The history of gun control in
Britain:
1689: King William of Orange
guarantees his subjects (except Catholics) the right to bear arms for
self-defense in a new Bill of Rights.
1819: A temporary Seizure of
Arms Act is passed allowing constables to search for, and confiscate, arms for
people who are “dangerous to the public peace.” Set to expire in two years.
1870: A license is required
to carry a firearm outside of your home.
1903: The Pistol Act is
introduced. No guns for drunks or the mentally insane, and licenses required
for handgun purchases.
1920: The Firearms Act ushers
in the first registration system. Gives police power to deny a license to
anyone “unfitted to be trusted with a firearm.” Gun ownership became a
privilege, not a right.
1937: Update to the Firearms
Act raising minimum age to buy a gun, gives police more power to regulate
licenses, and bans most fully automatic weapons. The home secretary alson rules
that self-defense is no longer a valid reason to be granted a gun certificate.
(See 1689).
1967: The Criminal Justice
Act expands licensing to shotguns.
1968: Applicants for a
license must show good reason for carrying a gun and ammunition.
1988: After the Hungerford
Massacre, an amendment to the Firearms Act is passed banning several types of
guns altogether.
1997: After the Dunblane
Massacre, another Firearms Act amendment is passed essentially banning all
handguns.
From Control by Glenn Beck
