You know this massacre thing...?

[immense]

Why do people need to keep guns? I can understand farmers but why do people like taxi drivers need guns? Sure he has a license and what not... but how do you get one? Is it just if you have an interest in shooting as a sport and can prove that you're not a weirdo?

lol confused :S why should anyone bar farmers have a gun

[Jordy]

Shooting/Hunting is a sport, he lived in the countryside so it's not too surprising he had a gun licence, they're quite strict about how you keep the gun etc though, they don't just hand them out. Plus this guy was pretty normal beforehand, there was no reason to suspect he would cause some sort of massacre.

[immense]

Yeah, I gathered that he was normal beforehand. We are animals though, we can all flip. I don't think anyone should be able to keep a gun :S If he hadn't kept one 12 innocent people would still be alive today.

[Jordy]

He could still obtain one illegally or just cause a massacre using some other weapon. I'm afraid no laws need changing, there's only so much you can do to prevent somebody going mad and killing people, in the UK things like this rarely happen as we have some of the harshest gun related laws in the world, an outright ban would be a step too far.

Here's a bit about the gun license for you...

Under Home Office guidelines, gun licences are only issued if a person has legitimate sporting or work-related reasons for owning a gun. Since 1946, self-defence has not been considered a valid reason to own a gun. The current licensing procedure involves: positive verification of identity, two referees of verifiable good character who have known the applicant for at least two years (and who may themselves be interviewed and/or investigated as part of the certification), approval of the application by the applicant's own family doctor, an inspection of the premises and cabinet where guns will be kept and a face-to-face interview by a Firearms Enquiry Officer (FEO) also known as a Firearms Liaison Officer (FLO). A thorough background check of the applicant is then made by Special Branch on behalf of the firearms licensing department. Only when all these stages have been satisfactorily completed will a licence be issued.

[immense]

I know it's not a regular thing but it has happened enough for it to be a concern. Anybody who has passed these 'tests' which I imagine anybody can. It's not that hard to portray yourself as a serious character and say you have a bolted shed to keep them in.

[Jordy]

You need references, they have to see the cabinet you store them in and you are also required to have membership to a sports club unless you're a farmer in which case you can use them for pest control.

I really don't see a concern here, just a tragedy.

[immense]

How hard is it to join a sports club and have a cabinet. I could do all of these and easily get references. Why should I be trusted with the ability to play God?

[Swastika]

He could may well of gotten the guns illegally?
There are plenty of illegal firearms on the streets of Britain, how else would teenagers be shooting each other?
Guns were always going to be invented no matter what, same as knifes, crossbows, swords etc - its just one of those things.
Britain is probably one of the most safety countries out there when it comes to gun crime, that's not what can be said about the United States for example, if your so anti-gun then you should probably count yourself lucky for living in the UK.

I hope England doesn't take on the gun culture like America, they say we're 10 years behind the US haha.

[Jordy]

How hard is it to join a sports club and have a cabinet. I could do all of these and easily get references. Why should I be trusted with the ability to play God?

Probably quite difficult and expensive I imagine. They're not going to let some gangster join a shooting club who never returns.

I'm afraid everyone is trusted with the ability to play God, perhaps all sharp metal objects should be banned because you could stab someone or all chemicals should be banned because you could make a bomb.

[immense]

Probably quite difficult and expensive I imagine. They're not going to let some gangster join a shooting club who never returns.

I'm afraid everyone is trusted with the ability to play God, perhaps all sharp metal objects should be banned because you could stab someone or all chemicals should be banned because you could make a bomb.

I'm not saying they should be banned. I think the system we have at the moment is OK, the checks just need to be more rigorous and owners more careful. Living in Devon, I see firearms regularly (on farms etc) - someone with the wrong intentions could swipe these with ease. They're literally just lazing around on Land Rover bonnets. So many of them go missing, I dread to think where they could be now and what they're being used for.