1.  GENERAL POSITION OF THE GUN CONTROL NETWORK

  1.1  The Gun Control Network (GCN) proposals outlined in this document are predicated on the belief that the interests of public safety demand a reduction in the availability and attractiveness of firearms of all kinds. There is a well established correlation between gun violence and the availability of guns, both legal and illegal. The more guns there are in a society the more they will be used and abused. Moreover, the distinction between legal and illegal weapons is not clear cut. It should not be forgotten that virtually all guns start out as legal weapons, and that victims are unable to discriminate between a bullet fired from a legal or an illegal gun. Policy must be based on the strict control of availability of all weapons. What is needed is legislation and law enforcement.

  1.2  CGN recognises the existence of a significant, through minority, interest in shooting for sport, and our proposals are aimed at striking an appropriate balance between the sport-shooting interest and the overriding interest of public safety. The social and economic consequences of gun violence in any society are hard to estimate in full, but they are real costs.

  1.3  Where differences in gun law exist between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, we believe that harmonisation should always result in tighter controls and never in a relaxation of the law.

2.  AIRGUNS AND LETHALITY

GCN proposes the adoption of licensing requirements for al airguns not deemed to be toys.

  2.1  In GCN's submission to the Home Affairs Committee in 1999, we set out our concerns about the injuries caused to those who have been targeted by young people using air weapons. We were also aware of the public unease about the frequent targeting of animals with air weapons and the significant damage to property caused by their use. In Annex I we list a number of recent incidents that illustrate the dangers posed by these weapons. Further examples may be found in Annex II of our evidence to the Home Affairs Committee in 1999.

  2.2  Too often air guns are regarded as toys, not only by the young people who use them but also by some of their parents. As a result their potential to cause harm is disregarded. In 1999 we proposed an extension of the existing licensing system in Great Britain to include air weapons and a minimum age limit of 18 being placed on their use. This would reduce the prevalence of these weapons, make sure they are only handled by those mature enough to use them and signal that they can be a danger to the public.

  2.3  Air weaponry is becoming more sophisticated. Many guns bear a close resemblance to handguns, others can be converted to fire live ammunition. Brocock air cartridge pistols have become a particular concern, one that the Prime Minister raised immediately after the recent shootings in Erfurt, Germany.[1] These can be bought over the counter in Great Britain. A number have been converted and used in "gangster-style" killings. These are definitely not play things.

  2.4  The Home Affairs Committee proposed that air weapons should be licensed in England and Wales. GCN agreed with this proposal but the government did not support it.

  2.5  It is the view of GCN that licensing should apply, at least, to all weapons that are capable of lethal injury, and preferably to all weapons not defined as toys. In its eleventh Annual Report, the Firearms Consultative Committee recommended that any weapon with a muzzle energy of more than one joule should be regarded as a firearm and licensed as such. If this was introduced elsewhere in the UK it would still be the case that Northern Ireland would have tighter controls on airguns than England, Wales and Scotland. In our view, Northern Ireland would be well advised to capitalise on existing tight regulation of air guns and licence all weapons that are not defined as toys. Toy guns are defined by European Standard as "projectile toys with stored energy" of 0.08 Joules.

  2.6  In our view deregulation in Northern Ireland would be a retrograde step. It would lead to an increase in the availability of air weapons, which would in turn undermine public safety. In view of the widespread misuse of airguns by young people we also urge that there is no relaxation of the age limit for airguns or any other type of firearm.

3.  HANDGUNS

  GCN proposed the adoption in Northern Ireland of the handgun ban existing in the rest of the UK

  3.1  The case for the banning of handguns was widely discussed during the period following the Dunblane massacre in March 1996. The case was accepted by the government, and the two Firearms (Amendment) 1997 Acts resulted in a complete ban on the civilian ownership of handguns in Great Britain. Civilian ownership of handguns is particularly dangerous because these weapons are easy concealable, high-powered and can be used to fire multiple shots rapidly. Their availability to civilians significantly increases the possibility of their misuse. In this context it is worth noting that in almost all the multiple killings in recent years and certainly those in Erfurt, Zug, Nanterre, Dunblane, Atlanta, Montreal and Hungerford, the killers were all previously law abiding men using legal weapons.

  3.2  GCN sees no justification for the continued ownership of these dangerous weapons for the purposes of sports shooting. In this case harmonisation of the law should involve the adoption by Northern Ireland of the prohibition of handguns.

  3.3  GCN understands the need for special measures for the protection of vulnerable individuals, but draws the Committee's attention to the evidence from the United States indicating that the widespread use of handguns for personal protection does not result in a safer society. Most published research shows that increased gun availability (predominantly of handguns) increases the incidence of gun death, especially to the gun owner and those closest to him. The few studies that have reached an opposite conclusion are based on flawed research which has been given disproportionate publicity by shooting organisations. A detailed analysis of the relevant data is provided by Sugarmann[2].

