We’re a site about gun laws in America, so we don’t often in detail discuss firearms legislation in other countries– we’ve got enough gun problems here without worrying about what’s happening overseas. But considering how much press British Prime Minister Tony Blair has recently earned with his decision to strengthen gun laws in England after a round of recent gun violence, we figured it was worth a quick look.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced plans Sunday to overhaul gun laws after three teenage boys were shot dead in south London this month, prompting a national debate about guns and gangs among youths.
The age at which the mandatory five-year sentence for carrying a gun can be imposed should be reduced to 17 from 21, Blair said in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. television. Blair ordered the gun law review to help police deal with Britain’s inner-city gang culture.
Blair said he was also considering other proposals put forward by the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police including giving police new powers to monitor the homes of people suspected of possessing and using firearms.
As you are probably already aware, gun laws in Britain are much, much stricter than those in America. Guns are banned completely there– in fact, most of the police officers don’t even carry firearms in their day-to-day business. So while this simple lowering of the mandatory sentence age seems like the smallest of changes to us, to the British, it’s a big deal. And what brought on this radical announcement of stronger gun laws?
Announcing a major review of firearms laws in the wake of five fatal shootings in London, the Prime Minister argued that gun violence was not a “general state of British society”.
One man was shot dead in east London on Saturday and three others were wounded in shootings in Manchester as armed gangs continued to show their contempt for the law. The latest attacks came after a spate of gun murders in south London in less than a fortnight, including the deaths of three teenage boys.
The death of one man and the injuries of three others. Three teenage boys killed. This is what inspires comparatively strong action from Blair. After all, with their gun legislation, Britain suffers a whopping 50 gun deaths a year.
Although gun crime remains relatively uncommon here–there were 50 firearm-related killings last year in England and Wales–many Britons are concerned that young people see guns as a cool accessory.
Back in America, five gun deaths is a good night in Philly. We suffer from 30,000 gun deaths per year. Just last week, we had two high profile shooting sprees that resulted in the deaths of eleven people, not to mention the other deaths that add up to an average of 500 per week. Britain suffers from the smallest fraction of our gun problem, and their Prime Minister is calling for stronger gun laws in every media outlet in the country.
Literally, there is an ocean between our two countries, but in terms of gun legislation, there is much more than that. Our legislators sit idly by while our citizens are murdered. The gun lobby here openly advocates more firearms on the streets while the too many firearms that we do have are causing rivers of bloodshed.
Now, this is not us asking to be moved to England (although we’re sure the gun guys will take it as such). We love America, and we think this is a great country to live in. That’s why we’re fighting for Americans to be able to do so. With so many firearms around, and laws so loose, it’s much easier to die from gun violence in America than anywhere else in the world. And while the heads of other countries seem to be driven by common sense– when you have a gun problem, you put laws in place to solve it– our legislators continue to be driven not by common sense, but by the gun lobby’s campaign donations and persuasion.
We wish Tony Blair and his country all the luck in dealing with their gun problem. We only wish our legislators were so committed in dealing with ours.
