Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 16:14:29 -0700
From: [R B rummer] at [eworld.com]
To: [n--b--n] at [Mainstream.com], [firearms alert owner] at [shell.portal.com],
Subject: [Media] Report from the Sunday Times

>From The Sunday Times 23 July 1995 No. 8917

In an article entitled "Amnesty call by police as illegal guns reach 1m" by
Ian Burrell and David Leppard, it was reported that fifty chiefs of police
planned to write to home secretary Michael Howard and request that unlicensed
gun-holders be invited to surrender their weapons. 

the article states:

"Police chiefs are so concerned about the dramatic escalation in the use of
guns street and during burglaries that they are taking the unprecedented step
of asking senior ministers to act immediately.

They point to the latest Home Office statistics, for 1993, which show that
the use of firearms in murders, attempted murders and other violent crimes
has risen nearly 25% in one year. The use of guns in household burglaries has
increased by 29% during the same period. The number of street robberies is
also up--by 20%"

This seems a characteristically British way of dealing with the problem. You
just ask the criminals nicely to turn in their arms. If they don't, you pass
harsher gun control laws for the law abiding. It's all very civilized.For
some reason the amnesty is going to be focused on CS gas, pepper spray, stun
guns, trophies of war and large magazine smoothbore guns.What this has to do
with the guns used in crimes is something of a mystery.

the article further states:

"Police and customs statistics for last year reveal the massive increase in
the firearms black market."

"Police efforts to curb the growth of gun crime by arming officers and
raising the number of armed response vehicles have so far had little effect.
Senior officers say that criminals are now frequently resorting to the
flourishing black market in in guns to commit crimes and resolve petty
disputes."

In response the British government is going after war veterans who have
failed to turn in trophies, sportsmen who want to keep their pump action
shotguns and frightened citizens who are turning to ineffective methods such
as pepper spray to defend themselves. They completely ignore the breakdown in
civilized behavior and the increasing violence in the society and focus on
the entirely irrelevant issue of guns. 

What seems evident form the article and the police reports cited therein is
that when you have violent criminally minded people in society, they will
resort to whatever means necessary to obtain whatever tools they deem
necessary to ply their trade. As is pointed out in the article, the criminals
don't care that guns are illegal. They will trade in them anyway.

Even the authors of the article seem to realize the pointlessness of gun the
gun buy back:

"It is unlikely however that many guns will be returned by hardcore
criminals. Many of the illegal weapons surrendered in 1988 (during a previous
amnesty) had been unused for many years and were kept as family heirlooms."

It's sad that people are willing to engage in such useless symbolic gestures.
They gained nothing by turning in their guns and they lost family heirlooms.
Their is also something unprincipled about participating in such pointless
programs.Those who participate in such foolishness are just helping to delay
or prevent serious solutions to the crime problem.

The reporters go on to say: 

"Senior officers say huge numbers of guns are being smuggled into Britain
from eastern Europe, where the Russian mafia has taken control of the
lucrative black market.Others have been brought back as "souvenirs" by
soldiers returning from the Falklands and Gulf wars. Many second-hand weapons
from the Ministry of Defence have also turned up on the black market,
prompting a government investigation."

They lump former British soldiers who will probably never commit a crime in
with the Russian mafia.And while they focus their attention on guns they will
continue to suffer the sort of decay in character and values that has plagued
many areas of the U.S.and the rise in crime that comes with it.