The Firearm Blog » laws http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog Firearms not Politics Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:44:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 History of the British firearm laws http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/11/13/history-of-the-british-firearm-laws/ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/11/13/history-of-the-british-firearm-laws/#comments Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:54:24 +0000 Steve http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/11/13/history-of-the-british-firearm-laws/ The BBC has an interesting article about the history of British firearm laws.
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I liked this quote

“The concept of controls for criminal purposes is a very 20th Century phenomenon” – Mark Murray-Flutter Royal Armouries

The moral opposition to firearms is something new and in my experience most people do not realize this.

In 1870 a licence was introduced for anyone who wanted to carry a gun outside their home. But there were no restrictions on keeping a firearm indoors.

Mild restrictions came into force with the 1903 Pistols Act which denied ownership to anyone who was “drunken or insane”. It also required a licence for firearms with a barrel shorter than nine inches – what we nowadays refer to as handguns.

Prior to World War I there were a quarter of a million licensed firearms in private hands across the country.

More here.

Hat Tip: Saysuncle.com

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