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Originally Posted by Yahwe
banning hand guns has saved lives in the UK as we have seen post dunblaine.
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Sorry, this may have already been covered - but how is this proved exactly?
According to this home office report :
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb0206.pdf :
- In 1995 stats show 299 injuries were handguns were the principle weapon used. In 2004/05 it was
779.
-In 1996 there were 49 homicides by firearms in the UK and 810 attempted murder/other wounding. In 2004 the numbers were 78 and 1,379 respectively.
- Between 1994 and 1997 the use of firearms in "reported offences of violence against the person" was level at about 2.5k. In 04/05 it was close to 8k.
The same report notes : "The number of firearm crimes which resulted in injuries has more than doubled in six years: from 2,378 in 1998/99 to 5,358 in 2004/05. The largest rise was seen in crimes involving non-air weapons.". It also notes that handguns remain the largest single category of firearm used.
Now, it's quite possilbe (and probable) that these things would have got worse without the ban, but just because we have not had a particular kind of massacre does not really comfort me much.