Serious organised criminals like Manchester’s Gooch and Doddington gangs will always have access to guns. Minor criminals are much less likely to. There is also much less risk in the UK of crazy people shooting up a school or a shopping centre.
Of course, in Britain you are more likely to get mugged or raped (although the mugger/rapist almost certainly doesn’t have a gun) because you aren’t allowed to walk around armed, but I would question if Britain’s gun laws encourage more burglary, as getting a shotgun licence really isn’t that hard and contrary to popular opinion, you won’t be prosecuted for using it as long as the burglar hasn’t made it out of your house and is running away as you pull the trigger. If you are a sane person without criminal convictions and you don’t have a shotgun in your home, that is through your own personal choice.
Ultimately each system has it’s pros and cons. On balance however, I would prefer the American system because nutcase perpetrated shooting sprees are comparatively rare compared to ‘ordinary’ muggings and rapes/murders that might otherwise have been prevented if the victim had been armed..
I think I am coming round to this viewpoint too.
OTOH I can think of no valid reason for any law-abiding citizen to carry an SMG around.