Current Laws and Gun Crime Statistics
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Short Cuts - USA Laws - USA Statistics - UK Laws - UK Statistics

USA Gun Crime Laws

The head of the NRA is Charlton Heston who due to his fame makes a very powerful figure head. They have lots of connections with congress and remain one of the most powerful interest groups in US politics. In America’s constitution the second amendment also affects gun policy.

The second amendment emerged from a political struggle in the 1789 centaury between federalist's and anti-federalists, itsays: ''A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed''. Polls show that public opinion is that the amendment gives you the right to own a gun. Spitzer argues the 2nd amendment applies to individuals enrolled in the militia service not any citizen with a weapon (2004, p39).

In 1911 there was an attempt to murder the then New York mayor William Gaynor; this sparked the first gun regulation. Then in 1968 Senator Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King were both shot and killed. This sparked the passage of the federal gun control act. It seems the government then became immune to the horrors of gun crime because when in 1999 two boys shot and killed 12 students and a teacher in Littleton Colorado although national outrage pushed the US senate to approve gun control measures the bill died in the House of Representatives.

USA Gun Crime Statistics

• The NCVS (National Crime Victimisation Survey 1993-2000). Interviewed 651,750 people from 336,295 households
• 1993-2001 10% of all violent crime involved firearm violence
• 1993-2001 firearm violence went down 63%
• 1993 -2001 victim confronted by offenders armed with guns in about 27% of robberies 8% of assaults and 3% of all rapes / sexual assault.
• Police recorded statistics
• 2003 the FBI estimated incidents involving a firearm represented 7% of the 4.9million violent crimes
• 1996 police-recorded murders totalled 19,650 in the United States and 681 in England
• For murder, robbery, and burglary recorded by the police, the latest U.S. rates (1996) are the lowest recorded in the 16-year period from 1981 to 1996

UK Gun Crime Laws

England’s pro gun groups (National Rifle Association UK) are no where near as powerful as the NRA however shooting and hunting are still popular sports. The long room committee was set up in 1973 to represent Britain’s gun users. Then in 1988 the Firearms consultative committee was set up to protest the firearms amendment acts and pushed for changes on regulations that over the next few years made gun ownership easier. In 1987 Michael Ryan killed 16 people in what became known as the Hungerford massacre.

Michael Ryan legally possessed 8 guns and was a member of 2 shooting clubs. Public outrage was great but the government response was not. A review of gun control and licensing was conducted but the government gave way to the pro-gun lobby.

However the incident did cause the 1988 firearms amendment act. This banned automatic riffles, took some high powered weapons out of circulation and tightened a few procedures in the issue of firearms and to security requirements of firearm storage. It also placed limits on ammunition kept at home.

Feb 1997 due to the incidents of Dunblane a bill was passed prohibiting all handguns other than small high calibre pistols, muzzle loading guns and signalling apparatus. Exceptions for guns in slaughter houses, for the humane killing of animals, starting guns and trophies of war acquired before 1946. Gun owners who surrendered their firearms were compensated.

UK Gun Crime Statistics

• The British Crime Survey (BCS) is a very important source of information about levels of crime and public attitudes to crime and other Home Office issues. The results play an important role in informing Home Office policy.
• The BCS measures the amount of crime in England and Wales by asking people about crimes they have experienced in the last year. The BCS includes crimes which are not reported to the police, so it is an important alternative to police records. Victims do not report crime for various reasons. Without the BCS the government would have no information on these unreported crimes.
• The BCS looks at people’s attitudes to crime, such as how much they fear crime and what measures they take to avoid it.
• The BCS 2004/05 just over one third of the 2,412,000 violent incidents reported were incidents of stranger violence, one third was acquaintance violence and 17% domestic violence. These statistics also showed that stranger violence is rising.
• The BCS 2004/05 found that the risk of becoming a victim of violent crime was 3.6%
• The BCS 2004/05 found that old people experienced the lowest rates of violent crime.
• Home Office firearms statistics 2002/2003 crimes recorded by the police in which firearms were used or stolen
• 2002/2003 Firarms reported to of been used in 10,248 recorded crimes. A 2% increase over the previous year.
• 2002/2003 overall firearms reported to have been used in 0.41% of all recorded crime.
• 2002/2003 handguns used in 5,549 of recorded crimes. A 6% decrease on the previous year
• 2002/2003 81 homicides involved firearms the figure was 97 the previous year.
• Since 1997 the proportion of robberies involving firearms has remained constant at between 4&5%