Check out the 'Republicans get the last laugh' thread to see why the British aren't citizens. Firearms will never be licensed for use as tools for self defence, since carrying any kind of weapon for personal defence has been illegal in Britain since the 1950s. Britons can also be prosecuted for defending themselves.
The British government slowly erodes the rights of its subjects since there is no written constitution. The laws on firearm ownership were first tightened shortly after the Russian revolution because the ruling classes were scared of a communist insurrection. It is obvious that the British aristocracy have never been comfortable with their subjects owning firearms and so they have used every incident as an opportunity to further erode that right.
Because the number of firearms held by criminals in Britain has actually increased by almost a third since all handguns were prohibited, then another massacres like that at Dunblane could occur. I don't think that encouraging Britons to carry firearms for personal defence would be a solution to our crime problem. But I do believe that the government has immorally seized on events over the years to destroy an activity they have always been uncomfortable with.
You're right, partially because everyone who didn't give up their gun(s), and I would be one of them, automatically became criminals by so doing.
I don't disagree with you here---but they don't even want the police to have guns. Apparently, the only people they allow to be armed are gangsters and terrorists.