American Reacts to UK Gun Laws 

Most folks don't realize most of the gun violence happens in larger cities. New York city, with over 8 million residents, had over 1k homicides. 1k of the 13k (13k gun deaths but 30% were suicides) homicides nationwide. Even Chicago, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the US, making it almost illegal to have a gun in the city anywhere, even your home had almost 500. I think that more can be done but when comparing the US to the UK for how effective gun laws would be it's not a 1:1 comparison. The US is 40 times bigger land size wise and we have nearly 5 times the amount of citizens. A total ban here wouldn't be effective. With the different types of hunting done by individuals in season for game animals such as deer, squirrels, rabbits, duck, dove, pheasant, quail, and any number of other assorted animals we have seasons to hunt for there's numerous reasons to own one here and a ban would be unfair to them and their way of life. I can understand after reading many of the commenters the reason no one over there may see the need for a gun for self defense purposes. Here that argument is a bit more nuanced. Normal police response times nationwide to crimes being committed is 10 minutes, where I live, which is more rural, the response time is 1-4 hours. 10 minutes someone trying to get into your home not knowing if their armed (gun or knife) is terrifying and a long time. An hour even more so. I know of people around here who had armed intruders that they shot at to get to leave their property and it was still 50 minutes before the cops showed up to investigate further. A gun ban here wouldn't be as effective and would deny the majority of gun owners who are law abiding citizens the ability to hunt if they so choose which cuts down on their dependence of stock of meats at the local grocer, or to defend themselves. On the flip side common sense things like limiting who can buy handguns (used in 60% of firearm homicides), stronger mental health checks in background checks, and other things might prevent folks like the girl I worked with who was killed with a gun execution style by an ex boyfriend. School shootings here should carry penalties for the parents that don't lock up their guns in the case of schools or the people that buy the guns for minors without the parents knowledge. Or in the case of El Paso, if you go outside of your hometown to buy a gun when you don't already own one, you should be denied the ability to buy one. Can and should we do better here? Yes. Bans aren't the answer here though.

To be fair, the British are allowed to deploy biting sarcasm or irony when provoked.

A big difference between the UK and US regarding guns is that 99% of brits have zero interest in owning a shotgun or full firearm. When I was shooting in the UK not one, not a single one of my friends wanted to take up the hobby with me, just not interested.

I live in England, although I'm an Irish citizen. I suffer - periodically - from depression. I am no longer able to own a weapon. Which, is absolutely correct despite never once feeling the urge to kill anyone, what's to say on a particularly bad day I go bat shit crazy and go on a spree? People who have mental illness, shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a gun, never mind an arsenal of guns. The general public are being protected by our legislation and I am very happy about that.

Also dont forget that any crime committed using a firearm in the UK (whether discharged or not, or even with a replica) is treated far more harshly by the courts and they will get extended custodial sentances because firearms were involved, so the vast bulk of criminals (even professional ones) avoid using guns as the penatly simply isnt worth it and they know they are very unlikely to come across an opponent with a gun. The vast bulk of firearm incidents are in the Drug Gang world where turf wars are common

What I can’t understand about the U.S. is that whenever there is a serious shooting incident, one where there are multiple deaths, it always seems to be blamed on the mental state of the shooter yet whenever anyone tries to bring about a change to the law to try to address this there is massive resistance by the gun owning fraternity.

One of the huge things is the different mindset surrounding US gun culture, not simply gun numbers. As an English ex-pat Australian citizen who has lived in Canada and visited the US I've never considered the necessity of a firearm for civilian self protection, I used weapons while serving in the Australian military, that made sense to me, but as a civilian I expect (1) not to have that many people who want (and have the means) to kill me, and (2) that the police are available to protect me. If I did not trust the police that would be a different issue, that would be an issue of profound distrust in my government, which would mean I'd try and leave and find a nation with a government I vaguely felt had my general personal safety as a motivating factor. The US has this pervasive, cultural fear of violence from strangers and existential distrust of government. In the US this seems to drive many folks to the "must have gun to protect myself", and then the simple volume and accessibility of guns becomes a self-actualising danger - simply put lots of people with guns creates an environment where you may need a gun for protection against every other gun toting person, some of whom are likely violent and/or idiots.

