Britain Announces Jail Term for Guns

AP / The Guardian, UK ^ | 01.06.2003 | JILL LAWLESS

[EBUCK]

Britain Announces Jail Term for Guns By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press Writer

LONDON (AP) - Britain will introduce a minimum five-year jail sentence for carrying an illegal firearm, a bid to stamp out a growing "gun culture" on the streets, the government said Monday.

The decision - which would apply to handguns and automatic weapons, firearms most often used in crime - came as the shooting deaths of two teenagers last week reignited the debate on gun violence. A ban on replica guns that can be adapted to fire live bullets also is reportedly under consideration.

"While we already have some of the toughest gun laws in the world, there has been an unacceptable increase in the flagrant use of guns in crime across the country," said Home Secretary David Blunkett.

"We will not tolerate an escalation of the number of guns on our streets," he added.

There is currently no minimum sentence for carrying a prohibited weapon. The maximum is 10 years, but many offenders receive much less.

The new rule will be added to the Criminal Justice Bill, currently before Parliament. If lawmakers approve it, the bill should become law by the end of the year.

Officials said the change was planned before the killings of two teenagers outside a party in the English city of Birmingham last week, which shocked a nation where gun crime is relatively rare.

Latisha Shakespear, 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, were killed and two other teenagers were wounded when gunmen opened fire outside a party at a Birmingham hair salon Jan. 2. Police believe all four were innocent bystanders caught in a turf war between street gangs.

Britain banned handguns in 1997 after the massacre of 16 children and a teacher at a primary school in Dunblane, Scotland.

There were 73 gun homicides in England and Wales in the 2000-2001 financial year, and guns were used in only 0.1 percent of all crimes reported that year. But government crime statistics due to be released later this week are expected to show an increase in the number of crimes involving firearms.

Writing in Sunday's News of the World newspaper, London Police chief Sir John Stevens blamed violent images in popular culture.

"This culture of mindless violence, which has sprung partly from the increasing influence of Jamaican and American culture and the glorification of gang warfare, must be stopped," wrote Stevens, who heads London's Metropolitan Police.

Other experts say shootings are often linked to battles over the drug trade, and that guns have flooded into Britain from the Balkans over the last decade.

Blunkett plans to meet police chiefs, immigration officials and community workers in London on Friday to discuss ways of stopping the spread of guns.

2003-01-06 13:51:43 GMT

[from occupied ga]

Typical socialist "logic"

"While we already have some of the toughest gun laws in the world there has been an unacceptable increase in the flagrant use of guns in crime across the country," said Home Secretary David Blunkett."

OK their "tough laws" caused an increase in the number of firearms murders. What is their solution? You guessed it, more of the same

minimum five year ...

This is what passes for "logic" among the idiots/petty tyrants who work for governments. If something has an obvious undesirable result, then do more of it because government a$$holes always know better than anyone else what's good for everyone else. Don't pay any attention to cause and effect, because more restrictive regulations can always make life better for everyone.

This enormously arrogant militant stupidity isn't just limited to the British. Virtually every government official in the usa has it too.

[EBUCK]

It all comes down to crisis which leads to more gubment.

It was a crisis that opened up the door, let the gubment in and will lead the gubment to the "promised" land of total control. Crisis is what makes sheeple clamor for more gubment so anything gubment can do to create crisis (like banning all legal guns, creating a gun toting criminal crisis) is good for gubment.

Same recipie used all thru the ages to achieve the same tyrannical results.

EBUCK

[KneelBeforeZod]

"we're getting tough on crime in New York. Commit a murder, go to jail. That's the law!"

Saturday Night Live (paraphrased)

[from occupied ga]

stupid knee jerk response to a single incident

I disagree. I'm sure that the fascist tyrants in the British government were looking for an excuse to escalate their war on self devense even further. I'm sure this law was planned for some time, it was just a matter of finding a good incident to get the media drumbeat going.

[from occupied ga]

Crisis is what makes sheeple clamor for more gubment so anything gubment can do to create crisis (like banning all legal guns, creating a gun toting criminal crisis) is good for gubment.

Claire Wolfe was wrong; it isn't too early.

[Avoiding_Sulla]

• Britain will introduce a minimum five-year jail sentence for carrying an illegal firearm....
• ...we already have some of the toughest gun laws in the world....
• Officials said the change was planned before the killings....

Here we have another case where the consequences of failed policy are transparently propagandized for the sole purpose of pressing the failure to even worse extremes. It proves nothing quite so well as you have extremists in positions of authority. The appetite of such "Progressives" is insatiable.

At this stage, your "safety" ministers will not cease until a moral bloc gets sufficiently angry to shout "enough" noticeably as a cannon shot.

From Dr. Robert Higgs, January 1995, The Myth of "Failed" Policies:

• Government policies as a rule simply are not what they pretend to be.
• When we take a realistic view of the political process, we see that so-called failed polices are nearly always spectacular successes.

What he demonstrates (and why you should bother to acquaint yourself with his work and assert his findings in all instances such as this) was "if you think a government policy has failed, you are not seeing it from the perspective of the well-fed policy maker.

[glock rocks]

GUN CONTROL
isn't about GUNS

it's about CONTROL

[Travis McGee]

More than just that, criminals LOVE gun control. A five year sentence means nothing to a murderer, but it is enough to totally disarm the law abiding public, giving the criminals a clear field of helpless sheep to take at their will.

[headsonpikes]

"...so called failed policies are nearly always spectacular successes..."

The truth that dare not be spoken.

[aristeides]

Hasn't the UK of late been letting people off who are convicted of robbery and burglary without any jail time?

[Atlas Sneezed]

""This culture of mindless violence, which has sprung partly from the increasing influence of Jamaican and American culture and the glorification of gang warfare, must be stopped," wrote Stevens, who heads London's Metropolitan Police."

This sounds like racial code words to me. I don't think they are referring to Wyatt Earp.

[cake_crumb]

"Britain will introduce a minimum five-year jail sentence for carrying an illegal firearm, a bid to stamp out a growing 'gun culture' on the streets, the government said Monday"

They'll make it more illegal to carry an illegal gun...yeah, THAT'LL learn those criminals!! Typical EUropean feudal mentality : keep the peasants unarmed, all the better to better oppress them.

[alpowolf]

Great post. I agree, this is clearly working out exactly as the govt wanted. They create the problem, and then insist that giving them more power is the only way to "solve" the problem...which spirals ever further out of control.

[alpowolf]

I just noticed, the name of the author is "Lawless". Coincidence?

[sanchmo]

a nation where gun crime is relatively rare.

As Chief Inspector Clouseau once said: "Not anymore!"

[Feiny]

Did someone say British?

[EBUCK]

Yah Baby...

(Notice that Mr. Powers is always armed)

EBUCK

[EBUCK]

They'll make it more illegal to carry an illegal gun...yeah, THAT'LL learn those criminals!! Typical EUropean (AMERICAN LIBERAL) feudal mentality :

Not just them. They are providing the roadmap for our liberal leaders to follow.

EBUCK

[EBUCK]

I think that first time offenders are cited and released...yet gun owners that haven't hurt anyone (yet, according to the lawmakers) get an auto 5 year sentence if this passes.

Gotta get tough on "potential" crime so that the ones that have already committed real crime don't have a chance at jail time.

EBUCK