The British are officially insane...

[jaguar]

I don't know the details here but I think if you belong to a club and are over 17 you can own a shotgun, it's very common in the country. Most classes of firearms, anything fully-automatic, semi-auto pistols etcetc are totally illegal.

[jinx]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

Can you post a link to information about what's available and what you have to go through to get it?

Here. And here's something too.

[Troubleshooter]

Emphasis mine...

DOMESTIC FIREARM LEGISLATION

Licencing Requirements: Anyone acquiring or in possession of a rifle or a shotgun must have a certificate issued by the chief of police in the area in which they live. The police must be satisfied that no good reason exists for refusing the grant of a certificate, and that the applicant is not a person prohibited from possessing firearms. Individuals sentenced to any form of custody for a period of three years or more are prohibited from possessing firearms for life. Those sentenced to three months but less than three years are subject to a five-year prohibition from the time of release. (3)

Any smoothbore barreled firearm with a barrel length of at least 24 inches, and which has no magazine or a non-detachable magazine incapable of holding more than two cartridges, and is not a revolver gun and has no barrel with a calibre of more than 2 inches, requires a shotgun certificate. All remaining types of firearms require an Firearms Acquisition Certificate (FAC), though many also require the authority of the Secretary of State. An applicant must show "good reason" for each firearm he or she wishes to possess. Generally accepted reasons include target shooting, pest control, deer-stalking and collecting. Applications for other reasons must generally be supported by evidence of the stated "good reason". Applicants must nominate two referees to support their application. Ammunition must also be authorized by the FAC, and maximum permitted quantities for acquisition and possession are stated on the FAC. A Firearm Certificate is valid for five years. Applicants must be at least 14 years of age to possess firearms or 17 to acquire firearms other than as a gift. There are currently about 171,000 FACs on issue in Great Britain. (3)

Registration Requirements: Every police force has a firearms licensing department whose task is to administer the issue of firearm and shotgun certificates. Information is kept on the identity and addresses of certificate holders, the number and description of firearms (including serial numbers) and shotguns held, quantities of ammunition permitted, and arrangements for keeping firearms and shotguns securely.

Shotgun certificates, covered by section 2 of the 1968 Act and section 2 of the 1988 Act, permit the holder to possess any number of shotguns, which can include pump-action and self-loading weapons which have a magazine incapable of holding more than two cartridges but excluding large magazine smooth bore guns. The certificate specifies the description of the shotguns including, if known, the identification numbers of the guns.

Records are kept locally of firearms owners and firearms. Any dealer or other person who sells any type of firearm or shotgun is required to notify the police of the sale. In this way the police certification departments have records of the types and serial numbers of all the guns legally held on firearm and shotgun certificates. (4)

Training Requirements: An applicant for an FAC for target shooting must be a member of a firearms club approved by the Home Office, and have completed a 3-month probation.

Storage Requirements: Storage Requirements: Holders of firearm and shotgun certificates are required to keep their weapons securely. The police will inspect the applicant's storage to make sure that it is secure. Usually, the police require separate lockable safes for the guns and ammunition, securely affixed to the residence of the applicant.

Ammunition: Possession of ammunition for firearms requires a firearm certificate (FAC), and the same requirement applies to hold the ammunition securely, i.e. in a locked cabinet. Any change of address must be notified to the appropriate police forces as the licensing authorities. A change of storage location would also have to be notified, as holders of firearms certificates have to satisfy the police as to their security arrangements, and a change of location would change those arrangements.

Prohibited Firearms: Military weapons have been prohibited since 1988. Following the public inquiry into the Dunblane massacre on March 13th, 1996, when 16 primary school children and their teacher were murdered by a member of a local gun club (6), a new law was passed, which banned 95% of handguns and required that the remainder (.22 calibre) be stored at gun clubs. Several months later a total ban on handguns was implemented accompanied with a buy back. More than 100,000 handguns were surrendered. Further proposals are being considered. (10)

[busterb]

A few years back, a guy made a post in state newspaper. After one of many stabbings in Jackson,MS. Anyway it was a spoof. He was advocating saftey locks on knives. "Please do this for the kids sake, protect our children." I'll see if I can find it. It was great!

[wolf]

Yes, Jag, we did touch on the self-defense issue before. Now obviously, I'm not on the ground there, and have to rely on other sources for informtion.

Like these:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/m.../07/do0702.xml

http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_repo...cpr-26n2-1.pdf

http://www.sianews.com/modules.php?n...rticle&sid=700

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=33945

http://www.illusionfree.com/weblog/i...13_fight_back/

(I also usually recommend reading The Seven Myths of Gun Control.)

[xoxoxoBruce]

Any smoothbore barreled firearm with a barrel length of at least 24 inches, and which has no magazine or a non-detachable magazine incapable of holding more than two cartridges, and is not a revolver gun and has no barrel with a calibre of more than 2 inches, requires a shotgun certificate.

WTF.

[wolf]

I think it says that you can have a small cannon on your battlements, but you have to register it.

[Troubleshooter]

There are also older mass hunting shotguns called punt guns although I don't know what they call them in England.

They were basically mini cannons you loaded with fistfulls of shot and blasted away at birds on the water.

[wolf]

Oh yeah! The ones that could take out an entire flock of ducks!

[Troubleshooter]

Thems the ones. They would mount them on the front of a rowboat and row quietly to the flock and blast the shit out them with no warning.

Granted they were usually doing it for food instead of sport back then.

[wolf]

There is an excellent description of one of those (The Twombly?) in one of Michener's books ... Chesapeake, I think (which I read for a course in Historical Geography of the US, along with Centennial).

[LCanal]

Just thought I'd add it is legal In UK for anyone to drive a tank on public roads as long as the gun is disabled. There's a yellow Abbot Tank that used to be driven around London just for fun. Now try and tell me you can do that in the US. NRA or no NRA

But you can't run with scissors..or at least that's what I was told in kindergarten.

Yes Brits are officially insane. Thats' why they've come up with Monty Python, Red Dwarf, Hitchhiker's Guide.., Mr. Bean, Blackadder and offshoots, The Life and Times of Reggie Perrin, Fawlty Towers...to name a few. Maybe they don't travel well but they like them.

[jaguar]

wolf, those are opinion pieces, not the law. Secondly, the telegraph is a right wing paper, this became in issue when the tories tried to furge it and claimed you could get thrown in jail for protecting your home (false). I fail to see any facts in that article that state you cannot protect yourself because IT ISN'T FUCKING TRUE. I mean jesus fucking christ the WND article even manages to overlook the minor fact that poor old farmer shot the kid in the back while he was running away, hardly fucking self defence. You can read all the opinion articles you want, the law is clear. How about instead of spin you read the facts, try this.
To quote:

Householders who injure or even kill intruders are unlikely to be prosecuted - providing they were acting "honestly and instinctively", new guidelines say.

As a general rule, the more extreme the circumstances and fear felt, the more force can be used lawfully in self-defence, it said, adding that householders do not have to wait to be attacked before defending themselves.

[Clodfobble]

So what if... the attacker who is now running away has stolen property in his hands? Is it ever ok to shoot him then?

[wolf]

Possibly in Texas, where you are allowed to defend property rather than just life. Please consult an attorney in your own jurisdiction.