I do appreciate how Eclectic Beard doesn’t just react, but explains how things are in the USA and tries to understand the U.K. better.

There are two "incidents" in recent history, maybe 20 to 30 years ago which had such a profound effect on the whole country that made every decent person stand up and take note of gun culture here. They are in no particular order - HUNGERFORD where some idiot shot 16 people (including himself), and DUNBLANE where a complete maniac killed 16 kids, one teacher, injured 15 more then blew his head off........ here in UK we call the schools "primary", in America you would call them "elementary", so imagine the shock of a nutcase causing that carnage in a school with young children there, and how the population would react.......... well, we did react by banning just about anyone from owning a gun, we didn't ban guns, we just made it really hard to get one. I doubt very much we will ever go back to having shops where you can walk in and buy one

First weapon lesson when i joined HM forces , a firearm has only one purpose in life, ' to cause harm to others' hence our approach to guns Was a sobering thought for a 17year old that i still remember as i approach my 65th birthday

Most American commentators misunderstand this video but you got it nailed. Me, a regular English Joe couldn't get a gun because I don't have a reason to own one. That's the same for nearly all of us. 🙂

When you said "Sport would be hunting" you'd be wrong, Sport would be competitive shooting like at the olympics, hunting would be leisure as it's only seen as a recreational activity. In regards to farmers they already have their hands full running a farm so will hire a contractor to eliminate the pests, critters, and/or local fauna. Finally in regards to guns on the black market the cost would be staggering as the risk to get/steal such firearms for the purpose of selling to unlicensed users would make it extremely difficult for the average individual to own such a piece.

The best way I've ever seen it put, Mr. Beard, is : In USA, you have the right TO. Here, you have the right FROM. I.e. your right allows you TO own a gun. Our right protects us FROM people owning guns. Of the two, I am happier with our laws.

Fun fact- here in the UK, it is totally legal to own a cannon on a shotgun license (with certain provisos). I have a friend (yes, always a cautionary phrase, especially on the internet) who used to own a cannon that couldn't be locked in a gun safe or gun cabinet (usually a requirement). He had a shotgun license, and a black powder license, but the gun was physically too large to be securely locked away. The officer who visited their home to check on their ability to secure it took one look at their home, and at their plans for the commissioned cannon (they'd custom-ordered one with a screw-out and removable cascabel/breech plug, so once removed it was just a bronze tube with a touch hole) and said (quoting as it was told to me) "I wouldn't worry. The thing's a quarter-ton of brass. If someone's able to nick that, let them." They no longer own this cannon, nor any firearms or powder license, due to mental health issues that I'm not going to discuss, but it was totally fine when they did.

I think the main point is 'having a reason' ...it has to be a bloody GOOD reason. Another (American) You Tuber commented that self defence would probably be one of those reasons. NO, you will NOT get a licence for self defence. You're right Alan that you can get guns such as Uzis, but a valid reason for one is vanishingly small. Yep, the cultural attitude to guns are diametrically opposite in the US and UK.

I find it genuinely rare that someone is able to give a fair and balanced argument around gun control, vast majority are either very for or very against. Good job on keeping fair and impartial.

I would guess that the UK's gun laws are supported by 95% of the population. They are simply not controversial.

I live in the U.K., have shot with handguns, target rifles, shotguns for clay pigeon only (I would never harm a living creature) and enjoyed it immensely. Shooting is one of the few sports where men and women can compete as equals. Have I ever owned a gun? No, you can pay to go clay pigeon shooting or join a gun club. I think our laws with regard to guns sensible and glad the general police do not have to carry them. Shame my eyesight degenerated before I was ready for the responsibility of owning a firearm, otherwise definitely would have joined a gun club and enjoyed shooting as a sport.

Pretty sure if you specify self protection as you reason for wanting a firearm license you will be rejected.

