Guns don't kill people ....

[DanaC]

Sort of yeah. The rules were tightened up and made very restrictive, at the same time there have been intermittent amnesties on firearms.

It's been a few years since the last time they did an amnesty. But it is amazing how many guns they bring in with those.

It hasn't solved gun crime in this country. There have been several gang related shootings in recent years and a few incidents involving children. But the numbers are very low nationwide, and comparatively low even in our hotspot areas.

But, the UK is a very different proposition on something like this. Guns weren't so ubiquitous to begin with. The number of guns in the country at any one time, even when ownership wasn't so regulated, just wasn't on the same level per capita as it seems to be in the States. The cultural associations are very different. Not to say there aren't/weren't any such associations, but they are a much smaller part of the national psyche.

The opposition to gun control was there, and it was vocal and heated at times, but the ban on hunting foxes with hounds caused more popular debate and passion.

We're also a pretty small island. And we only have 2 or 3 legislative and jurisdictional areas to come to agreement in order to take action. On a purely logistical level the idea of removing all guns from all but a qualified few, in a country as large and legislatively fragmented as the US seems an exercise in futility.