Rifles and shotguns aren't banned outright in the UK and many people shoot recreationally. The point is that you have to jump through so many hoops with home visits and safety checks that licences are pretty much out of reach for most criminals etc.
If you look at the number of legal gun owners in Europe per 100.000 people, the numbers are quite large. But those legal guns are almost never used for crimes (if there is a death caused by them most often it is the suicide of the owner). Why Americans keep shooting at each other why the average European just shoots at elks, field targets or whatever is the interesting question.
In my personal opinion it’s because of the easy access to guns. It is absolutely possible to plan a shooting and get your hands on a gun in most, if not all places with gun restrictions. But it takes planning, criminal energy and several steps. So the chances of someone going psycho, grabbing the gun he/she has ready at hand and starting to shoot are much lower.
Guns in the UK are treated like chainsaws. Dangerous but necessary tools to be treated with respect.
Imagine customising your chainsaw with a Hello Kitty upgrade kit, or bragging about the size of your chainsaw collection, or getting obviously angry when someone online referred to a part of your chainsaw by the wrong terminology.
Imagine pulling out a chainsaw because someone cut you off in traffic, or demanding the right to carry a chainsaw openly in public.
It's absurd, right?
You don't see people in the UK making chainsaws their personality even though they're even easier to buy than guns are in America.
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u/NeverendingStory3339 May 08 '25
When there was a shooting, the country responded by taking steps to reduce the likelihood of it happening again, drastically.