Why are guns outlawed in the UK?

Answer 1

While guns have been regulated since 1902, the strictest regulation of Guns in the UK was introduced in response to the UK's first and only school shooting: the Dunblane School massacre of 1996. On March 13th 1996, a man entered Dunblane Primary School in Scotland with a pistol and proceeded to shoot 32 people, killing 15 children and an adult before turning his gun on himself.

After the incident, there was a nationwide call for better gun control. Since there is no constitutional right to bear arms in the UK, it was decided that public use and ownership of certain firearms, including handguns, should be banned. While there are still gun related crimes in the UK, the country has one of the lowest gun homicide rates in the UK thanks, in part, to the regulations in place.

It is worth noting that some guns, such as shotguns can still be legally owned by the public provided they have the correct licence and controls in place.