It's time to reform our weapon laws.

Each year in this country, thousands of people are victims of serious violent crimes, even murdered, because they are rendered defenseless by ill-conceived, unjust and draconian legislation. People are mercilessly prosecuted if they take precautions to protect themselves and their families, with many losing their freedom, their jobs and even their homes as a result.

We are constantly being told that prohibitions on the private possession of weapons work and that we are all safer because of them. This is a lie.

In 1970, police in England and Wales recorded 687 crimes involving firearms, excluding airguns and replicas. By 2005, this figure has jumped to 11,088 crimes involving firearms, again excluding airguns and replicas. A rise of 1,513 percent in just 35 years.

The figures for crime involving handguns are even higher. In 1970, just 213 crimes involving handguns were reported by police in England and Wales. In 2001, that figure had risen to 5,874 crimes. A shocking increase of 2,657 percent in just 31 years. 

Back in 1997, when handguns were banned, we were told that it would lead to a safer, less violent society. Yet our society has seen no significant change in violent crime or homicide rates, with previous trends continuing unimpeded.

We often hear claims that "the bad guys will arm themselves and everything will get worse if we allow people to own weapons for self-defense". This is another lie, designed simply to further the prohibitionist's cause.

Countries where armed self-defense is legal have lower violent crime rates than countries where it is prohibited. The same is also true within countries such as the US, where states with liberal weapon laws have lower violent crime rates than states with prohibitive weapon laws, and where the legalization of concealed carry has led to massive, nation-wide drops in violent crime and homicide rates.

Surely we should look at reforming our weapon laws, with the aim of making them fair and sensible.

- Graham Showell & The lizard. 

Chicago's crime rate plummets after Illinois legalizes concealed carry.

Chicago, known for being the most dangerous city in the US, has seen a massive drop in it's violent crime and homicide rates since the legalization of concealed carry.

In April 2014, roughly two months after the state of Illinois began issuing concealed carry permits, Chicago police announced that the city’s first quarter homicide rate was the lowest recorded since 1958:

- The first three months of 2014 saw 6 fewer homicides than the same time frame in 2013, a 9 percent drop, according to a statement from Chicago Police.

- The first three months of 2014 saw 55 fewer homicides than the same time frame in 2012, according to a statement from Chicago Police.

- Compared to the first quarter of 2013, there have been 90 fewer shootings and 119 fewer shooting victims, drops of 26 and 29 percent respectively, according to police statistics.

- Compared to the first quarter of 2012, there have been 222 fewer shootings and 292 fewer shooting victims.

- Overall crime is down 25 percent from 2013.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/04/126664-coincidence-illinois-enacts-concealed-carry-law-chicago-murder-rate-plummets-immediately/

- The lizard.

Jail for owning pepper spray or stun gun in one's home

Punishment for those caught taking precautions for their own safety go beyond draconian and into outright lunacy in the United Kingdom. While prison spaces become more and more crowded and expensive for the taxpayer to maintain, judges are willing to put people behind bars for simple possession of defensive items, in the case of  Christopher Steven Loveridge, a novelty electronic stun-gun brought back from Thailand by an ex-girlfriend.

The 25-year-old said it was only when police raided his home in Spencer Road, Coseley on November 11 looking for the high voltage device that he realised that it was illegal. Mr Howard Searle prosecuting, told the court  Loveridge had immediately retrieved the device which he had kept inside a coat at the top of a wardrobe and handed it to police. Mr Searle said: “It had a button and toggle switch to be operated, and it produced a very high voltage, which would cause harm.”

Loveridge gave evidence in court and said he had been given the device in a gift box by his ex-girlfriend. He said: “At the beginning I just thought it was a torch. It was given to me as a novelty, a joke. I didn’t use it.” Loveridge told the court it was only later that he was told it would give an electric shock, and even then he did not realise it was dangerous. He told the court he had put it away at the top of his wardrobe and not looked at it again.

For this victimless crime he was sentenced to 21 months in prison at your expense. Pepper spray also can award you a similar sentence, as Aberdeen resident Miles Walker recently found out. Sentences such as these do not increase public safety nor deter violent criminals. In fact, treating non-lethal weapons as firearms increases the likely hood of a criminal carrying a knife instead. Items such as pepper spray and stun guns offer the ability to defend against violent criminals, who thanks to the government have an unarmed prey to carry out their crimes upon. To deter violent criminals from acting out their crimes, they must be made to fear immediate consequences from their victim - not abstract and distant criminal justice proceedings of which they are unlikely to be affected by.

Sign our petition to legalise non-lethal self-defence items in the UK

Five years in jail for replica starting pistol

Farther of five, Michael Bryce is serving five years in prison after being convicted of selling a blank firing replica pistol to a buyer in Northern Ireland. Such blank firing pistols are popular in Europe among collectors, film makers, and for disorientating muggers in self-defence.Those prosecuting claim that the replica in question could be 'converted' into a 'potentially lethal' weapon. I suggest they also might want to look into prosecuting retail outlets which sell common staple-guns to the public - far more suitable and easier to convert into a live firearm than a replica made from cast alloys similar to that of toy cap guns, and likely to explode after a couple of shots if drilled out and chambered for live ammunition.


Not only is this sentence draconian in the extreme, the comments by the judge in this case are worrying. Why exactly does the buyer's location in Northern Ireland make for an 'aggravating factor'? The Internet searches, pulled from the defendent's computer are also perfectly normal and expected web browsing for someone interested in firearms. No matter what your view on firearms is, five years in jail for a harmless object that isn't even a weapon is absolutely absurd.

Please sign the petition below and express your outrage at this sentence to your MP. Also, make your thoughts known to Bedfordshire Police via email.


Repeal the mandatory minimum sentence of five years for firearm possession

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/13928