Really? Study Claims UK Is at Risk for More Mass Shootings

In America, the anti-gun crowd is constantly calling for more sensible gun control laws. Most of them won’t demand an outright ban and confiscation of everything, but they will say that we need more thorough background checks, longer waiting periods, shorter magazines, etc. To them, it’s all very reasonable. Make it a little harder for the bad guys to get guns, and make the guns a little less dangerous.

The second amendment crowd on the other hand, wants none of that and for good reason. They always make the classic “slippery slope” argument. If we let the government take something away, where does it end?

If you want to see what’s at the end of that road, then look no further than the UK, a country that is apparently on the cusp of a new wave of mass shootings.

A new study warns that gun massacres are likely in the UK in the absence of adequate gun control laws as over 1.8 million firearms are currently in the hands of British citizens.

The study by police watchdog Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), which was released on Tuesday, pointed to the risk that exists because of failures and inconsistencies in the way prospective and existing gun owners are vetted and monitored.

It also said the assessment of an individual’s medical suitability for a firearm was less rigorous than the checks conducted on prospective bus drivers.

“Firearms are designed to kill, and to have a less consistent way of licensing someone than to drive a bus is simply wrong,” said Stephen Otter, of the HMIC.

Under the current system, police should obtain the details of gun license applicants’ medical history by contacting their general practitioners, but doctors are under no legal obligation to answer police requests for information.

Yes, a nation with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world is at risk for more mass shootings. And not because they’ve turned almost every square foot of their country into a gun free zone, and not because buying a firearm is a bureaucratic gauntlet, and not because you can’t even cite self-defense as a reason to own a firearm. No, this growing risk is caused by a lack medical screening for would be gun buyers, and a backlog of firearm licenses that haven’t been taken care of.

Take note America. The slippery slope is quite real. No matter how much gun control legislation is passed, it’s never enough. Even in a nation with a population that is almost completely disarmed, the anti-gun crowd will never stop demanding to make gun ownership more difficult.