I tried to post this as a comment to a Daily Bulletin article "Failure of Euro-Style Gun Control Explained by Professor Lott" but I could not because it apparently "seems a bit spammy". If that is the case, I apologise in advance!
The shootings in Cumbria were a tragedy. I have not read through the whole report cited above, however, readers may be interested to know that so far the response by the media and particularly politicians has been quite restrained. Alot of questions were asked about gun laws as the shock of the events unfolded. However, as people have had time to reflect, it appears as though the prospect of a knee-jerk reaction by policy makers is less likely, although that is not to say there will be no policy changes.
The report above suggests that "Western Europe, most of whose countries have much tougher gun laws than the United States, has experienced many of the worst multiple-victim public shootings." Without necessarily commenting on this, the following link is interesting when it comes to comparative international statistics on mass killings http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2010/06/the_risk_from_guns.html
Some interesting quotes from the national UK press regarding the Cumbria tragedy include:
Evening Standard comment 03 June - "the challenge is to implement the law as it stands, not to change it. Offences involving guns amount to just 0.3 per cent of total crime. We should, then, be wary of any efforts at hasty legislation to prevent these tragedies happening again. The rule is that if we legislate in haste, we repent at leisure, and there are any number of measures such as the Dangerous Dogs Act to prove the maxim. Sometimes, there is no point in pretending that there is anything we can usefully do in the face of tragedy other than to deplore the actions of the perpetrator and keep the victims in our thoughts and prayers. That's true here." http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23840990-cumbria-a-terrible-unavoidable-tragedy.do
Daily Telegraph comment 04 Jun 2010 - "I don’t think there is any way to stop horrors like this week’s happening again, however tough you make the law. If Bird hadn’t had guns and was sufficiently mad that he wanted to kill some people, he would have found a way to do so. There certainly are inconsistencies between police forces and there are loopholes. But almost every licensed shotgun or firearm owner in the country behaves scrupulously, for fear of losing the chance to participate in his or her sport if they do not. One truly shocking case should not precipitate a bad law." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/7803836/Cumbria-shootings-This-is-no-time-to-change-our-gun-laws.html
The Times leader article 05 June (quotes the Prime Minister) - "More impressive perhaps than his quietly poetic response to the tragedy, Mr Cameron also responded in the sensible prose of sound government to the senseless rampage of Derrick Bird. In the aftermath of an act that may never yield up a rational explanation, Mr Cameron judiciously said that Britain’s gun laws are very restrictive as it is and that a rapid response would probably be counter-productive. “You can’t legislate”, he said, “to stop a switch flicking in someone’s head.”" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article7144367.ece
Finally, a quote from the NRA (UK) in an email to members "As a result of the joint efforts of all of the national shooting bodies, working in co-operation, the media are at this point in time treating the events in Cumbria as the tragedy it is, not allocating blame to the shooting community."
The shootings in Cumbria were a tragedy. I have not read through the whole report cited above, however, readers may be interested to know that so far the response by the media and particularly politicians has been quite restrained. Alot of questions were asked about gun laws as the shock of the events unfolded. However, as people have had time to reflect, it appears as though the prospect of a knee-jerk reaction by policy makers is less likely, although that is not to say there will be no policy changes.
The report above suggests that "Western Europe, most of whose countries have much tougher gun laws than the United States, has experienced many of the worst multiple-victim public shootings." Without necessarily commenting on this, the following link is interesting when it comes to comparative international statistics on mass killings http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2010/06/the_risk_from_guns.html
Some interesting quotes from the national UK press regarding the Cumbria tragedy include:
Evening Standard comment 03 June - "the challenge is to implement the law as it stands, not to change it. Offences involving guns amount to just 0.3 per cent of total crime. We should, then, be wary of any efforts at hasty legislation to prevent these tragedies happening again. The rule is that if we legislate in haste, we repent at leisure, and there are any number of measures such as the Dangerous Dogs Act to prove the maxim. Sometimes, there is no point in pretending that there is anything we can usefully do in the face of tragedy other than to deplore the actions of the perpetrator and keep the victims in our thoughts and prayers. That's true here." http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23840990-cumbria-a-terrible-unavoidable-tragedy.do
Daily Telegraph comment 04 Jun 2010 - "I don’t think there is any way to stop horrors like this week’s happening again, however tough you make the law. If Bird hadn’t had guns and was sufficiently mad that he wanted to kill some people, he would have found a way to do so. There certainly are inconsistencies between police forces and there are loopholes. But almost every licensed shotgun or firearm owner in the country behaves scrupulously, for fear of losing the chance to participate in his or her sport if they do not. One truly shocking case should not precipitate a bad law." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/7803836/Cumbria-shootings-This-is-no-time-to-change-our-gun-laws.html
The Times leader article 05 June (quotes the Prime Minister) - "More impressive perhaps than his quietly poetic response to the tragedy, Mr Cameron also responded in the sensible prose of sound government to the senseless rampage of Derrick Bird. In the aftermath of an act that may never yield up a rational explanation, Mr Cameron judiciously said that Britain’s gun laws are very restrictive as it is and that a rapid response would probably be counter-productive. “You can’t legislate”, he said, “to stop a switch flicking in someone’s head.”" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article7144367.ece
Finally, a quote from the NRA (UK) in an email to members "As a result of the joint efforts of all of the national shooting bodies, working in co-operation, the media are at this point in time treating the events in Cumbria as the tragedy it is, not allocating blame to the shooting community."
