Dunblane: how Britain banned handguns

[mudman]

BBC 2 last night

Thirty years ago since those terrible events.

Subsequently I don’t think we had a chance of keeping full bore handguns in the face of such an emotionally charged campaign by grief stricken parents, and the following huge swing in public opinion against hand guns.

Mike Yardley came across well in the old clips shown on last nights program trying to ‘fight our corner’. The campaign had a rota of parents of some of the killed children to appear on TV discussions, infront of committees etc. Very very powerful and an incredibly difficult to counter.

Conservatives banned full bore hand guns, then Blair came in with a massive majority and amended the legislation to ban .22 pistols as well at the demand of the Snowdrop campaign.

I wonder if there will ever be a chance of getting .22 pistols back?

 

[Malxwal]

In a word, no. Sounds a bit miserable, but I don't see any indication of individual freedoms doing anything other than retracting in any sphere of life.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

No chance unless you deal in drugs.
That law change happened when I was in Argentina on a Ford job so I had no knowledge of it all till I returned and a pal asked me what I felt about about the ban.
It was my main impetus to leave the "ban it all if a loud minority shouts loud, mainland UK, ala fox hunting".
Banning cars in cities would save many lives but it will never happen.
Oh am I ranting?

 

[Danny Boy]

16 young children and a teacher killed + 15 injured. I can see why the draconian ban was implemented. It was not just 1 person that got killed and kind of forgotten about 5 years later. The event tore a deep wound through Scotland up to this day. When idiots and scumbags keep committing these atrocities there will always be a backlash and consequences. The same reason we now have to get an Air Weapon Licence to buy any kind of airgun because some junkie ****wit killed a toddler with an air rifle a few years ago and the parents went to court to get it licenced so it would never happen again. It took me months of waiting for my AWL but I can live with that.

 

[Bo Diddley]

Banning cars in cities would save many lives but it will never happen.

I'd never say never on that one.

 

[6mmarc]

Yeah hate to say it but we will never get proper handguns back in the uk again
Once they take something the government never gives it back no mater what party it is I had to hand all mine in and it’s done nothing to make this country safer at all despite all the lies( sorry promises ) from the government hand gun crime has gone up since the ban every year

 

[Reloader708]

Hmm, the BBC has had a couple of articles out this week, what i really don't like is the "gun owners are weird creeps" vibe they always push.
Shooting sports are a valid and legitimate pass time and should be promoted as such.
How much bother does football cause...ban that!

 

[finnbear270]

Probably the reason for records of licence holders now being subject to current flagging at Dr's.
GPMS RESTRICTED
THIS REPORT IS EMBARGOED
UNTIL 4PM MONDAY 28 TH MARCH 2011
84
SECTION 14
CONCLUSION
14. In response to the question, “Could this have been prevented before
it started?” I am satisfied beyond any doubt that Cumbria
Constabulary had no opportunity to prevent this incident prior to 2nd
June 2010.
14.1 Given that Cumbria Constabulary were not made aware of Derrick
BIRD’S deteriorating emotional and mental state, the Peer Review
team are satisfied that there was no action that could have been
taken by the force in preventing him from setting out on his shooting
spree

Dunblane and L Cullen's report 1996:
The proposal by the Association of Police Surgeons for the provision by the
applicant's medical practitioner of information as to the applicant's medical
history and its consideration by a forensic medical examiner should be the
subject of consultation with the interested bodies.
The Government accepts this recommendation and will consult as suggested

 

[slider]

Let's just remember those that were lost, and the many more that were (and still are) touched by the events on the anniversary of that tragic day and not get into any debate on the rights and wrongs of what followed.

 

[User00056]

There were so many failings in the system prior to that terrible day. No cross-reference between digital and paper records, police unaware of long-standing complaints about Hamilton because of internal failures, repeated complaints about his behaviour around children, including reports of inappropriate conduct at boys’ clubs and concerns raised by local residents and officials, etc.

The Cullen report had a lot of criticism for the police. Poor record‑keeping, lack of transparency, fragmented communication, over‑reliance on incomplete computer searches, and weaknesses in firearms licensing procedures overall.

The ban didn't directly affect me at the time, as I wasn't a firearms owner. I do, however, remember feeling that a kneejerk reaction outright ban was a very unfair response, and that wider issues weren't being addressed. Nor did the police take any accountability for what individual and systemic failures to correctly implement the existing legislation. The fact that Hamilton managed to renew his FAC seven times is utterly outrageous.

