Firearms for defensive purposes? - A good link

[Attack Warning Red]

Say we do relax the laws. As I mentioned earlier, what happens in serious riots like Northern Ireland and London, where there would be a high likelihood of rioters carrying guns? The riot police would have to be armed with guns, for a start, as they know that the general public has access to firearms. So that'd screw up the NI peace process rather quickly - rioters firing off shots, the police firing back, rioters getting killed.

So whenever there's a protest in London (there have been a lot in recent years), the police would have to carry guns in case it turned into a riot, and so the protestors would have to carry guns, in case they felt threatened by the police. And then I end up getting shot in the cross fire on my way home from work...

[12mp82]

OK, then you also need to think about this one, all the major incidents over the last 25 years (Whitehaven, Dunblane, Hungerford) have been with registered firearms holders, who have been vetted and deemed safe to hold firearms in their homes.

When was the last massacre in the UK using a baseball bat, Knife etc.

[modplod]

I (respectfully) take issue with your last comment here -

There are deaths as a consequence of knives EVERY single day here in the UK.

Over Christmas there were 3 deaths just in Kent due to these damn knives - Sittingbourne, Gillingham, Tonbridge. Believe me, knife crime is a HUGE problem and far far more people die like this than people being killed with licenced firearms.

If you look at the death rates for licenced guns you will see that the UK has one of the lowest rates in the whole world.

It's extremely unfair of you to concentrate just on licenced firearms in the way you do so here - there are far more deaths using unlicenced guns. The two really can't be compared and if you do, it means nothing. Until that statement, I agreed with almost everything said.

Can we please keep KNIFE crime out of this thread on firearms?

[KalPrep]

According to statistics the are 1.8m registered firearms in this country.

According to this...

http://www.parliament.uk/Templates/Brie ... id=sn01940

There were over 3000 crimes using handguns alone in this country. Now given it is nigh on impossible to get something concealable as a handgun, I would propose that the majority of these crimes involved illegal firearms.

Now it is also good to see that overall reported gun crime is on the decrease, something appears to be working. It doesn't seem that properly vetted, responsible people are to blame for gun crime or that it is the ownership of weapons which is the problem.

From a prepper point of view, I am coming round to the view that I can obtain firearms which would be most useful for hunting etc in a SHTF situation as long as I approach it in the right way.

[12mp82]

I (respectfully) take issue with your last comment here -

There are deaths as a consequence of knives EVERY single day here in the UK.

Massacre, is three seperate incidents in which three seperate people are killed now a massacre? In the post I made I deliberately avoided taking lots of single incidents and putting them in the pot.

Massacre can also be used as a verb, as "To kill (people or, less commonly, animals) in numbers, esp. brutally and indiscriminately"

As you said previously MP,

It's perfectly okay to admit you made a mistake.

As previously mentioned Clutching at straws

[TJCNI]

Say we do relax the laws. As I mentioned earlier, what happens in serious riots like Northern Ireland and London, where there would be a high likelihood of rioters carrying guns? The riot police would have to be armed with guns, for a start, as they know that the general public has access to firearms. So that'd screw up the NI peace process rather quickly - rioters firing off shots, the police firing back, rioters getting killed.

So whenever there's a protest in London (there have been a lot in recent years), the police would have to carry guns in case it turned into a riot, and so the protestors would have to carry guns, in case they felt threatened by the police. And then I end up getting shot in the cross fire on my way home from work...

All Police in Northern Ireland are armed, each with a pistol and usually a few long arms thrown in for good measure. Last night shots were fired at the public order units. Sadly return fire never seems considered just for the reason of not causing mayhem.

Also another one to remember, there was a news article recently were a police officer offduty had his firearm taken off him and was shot with it, dosnt matter what training you have if someones gets your ''defensive'' weapon and uses it on you!

The system at the moment isnt a bad one where abit of vetting and you can get a reasonable firearm for sport or hunting, to many downsides to american style everyone has a machine gun!

[Triple_sod]

Say we do relax the laws. As I mentioned earlier, what happens in serious riots like Northern Ireland and London, where there would be a high likelihood of rioters carrying guns? The riot police would have to be armed with guns, for a start, as they know that the general public has access to firearms. So that'd screw up the NI peace process rather quickly - rioters firing off shots, the police firing back, rioters getting killed.

So whenever there's a protest in London (there have been a lot in recent years), the police would have to carry guns in case it turned into a riot, and so the protestors would have to carry guns, in case they felt threatened by the police. And then I end up getting shot in the cross fire on my way home from work...

but that doesn't happen in the States, does it?
Certainly I can’t think of a single instance where large numbers of rioters have turned up armed and fired on the police, can you?

Same goes for the argument that if gun laws were relaxed burglars, 'would simply arm themselves',

Yet the statistics tell a different story, so while in England over 50% of burglaries occur when the family is at home, in America so called ‘hot’ burglaries account for only 10% of break ins. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/pers ... ngeon.html#

[12mp82]

You mean apart from the 1992 Los Angeles riots? when 2000 were injured and 50+ were killed, I doubt any of them were gun shots though

Strangley enough no figures for any police being shot at

[modplod]

This thread has gone down pretty well, I'm surprised this forum seems to be frequented by normal people afterall!

Proof that sensitive subjects can afterall be discussed in an adult and balanced way.

Pity that other forums aren't so accomodating in this respect. Well done to everyone who chipped in.

[itsybitsy]

This thread has gone down pretty well, I'm surprised this forum seems to be frequented by normal people afterall! :lol

So you're suggesting that those members who don't agree with your pro-gun stance aren't normal? Or perhaps you're just trying to stir up trouble? Either way, your comment isn't helpful.