Eleanor Service |
Just three days ago, marked the 20th anniversary of one of the most horrific crimes in Scotland’s history. On March 13th 1996, Thomas Hamilton walked into Dunblane Primary School, near Stirling, carrying four hand guns, that were legal at this time. He then opened fire on a Primary 1 P.E. class, murdering 16 children and their teacher.
This massacre sparked massive public debate, which began to focus on gun control laws. Public petitions were created, calling for a ban on private ownership of handguns. An official enquiry was also implemented, known as the Cullen Report. As a result of the raging public debate, two new Firearms Acts were passed, which essentially made the private ownership of handguns illegal in the UK. Although it is still legal to have some type gun in the UK, such as a shotgun, it is compulsory for you to be licensed. So the ownership of any firearm is very heavily restricted.
Since the Firearms Acts passed as a result of the massacre at Dunblane, police-recorded offences involving firearms have declined, and although there has been fluctuations, gun homicides in Scotland have decreased as well. Also, there hasn’t been a single school shooting since these Acts, and only one mass shooting. It is clear that these Acts have been successful in preventing another tragedy as horrific as the case of Dunblane Primary School.
If we compare the UK’s numbers with those of the USA though, the difference is staggering.
Since the terrible mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in America, in December 2012, that lead to 20 children and six children being killed, there have been around 142 school shootings in America. In just over three years there has been 142 more gun crimes in US schools than there has been in the UK in 20 years. This difference is almost inconceivably huge.
It is clear from these statistics that the Acts passed in the 1990’s in the UK have kept the UK’s children safe for decades. The UK has strict gun control laws, and no school shootings, and only one mass shooting, in 20 years. On the other end of the scale the US has drastically different gun control laws, that do vary from state to state, and they have had 142 school shootings in 3 and a half years. It seems obvious then that the US should follow the UK’s example and restrict their guns.
But this issue is not as simple as that. The statistics that show the only right path is gun control laws, aren’t the only ones we can look at. There are others that say that although the Firearms Acts reduce gun homicides, homicides are simply being committed by other means, so has this Act really kept the Britain safer?
Since the Acts in 1997, UK homicide rates have stayed roughly the same, with them actually rising quite significantly over the course of the few years directly following the ban. So it would seem that although the ban has successfully prevented mass homicides, it hasn’t helped the individual homicide rates. In fact, the rates for homicide by stabbing are nearly five times higher than those for shootings. These figures would suggest that the Acts have been unsuccessful in keeping the British people safe.
But, if we look at the US in comparison to the UK, the UK still comes out on top. In 2013 there was 1 intentional homicide per 100,000 people in the UK, but in the same year there was 4 intentional homicides per 100,000 people in the US. In this light, the Firearms Acts seemed to have helped, because the US have looser gun control laws, and more homicides.
The subject of gun control laws is always a heated debate, especially when comparing the UK to the US. But one thing is for certain, the UK hasn’t suffered the tragedy of a school shooting since the horror of Dunblane. The US though, suffer these horrors all too often, and the main difference between the two countries in this case is the Firearms Acts that the UK has in place.
