this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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The UK has really strict laws on firearms AFAIK, you have to either apply for a certificate from the police or surrender them even if you're an antique collector. The government website ofc does into more detail. I'm not really involved in the firearms debate, so I can't say if I want more or less. I will say there's a lot of knife crime in the UK though, enough for it to be a common occurrence on local news and a meme in online circles.
I'm not from here, but in Svalbard, a firearm is a legal requirement due to the bears in the area, but even then the use of it should be a last-resort if all the other bear deterrents have failed. Tom Scott's got a good video on it.
Theres far less knife crime in the UK than gun crime OR knife crime in USA
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/5/16/2098275/-The-Right-likes-to-compare-US-Gun-Violence-to-UK-Knife-Violence-They-are-NOT-the-same
That article doesn't make a fair comparison.
It compares murders (intentional, not legally justified killings) in the UK, to homicides (any and all killings) in the US.
The differences between victim survey statistics and crime reporting statistics are not easy to explain. In the US, trends in victim reporting tend to lead law enforcement statistics by a year or two, which makes one wonder whether law enforcement is padding the numbers -- either to make themselves look good (when crime is increasing according to victim reports and it would reflect badly on them if LE statistics followed suit), or to make themselves look necessary (when victim-reported crime is going down and LE statistics might make LE look redundant).
There's not really a huge debate as I think most people are fine with the current status quo.
From my own perspective guns were more available and used more casually by criminals before the 1997 legislation in the wake of the Dunblane massacre. Afterwards it was much less of an issue. If you really wanted one you could get one I'm sure but the cost (financial and risk) has gone up making it less of an option for petty criminals. Now you usually here of gun violence between gangs.
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Tom Scott's got a good video on it
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