What Do British People Think About the U.K.’s Gun Restrictions?

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30. No - start thinking about history

The gun laws in the UK were originally an attempt to to restrict the ownership of guns to those who the ruling class felt should have an entitlement to that weapon.

At the time of the legislation at its most restrictive a high proportion of millions of ex-servicemen from First Boer War, the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars had returned with trophy weapons. Prior to this time guns had been expensive and, generally, in the hands of the middle and upper classes. Gun deaths in the UK, prior to the WWI, were low because compared to the USA because the Civil War had been the event enabled many people to possess guns.

In the UK the First and Second Boer Wars had highlighted the inexperience the British volunteer had with guns; the British relied upon a small professional army supplemented with volunteer battalions. As indicated above a proportion of the returning volunteers kept trophies for an increase in gun ownership in the volunteering classes was seen as beneficial but the small increase in gun crime was seen as acceptable.

This started to change with the Irish rebellions and, after WWI, the greater increase in gun crime. The common idea was that the conscripted "lower classes" were more likely to be criminal and to sell any trophies to criminals hence the first restrictions on ownership. This attempted to keep firearms in the hands of those who were thought to have an entitlement; these included those persons with land (gentry, their servants and tenant farmers), the wealthy and the bourgeoisie. Licensing, for rifled weapons, was dependent upon the applicant getting the approval of other members of the bourgeoisie (JPs, a Doctors, a Bank Managers) that you were a fit and proper person to own such a.weapon.

I could continue with the history lesson if you wish but I doubt you will learn anything.