"Tony Cox" wrote in message
. net...
What the Brits have traded (mostly without realizing it) is a
slightly lower gun homicide rate (those previously-legal-gun
owners who go postal) in exchange for a vastly enhanced
rate for burglary and other crime. It seems like a bad bargain
to me.

No, no, there is no trade. The British have never had handguns
in the home or concealed on their person for protection. Never.
Not before, not after. The law didn't come in and make everyone
give up their handguns. We didn't have them before. This is not
the reason for burglary figures.

In fact (repeating again)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/975561.stm

Since handguns were banned in 1997, crime went down by
10%, with burglary down by 21%. I don't know where people
keep getting the idea that burglaries, etc, went up, let alone
be "vastly enhanced". I'd be the first person to say that the
drop had absolutely nothing to do with banning handguns
though.

But I'm surprised no one has mentioned Tony Martin. He
was a home owner who dispatched a low-life home invader
with his shotgun. He was convicted of murder, reduced to
manslaughter on appeal, and denied parole as he was deemed
"a danger to burglars". The public outcry is such that now
37% (BBC Radio 4 poll) think that a law to allow householders
to use any means to confront burglars is called for. So things
may well change for the better.

Tony Martin was a farmer and had a shotgun. Farmers (and
anyone else who has a locked gun cabinet) could own a shotgun
before. And they still can. I think Mr Martin should have been
acquitted. In my opinion he was fearful of his safety. However
I think the conviction had something to do with the fact that he
shot the burglar in the back while he was running away. When
he was first acquitted (before appeal) there was huge public
support for him.

The other burglar was going to sue him, but dropped the case
because of a huge public outcry.

As for what's happened since WWII, I think you'll find people
didn't have guns in the house back then either. But you'll find the
British forces are just as good as they ever were.

Paul