 

[finnbear270]

We are still burdened by the general public's belief, that the licensing authorities have no fault in these happenings, as more recent events show.

 

[AGR]

Yeah hate to say it but we will never get proper handguns back in the uk again

Sure you can, just go onto the dark web. UK Guns and Ammo store.
Hard to believe how easy it (appears to be) to buy illegal weapons.

 

[Tarquin]

On that day I was dropping off my then 7 yo daughter to school. Some of the other parents knew I was a gun owner. It was a different time. I remember the "looks" I was getting.
She spoke to me about it last week as she had seen one of the TV programs about it. I asked her if the program dealt with fall out from the gun owners perspective. I told her about how it affected me and many others. The loss of business and suicides. I remember a TV program at the time involving gun owners - some I knew - and members of the snowdrop group. I recall one woman pointing and screaming at the gun owners " you are all as guilty as Hamilton". It was a tragic time for all involved. I still have all the paperwork from back then. If you can find it there was a follow up document about the Cullen report.

 

[timbrayford]

BBC 2 last night

Thirty years ago since those terrible events.

Subsequently I don’t think we had a chance of keeping full bore handguns in the face of such an emotionally charged campaign by grief stricken parents, and the following huge swing in public opinion against hand guns.

Mike Yardley came across well in the old clips shown on last nights program trying to ‘fight our corner’. The campaign had a rota of parents of some of the killed children to appear on TV discussions, infront of committees etc. Very very powerful and an incredibly difficult to counter.

Conservatives banned full bore hand guns, then Blair came in with a massive majority and amended the legislation to ban .22 pistols as well at the demand of the Snowdrop campaign.

I wonder if there will ever be a chance of getting .22 pistols back?

In 70 years time maybe when the truth about paedophile rings officially comes out, linking Thomas Hamilton with the head of the FLD, other senior police, clerics, judges and freemasonry. The cover up was not to protect the boarding school kids, that was just ruse to protect public sector bigwigs from shame & embarrassment. Every time an amateur or corrupt FLD gets "fit to be entrusted wrong" the shooting community gets scapegoated!

 

[Cyres]

I watched it last night. I would like to know the reasoning behind the 100yr lock down of the police evidence.
In light of all the other historical cover ups that are slowly being uncovered I wonder what it will take to discover the truth in this tragic event.
D

 

[Smellydog]

I distinctly remember the immediate footage after the event.
The school glass windows had bullet holes in them!
It is my belief and others that the police tried to shoot Hamilton through the glass.
If correct your imagination can do the rest!

I would not be at all surprised if it wasn't all Hamilton's shots that harmed children!!

Hamilton got his license via the chief constables connection with the free mason's and possibly homosexual relationships.

The chiefs staff sent over 50 memo's requesting Hamilton's licence be revoked but they were ignored.
The chief got early retirement and nothing else.

Since Dumblane do I trust the establishment or authorities? Not one bit.

 

[Liveonce]

I watched it last night. I would like to know the reasoning behind the 100yr lock down of the police evidence.
In light of all the other historical cover ups that are slowly being uncovered I wonder what it will take to discover the truth in this tragic event.
D

A 100 year wait sadly will not be alive to know the truth, they made sure of that by the lock.

 

[Greenmist]

I watched it last night. I would like to know the reasoning behind the 100yr lock down of the police evidence.
In light of all the other historical cover ups that are slowly being uncovered I wonder what it will take to discover the truth in this tragic event.
D

One of the rumours was that hamilton knew and was involved with political figures. Ed Davey has jumped on this by suggesting that Reform want a guntopia in the UK, more worrying was the news this morning with an "expert" retired police officer who claims the uk does not require sect 1 firearms at all, Charlie Jacoby spoke well in shootings defence, @Conor O'Gorman , what has the response to your campaigning been like from the Lib dems, as they appear to have us in their political sights

 

[Foxyboy43]

An interesting perspective from those who were so badly impacted and dare I say it dreadfully served by the actions of an utter madman - for a callous murdering bastard he was and by all accounts the public at large and the entirely law abiding shooting community were very badly served by those in authority who could and indeed should have prevented it.
Over here in NI and paradoxically despite a rather dreadful thirty years or so we still have full-bore pistols and a thriving pistol shooting community. It strikes me that those who rushed in the legislation were guilty of popular politics with little logic or evidence behind their actions…

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Assholes pure and simple, bandwagon jumpers of the worst sort.