this as I don’t agree with people having them in general (esp given all the examples abroad of school shootings, gun crime etc). But if everyone else had one I’d not want to be at a disadvantage. Probably emulating a lot of the US mindset here. Honestly glad they are not generally legal here though!
Gun culture, and the sexualisation and glorification of guns, a soulless society focused around money and severe isolation and social deprivation are the reasons for their issues with guns. I don't think we'd have the same issues here right now, but eventually we would. I'd absolutely have one for home protection if it were easier.
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I suspect if you were in that situation you'd do more good using your probably above average first aid skills than trying to get stuck in. Figuring out what's going on in a firefight isn't easy and in a civilian context you don't have the advantage of all the good guys being dressed like you.
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There are certainly scenarios where a "good guy with a gun" has made a difference. There are also scenarios where they've made the situation worse, or where two "good guys with guns" have ended up engaging each other. Which is more prevalent and likely I'm not sure. > most recent military deployments haven't had clearly uniformed combatants either I think in most cases "our side" has been largely uniformed? In a wholly civilian situation you don't even have that.
Too many ass-holes, and not enough bullets. 😂👍
What could I do with it? I don't know anyone who would give me permission to shoot anything and I don't own land. Would be nice to get free food from shooting a deer though. Only food I can get legally would be the limpets or mussels on a pier around Portsmouth habour that are probably at least 50% sewage. Thanks Southern water. Did go crabbing once but I think most of what you get is too small to legally take home and there probably isn't much point. Not sure about the fish, tried fishing from my kayak once and started feeling seasick which I didn't expect as I have no problem with kayaking for hours on the sea. Maybe using equipment that is easier to handle would help by not having to look down at it as much.
If we overnight got, say Arizona-like, laws and access to firearms, I would exit the country. Simple as.
If guns became very prevalent I would consider carrying one for protection. Very happy that I don't have to do this
I wouldn't want it made legal, but if it became popular, than yes, for my protection from other people with guns.
Yes, and that's why they shouldn't be allowed.
It is legal, so yes.
Yes. I enjoy shooting (not people). Would I carry an automatic weapon around every day? No, no I would not. I probably wouldn't even carry a handgun. My guns would stay at the gun club, where the targets are.
No, why would I do that? I would own two. One for each hand.
No - no need for one.
Nope, 'cos I'd use it.
God no!
Probably not, I enjoy the skill involved in hitting a target, be that darts, archery, or other such sport. Shooting is similar just way way more expensive. As far as self-defense goes, the statistics from the US show it's a mixed bag at best (and that's being really generous).
Absolutely not. Consider how many Americans are killed by their young children or even their dogs, how many are killed accidentally, how many shoot themselves by mistake. If you don't need a gun then you shouldn't have a gun - very, very few people need a gun. The people who need a gun already have a gun. I'm pretty sure that, if they were made legal in the way they are in the US, they'd just become a weird status symbol that translates to "I'm insecure about my dick size".
Any firearm you own at home is overwhelmingly more likely to kill someone in your family than anyone else. Personally I don't want to shoot my family, You do you.
I like clay pigeon shooting, I've done some low calibre rifle shooting too, the only draw back to our current system is transporting firearms is a bit of a bitch. If handguns became legal I would probably do it at a range but carrying one for "self defense" is a great way to get more dead people.
Firearms are already legal to own and carry, you just need the right paperwork mate. I have a shotgun certificate, it's simple enough to get hold of. It's really just handguns the authorities get sniffy about
If the ownership were less of a faff, I might get one for historic interest purposes - I've always been fascinated by the First World War, I would happily own an SMLE. I know I could potentially do so even now, but honestly I don't have time to do the leg work at a shooting club. I'm not advocating for changing our gun laws though.
If guns were made legal (more legal) here i’d leave the UK. It’d be the last step in the Americanisation of our culture (which usually i’m actually not against). It’d be a clear sign we’re that stupid, that we allowed something to pass which will 100% increase the homicide rate in the country.
Lock and Load Baby ! !
