Column: British Law Not Stopping Children from Carrying Guns

A June 21 UPI commentary says that the strict gun-control laws implemented
in Britain to prevent children from accessing firearms are not working.

The article was written by Iain Murray, a British citizen who specializes in
criminal-justice issues at STATS B, the Statistical Assessment Service, a
Washington, D.C.-based public-policy organization.

Murray noted that despite the country’s five-year-old law, a report by the
British government’s Youth Justice Board found that 26 percent of
high-school students carried a weapon for aggressive or defensive purposes
in the last year.

Furthermore, 23 percent of British students suspended or expelled from
school said they had access to a gun in the last year.

Another study by the International Crime Victimization Survey showed that
Britain’s strict gun-control laws also are not helping to reduce gun crimes.

While other parts of the world saw an overall decline in crime, it has
remained steady in Britain and Australia, which also has a gun ban.

Murray cites data from the London Sunday Times that found that gun crimes
also are on the rise in Britain,
with the number of firearm offenses increasing 40 percent from 1997 to 2000.

Murray says the United States should look at the situation in Britain before
it considers implementing stricter
gun laws.

“If the United States enacts strict gun laws nationwide, the American people
cannot expect to see a swift drop in
crime or to see our police able to do their jobs with less risk,” he said.
“Most of all, they cannot expect such laws to
free delinquent children from the seduction of the gun.”