Several Officers Injured By Suspect Firing In Shooting In Philadelphia;

[anotheoldgit]

https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-firing-officers-ongoing-shooting-incident-philadelphia-police/story?id=64977503

[naomi24]

Retrocop, as I said, we have never belonged to a club but our GP has certainly been made aware by the police that we own guns.

[ludwig]

Retrocop's description of the measures needed to own a gun in this country is reassuring. It's because we do all that stuff that we don't have a massive gun violence problem.

The situation in America won't change. The genie is out of the bottle over there, and it's almost pointless arguing about it. We need to just learn from their situation and make sure we never go down the same route by making our rules and regulations any less stringent than they are at the moment.

[naomi24]

Lugwig, our gun ownership isn't regulated as strictly as Retrocop's - but we don't belong to a gun club. No one asks how often we use our guns or what ammunition we are buying. We just get a visit from a firearms officer about every five years to check that our guns are stored absolutely securely. But then, as I said, guns don't kill people. People kill people.

[ludwig]

What checks if any were done prior to you being able to purchase guns in the first place?

[naomi24]

A firearms officer came to our home to interview us - and we were granted a licence. With a licence you can legitimately buy a gun.

[ludwig]

I assume it's certain types of gun you can buy. Presumably you couldn't just go and get a couple of AK47s at your local Walmart?

That's their problem. No prior checks and easy access to weapons of war. I'm very glad it's not like that over here.

[naomi24]

Me too .... but as I've said before people who want guns for illegitimate purposes don't apply for licences anyway. In the grand scheme of things although many millions of guns are owned legitimately, very few are used to kill people. Gun owners are overwhelmingly law-abiding.

[ludwig]

// but as I've said before people who want guns for illegitimate purposes don't apply for licences anyway //

True, but at least it's relatively difficult for them to get hold of high powered weapons.

Imagine if the scumbags that went on a murder spree on London Bridge had been wielding machine guns instead of just knives.

[ladybirder]

Groundhog day I see.

I didn't know you owned a gun either Naomi.

[naomi24]

Ludwig, //Imagine if the scumbags that went on a murder spree on London Bridge had been wielding machine guns instead of just knives. //

But they could have been. Such weapons are available in this country, albeit illegitimately. I do agree that it is of course easier to access weapons if they are legally available, but my point is ... well, I think I've made my point several times. As LB says, groundhog day.

[retrocop]

naomi,
May I ask which constabulary deals with your firearms renewal. I understand if you do not wish to disclose that info but if it’s in reasonable proximity to Bisley I would like to live in your county. :-)

[naomi24]

Sorry, Retrocop. No.

[retrocop]

Fair enough. No problem. It would appear that,although H.O. guidelines are sent to all Police Forces, there is a large disparity how the various forces interpret them in the UK. The forms to apply, for example, are standardised nationally. The shooting club to which I belong has a membership of officers retired and serving. They represent four different police forces. We all discuss the differences between our Firearms enquiry teams and it is quite surprising how they sometimes differ. Once upon a time an application for a moderator was viewed with great suspicion and rarely granted. (Oddly enough they are illegal for civilians in USA). Now ,when I tentatively asked my FEO what the chances were of applying for one he replied," Health and Safety, environmental protection, Yes no problem. Others in the club have to go through an inquisition to get them.
Some Chief Constables have actually been threatened legal action for going beyond their brief with regards to legitimate firearms holders and have capitulated just because they personally do not like firearms.Recently their was a Home Office enquiry inspired by EU legislation. On the committee was one Shadow Home Secretary.
The discussion was to make current rifles on sale in the UK illegal if fitted with a MARS action. I can just imagine Abbots face when she was asked for her input on this particular subject. Hey Ho .Such is the ignorance of the fools who have no clue on these matters and attempt to legislate on it.

[ludwig]

// I do agree that it is of course easier to access weapons if they are legally available,//

Which is the whole point. While it's true that people kill people, people that have easy access to assault rifles and machine guns kill more people than people that don't.

As I say, it's America's issue to deal with or not, as they see fit. I'm just glad I don't live there.

[retrocop]

Ludwig
The type of guns legally purchased but sadly used for these massacres in the USA are not available in the UK and are Illegal for civilians to purchase or use them here. They are fully automatic burst fire weapons with multiple round magazine capacity.There is no requirement for them amongst the legitimate shooting fraternity and do not have the accuracy required for dedicated target shooters who require one round only at a time to hit their mark first time and not the scatter gun effect.

[ludwig]

// The type of guns legally purchased but sadly used for these massacres in the USA are not available in the UK and are Illegal for civilians to purchase or use them here //

That's exactly my point retro, and one of the reasons I'm glad I live here and not over there.

[andy-hughes]

naomi - // In the grand scheme of things although many millions of guns are owned legitimately, very few are used to kill people. Gun owners are overwhelmingly law-abiding. //

No-one would argue with that - but that doesn't really help with the few who are not, does it.

[naomi24]

^ irrational. The same can be said of a knife - or in fact anything that can be used as a weapon.

[fender62]

why would anyone want a semi automatic rifle with a bump stock
seems it has only one purpose, to take out as many people as possible
or a herd of deer..errr, ak47 ar15's why.

[Theland]

Naomi - What type of guns do you own?
Shotguns, rifles, pistols?
What do you use them for?