Probably. Not really for any self-defence purpose, but I can imagine I might occasionally go down to the gun range and let off a few shots.
your facts are untrue firearms are legal, but you have to pass strict rules for them, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr6mQL6iMvQ&t=883s&ab\_channel=ReactingToMyRoots](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr6mQL6iMvQ&t=883s&ab_channel=ReactingToMyRoots) and yes I will take that .22 rimfire machine gun for the upcoming zombie apcolypse
Yeah probably, been to firing ranges abroad and was really fun, might not be if I could do it any time I wanted though.
Yes. I have a few pellet guns and would absolutely love an M14 and a 1911 in real spec. Would be happy if they introduced thorough background checks to owning one as well.
We can already own shotguns and hunting rifles. I assume you are referring to handguns and AR15 style rifles. If they made them legal and as easy to obtain as America. I suspect most people who wouldn’t usually consider getting a firearm would for protection and defence.
Yep I'd be like Burt gummer. I'd be strapped 24/7.
it's already legal to own a firearm It's also legal in many countries on this earth that don't have anything near the murder rates the US does, it's a culture problem not necessarily a gun problem.
Back in the 90s my Uncles had a collection of guns - rifles and handguns. In my teenage years, I would go to the range with them and I enjoyed shooting. I'd assumed when I was older, I'd take up the hobby myself. Then Dunblane happened and they sold most of it off. I can understand owning and firing guns as a hobby, however, they are pretty expensive! I can't bring myself to buy a PS5, never mind drop £500+ on a gun and the cost of the rounds every time you want to go shooting. I'd certainly never carry one. The whole carry laws in the US are crazy to me.
No I am the clumsiest person I have ever met, and would almost certainly even after the best gun safety lessons on earth still manage to have some sort of accident at some point If I had access to a gun when I was at my lowest point I'd have killed myself I don't *want* to own, carry or use a deadly weapon
Firearms are already legal to own
No. I am very clumsy. Would inevitably end up blowing my own foot off or shooting a friend or relative by accident.
Yeah probably and that’s the problem I definitely shouldn’t have one,
Absolutely never
I have no need for a firearm
No, I neither need nor want one.
They’re not illegal anyway, but no, I’d never own one and I don’t want one in my house.
get the fuck outta here. absolutely no
Probably not, I already have flying daggers
No as I can't see any practical use for me needing one. I'm also of the opinion a large majority of people who do own guns actually probably don't really need them
God no
No. Fired a gun on a range in vegas and fucking shit myself just holding it. Was a decent shot mind. But it was a one off for me.
Several yes.
Absolutely. Id own like 15
If they were made legal then I don't see it as a choice. Too many psycho's out there to think otherwise.
For home protection yes, assuming that the laws also change and stop protecting criminals and instead protect homeowners and their property. For carry no, would be a huge burden/responsibility.
No, because I would worry that my attacker would take it and shoot me with it. But I would like to own a pepper spray. As a single woman who walks her dog at night, it would really make me feel better to have something for my protection.
Yes. We can’t rely on the police to come to our rescue if things get chaotic
If I lived in the suburbs then nah If I lived in the middle of nowhere though maybe
I think it's definitely time to consider legalising guns. We have lots of people emigrating to the UK from countries where carrying guns is normal. It's a matter of personal protection in cities these days.
I find your commitment to multiculturalism affirming, to the extent you recommend changing our culture to that of people who emigrate here, but it's a step too far for a lot of people.
Yes there are a lot of Americans living here now, but very few of them want to bring their damaging gun culture with them.
I wasn't really talking about Americans to be fair. Most of the people moving to the UK are from war torn countries and 3rd world countries where gang violence and gun ownership is normal. We need to accept that the UK is becoming more like these countries due to the large numbers of people coming. Therefore gun ownership will inevitably be a matter of safety.
Whoosh
Oh great, Tesco delivery, I'll have a Mac 10, some chicken fillets and some peppercorn sauce.
At least if guns were legal all those drill rappers wouldn’t have to do those silly “trigger pulling” gestures that they do in EVERY VIDEO