Girls Killed After Stepping Outside for Breath of Air (Gun-toting gangs run amok in England)

Times of London ^ | Jan. 3, 2003 | Andrew Norfolk

[mountaineer]

Related story on drug-related "Afro-Caribbean" gang warfare in Birmingham:

"Some members of the community give the impression that they know the gangs and individuals responsible for the shooting. Many believe that the girls were innocents caught in the crossfire between two rival gangs, the Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar Boys, who operate in parts of north Birmingham, including Aston, Winson Green and Handsworth.

"They are believed to control the crack cocaine trade in these areas. In a press conference today the police said that this scenario was one of the leads it was investigating.

"Even if they did know the gang members responsible, the likelihood of witnesses coming forward and telling the police names is remote. The Afro-Caribbean community of Birmingham is small; perhaps 40,000 out of a city of 1.5 million people. Everyone knows everyone and, given the ruthlessness of the gang, it would take a brave person to step forward and go to the police with information, no matter how much the police say they will protect witnesses.

Full story here, from the Times.

See also Gun crime soars as thugs seek 'respect', in which it is acknowledged that "The ban on handweapons above .22 calibre, which was introduced in 1997 after the Dunblane primary school shootings, forced many legitimate owners to surrender their guns but did nothing to stop underworld supplies."

[mountaineer]

fyi

[Schnucki]

coz bump!

[Billthedrill]

The ban on handweapons above .22 calibre, which was introduced in 1997 after the Dunblane primary school shootings, forced many legitimate owners to surrender their guns but did nothing to stop underworld supplies.

They're learning this the hard way, but they will never, never go back. Once gone these rights are gone for good.

[Aquinasfan]

Haven't guns been banned in the UK?

[canuck_conservative]

Probably just the legal ones. Like Canada.

[babaloo999]

Yes, they have been banned for law-abiding citizens.

[angkor]

Only to those who obey the law.

[mountaineer]

As of today British citizens are allowed to own only antique muzzle-loading firearms, shotguns capable of holding no more than two shells, and some rifles.... The British have effectively disarmed their law-abiding citizens. The government has made carrying any sort of weapon for self defense punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Go here for the chronology of England's gun prohibitions.

[csvset]

Charlene (second left) and Latisha (right) both died

[mountaineer]

Here are links to several publications on gun control in Great Britain (mostly pdf), including the text of the horrendous laws themselves.

[Mad Dawgg]

"Girls Killed After Stepping Outside for Breath of Air (Gun-toting gangs run amok in England)

I am sorry but this is not possible!

The Liberals Banned Guns in the UK so there must be some mistake!

Check your facts please and resubmit your story...

If you do indeed find that someone was shot I am sure it was an illegal gun smuggled in from the Evil USA...

Until ALL guns are banned we will have these problems... please contact the UN for further instructions...

(/sarcasm)

[mountaineer]

Actually, the UN has a lot to say about those evil guns. Here's a link to the UN report (pdf) outlining provisions for global regulation of private ownership of firearms. Especially onerous are pages 5 and 6 of the report.

[Jaxter]

[Schnucki]

I just flipped by CNNi (Europe) and saw they were interviewing some lady about gun laws in Europe. The lady was saying that the problem was that other countries aren't strict about gun laws and that's why Britain has it's problem.

I think they just created a vacuum that only criminals can fill and now they're blaming their self-inflicted problem on anybody who hasn't yet created their own defenseless citizenry.

[Eala]

Just read the excellent (but saddening) article "Abroad II: Isle of War: England's social collapse," by Dr. Theodore Dalrymple in the latest National Review about England's decline "in a relatively short span of time" "from civilization to savagery."

Dr. Dalrymple is on the spot, apparently a prison doctor. The amount and viciousness of the crime he describes (and ascribes to decades of liberalism's excess) is simply unbelievable, especially when set against the background of the conditions that existed when he was in training as a doctor.

(National Review, Dec. 31, 2002, pp.25-26.)

[Slainte]

Must be some mistake, a typo. Perhaps it was Birmingham Alabama? This sort of thing CAN'T happen in Europe. Crime only occurs in the wild-west gun toating atmosphere of the United States.

Jeez, EVERYBODY know THAT.

[SteveSenti]

FOFLMFAO!!!!!!!!

[World-traveler]

They need to ban guns belonging to criminals....criminals will certainly comply.....

[MileHi]

The lady was saying that the problem was that other countries aren't strict about gun laws and that's why Britain has it's problem.

Ahhh. The New York City defense.