BritishNationalParty

They want to transfer the lost revenue from income tax to consumption taxes so basically higher VAT. Sounds like it wouldn't work anyway. But I have a suspicion that the real purpose would be to take advantage of the chaos caused by the collapse of public services to throw out of the country people they don't like and impose a fascist dictatorship.  --MawKernewek

Guns don't kill people, criminals with guns kill people. OK, so far. But then you have .. especially when innocent people do not have guns with which to defend themselves. What?? Like America, where armed crime is significantly worse than here? Mad, they're all mad, not to mention the fact that guns aren't a great defence against guns if you're not yourself a good and practised shot... - SunKitten

The murder capital of America is Washington DC, where handguns are banned. Switzerland has a violent crime rate of practically nil despite operating conscription and every adult male in the country being a reservist with a G-3 automatic rifle in their posession. I believe that violent crime (as opposed to terrorism) is also at very low levels in Israel, which has a similar abundance of heavy-duty firearms. There really isn't a conclusive link between gun ownership and violent crimes --SF, who, since he follows American politics rather more closely than British, has heard this debate many, many times and is rather bored of it.

Um, most terrorism *is* violent crime. However, the rest of the stats you quote are interesting. Nonetheless, I don't think it would be a good idea to introduce such laws here (for what it's worth, I don't think guns should be banned now in America, either) - SunKitten

Ah well - they do have that, at least - since you'd have gone through NationalService? and been trained to shoot.  But the prospect of those thugs on the street corner each having an AssaultRifle? fills me with fear.  Thankfully, these idiots will almost certainly get a seat in Oldham and nowhere else.  --Vitenka (Finding a way to phrase that without using the plural was pain.)

Soldiers don't need to shoot terribly accurately unless they're trained snipers, although of course it helps (and I think they are assessed on their accuracy regularly). I learned to shoot accurately in a range, not in OTC training, which admittedly is not at all representative. And women and children - who arguably would need protection most, given that they quote the Dunblane massacre as justification for this insane idea - would not have gone through National Service anyway - SunKitten