JOLLY OLD ENGLAND IS NOW EXPERIENCING THE TRUTH in the saying, "when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." Law abiding citizens were forced to give up all their handguns after the British government passed one of the most stringent gun bans in the world in 1997. Pistols that had been in families for generations -- I know of one that that had been in the battle of Trafalgar -- as well as single shot Olympic pistols, were confiscated by the government for pennies on the dollar, all in the cause of public safety.
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Since that draconian gun law was passed as a response to the Dunblane schoolyard massacre, the crime rate has skyrocketed and according to the London Sunday Times of March 10, 2002, it is very easy to buy an illegal gun on the streets of London if you have a few hundred pounds.
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Criminal use of handguns since the 1997 ban has jumped by 40 percent.
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With its burgeoning crime rate London has surpassed the crime rate of New York City. During this same 5-year period, New York City\ufffds crime rate dripped while London\ufffds rose \ufffd in London crime pays.
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The politicians and the gun banners won\ufffdt acknowledge that banning guns doesn\ufffdt stop criminals from misusing guns. So when their ban doesn\ufffdt work, they lobby for more of the same impotent solution. Tony Blair\ufffds government is now calling for a ban on replica firearms, gun shaped cigarette lighters, and air pistols. When will they learn that the only people who will obey are law-abiding citizens, who don\ufffdt misuse real firearms, let alone replicas, air pistols, or cigarette lighters?