  3.4  GCN believes that there is no evidence from the published statistics from Great Britain that the handgun ban has not worked. At the time of Dunblane it was claimed by shooters that pistol shooting was the fastest growing sport in the UK. Without the ban we would have expected to see handgun ownership rising quickly, possibly even to the levels experienced in the US. Along with such increases in legal weapons we would have expected to see a high rise in gun violence and a progressively higher proportion of violent crime being committed with guns. At present, the rate of gun crime as a proportion of violent crime remains static and low—around 4.7 per cent in the UK compared with around 80 per cent in the US.

  3.5  Short term fluctuations in gun crime figures have been seized upon by shooters wishing to show that the handgun ban hasn't worked. It seems clear that there has been a recent rash of drug and gang related gun crime in English inner city areas but there is no evidence of a significant underlying trend. The figures from Scotland are unaffected by such short term fluctuations and may therefore be of most relevance to the situation in Northern Ireland. The most recent data (for the year 2000) show that offences involving handguns were at their lowest since 1995, that injuries caused by handguns were lower than at any time since 1992 and that only one homicide was committed with a handgun in Scotland in 2000[3].

4.  IMITATIONS

GCN proposes a ban on the sale, manufacture and import of imitation guns and their possession in a public place.

  4.1  Imitation weapons have the appearance of lethal guns but are not sold as such. They may fire caps or ball bearings or pellets or nothing at all. Some are manufactured under licence from the makers of real handguns eg Colt, Smith and Wesson etc. They bear identical logos and are intended to look and feel exactly like the real thing. They are available without licence and sold in market stalls, camping and toy shops, over the internet and by mail order.

  4.2  The police in England and Wales give varying estimates of the proportion of gun crime that is committed with imitation weapons. Although these figures range from 50 per cent-80 per cent there is agreement that the quantity of imitations in circulation is rising. This is borne out by recent research showing that the market in imitations grew by over 50 per cent between 1997-99.[4]

  4.3  Police and victims alike react to imitation weapons as if they are the real thing. They can be used to bully, intimidate and rob victims in streets and playgrounds across the country. They contribute to a sense of insecurity and there is a danger that they may be fuelling a growing gun culture.

  4.4  Police Armed Response Units are sent to hundreds of incidents involving imitation weapons every year. The cost of this is significant and the danger to the perpetrator cannot be overestimated.

  4.5  Many other countries including Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Sweden, France and parts of the USA have laws to control these weapons.

  4.6  The number of such weapons in circulation is now so great that it is impractical to impose a ban on their private possession; what is necessary is a damage limitation exercise.

  4.7  A perfectly workable definition of an imitation firearm is contained in the 1968 Firearms Act. This would include the easily convertible Brocock air pistol and any other gun that looks like a lethal weapon but is not registerable. The courts are well able to judge whether something is an imitation as defined in the 1968 Act and no further definition is necessary. GCN's lawyers have drawn up simple legislation to ban the sale, import and manufacture of imitation guns and their possession in a public place. (see Appendix 2)

5.  GUNS AND CHILDREN

GCN proposes a minimum age limit of 18 for ownership, possession and use of guns of all kinds.

  5.1  Children who are introduced to firearms at an early age are more likely than others to become committed firearms owners and users in later life. From a public safety perspective, however, it is clearly desirable to reduce the overall numbers of firearms owners and the number of firearms in private hands. This objective in itself argues for the creation of an age limit, keeping children away from guns until they reach the age of majority.

  5.2  The argument that introducing children to the use of firearms is a contribution to public safety—either on grounds on self-defence or on grounds of training children in the responsible use of firearms—is specious, articulated only in the interests of legitimising the spread of firearms ownership in civil society.

  5.3  Independent research ie that which is not funded by shooting organisations consistently supports the direct link between gun availability and gun death. The most recent confirmation of this connection was an American study by the Harvard School of Public Health published in The Journal of Trauma in March 2002.

  5.4  The study showed that children living in the five states with the highest levels of gun ownership were 16 times more likely to die from accidental gun injury, seven times more likely to die from gun suicide and three times more likely to die from gun murder than children in the five states with the lowest levels of gun ownership.

  5.5  There is clear evidence internationally that the increased prevalence of firearms in private hands is in itself the most important factor in their increased use in violent crime, suicide and accident.

  5.6  As an organised society, we remain committed to the age of 18 as the age of majority, determining whether people can lawfully buy alcohol, vote or enter into a mortgage. It seems only consistent that a similar restriction should be applied to the purchase and use of highly dangerous weapons.

12 May 2002

2   Sugarmann, J. 1999. Every Handgun is Aimed at You. The New Press, New York. Back

3   Scottish Executive. 2001. Statistical Bulletin-Criminal Justice Series-Recorded Crimes and Offences Involving Firearms, Scotland, 2000. Back

4   Taylor and Hornsby 1999 Durham University, Replica firearms-a new frontier in the gun market. Back