I'm from the UK and was a gun owner. I had a couple of guns, one being a .357 magnum .Following the Dunblane massacre, the government passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 which banned short firearms, so I had to get a new hobby, that's why I'm a RU-vidr. Thing is, I was a better shot than I am a vlogger 😂

Guns and knives are different, the chance of killing a group of people or someone 50 feet away with a knife are pretty remote compared to the chance with a gun. It's harder to legislate sales of knives and the headline stories mostly revolve around single victims such as a politician or the press jumping on stories using the race or gang warfare angle.

Actually, illegal firearms are quite rare n the UK. Consequently, there are people who will rent a gun to a criminal for them to commit a crime. Criminals won't normally carry guns, because the sentences are so high if they get caught. They are all hidden away in safe places, and only brought out if there is an intention to use them. Generally the UK law is such that nobody is armed (with guns or otherwise), and the UK is a much safer place as a consequence. By the way, the largest wild predators in the UK are foxes, wildcats (slightly bigger than a domestic cat), otters or badgers, so you don't need a weapon to defend yourself from wildlife.

Don't forget that all English males over the age of 14 are to carry out two hours of longbow practice every week, supervised by the local clergy. This law dates from the middle ages when there was no army and is still in place today.

In the UK and here in Australia it is illegal to own any kind of weapon for protection purposes. I am a licenced gun owner and a member of a target shooters club we are allowed up to 15 firearms but automatic weapons are illegal, handguns require a special licence, guns are only allowed for hunting or sporting purposes the only exception is for Police, security guards and military purposes, farmers can have guns for shooting pests (Varmints) which is classed as hunting anyway. So lets say I was to shoot and kill someone who broke into my home to steal my property I would be charged with murder, and if I only wounded them they could sue me for wilful damages.

As someone from the UK it's refreshing to see an American who understands the reasons behind our rules

One thing they only briefly touched on in this video is that the requirement of a reasonable excuse extends to the type of firearm you want. For example if you applied for a license saying you wanted to hunt rabbits and were intending to buy a 7.62 bolt action rifle, it would be extremely unlikely you would have it granted.

The biggest point regarding UK gun law and what you can and can't have come down to concealment, and, overall, the potential to kill multiple people. - Touching on the revolver point, the reason the gun has to be 60cm in length is so that it could not be easily hidden on a person. This is the exact same reason why shotguns can be legally owned, but sawn-offs most definitely can not.

I myself own 2 guns here in britian. Both of which are for pest control, I have never come across a legal gun owner here who owns one purely for protection like in the U.S. they are all for either pest control (like myself), small game hunting (pheasants and rabbits ect) or for target/clay shooting. As for the wolves thing, we don't anymore. Along with bears they've both been hunted to extinction here in the UK.

The difference most Brits would not want to own a gun. I'm 70 , apart from farmers who own shotguns, I've known one gun owner, he was a competitive shooter in the Olympics, no one else owned one. In Britain when we are unhappy we march and unarmed police face us. It's different when the police are armed. Unless you are Irish that was a different story.

Two major incidents that had a huge impact on British gun laws were The Hungerford massacre in 1987 and the 1996 Dunblane massacre. The Hungerford massacre was one man who a spree shooting in the town of Hungerford. He shot dead sixteen people which including an unarmed police officer and his own mother, before shooting himself. This brought in a number of changes in gun law mainly surrounding banning semi-automatic rifles and restricting shotgun capacity to three cartridges. The Dunblane massacre is deadliest mass shooting in British history and took place at Dunblane Primary School where a gunman entered the school and shot dead sixteen pupils, one teacher and injured a further 15. The shooter also killed himself. Handgun laws changed after this event such as the banning pretty anything larger than .22 calibre and the requring that are a certain length, the idea being that a longer handgun is hard to conceal. There is a good documentary on the Hungerford Massacre: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8wW7fGe745A.html

Our gun laws become stricter after the rare occasions where we have mass shootings. The City of Birmingham here in the UK is a Mecca for gun manufacturing with companies like Westley Richards who make beautiful sporting guns and we still have a Gun Proofing House. I used to know someone who worked at Westley Richards doing all the chasing in silver and gold on the guns - his work waa awesome. I am glad that guns are not so readily available here as they are in the USA - you can't go into a supermarket and buy a gun (other than a water pistol) in the next aisle to the spuds.

Surely as the second amendment is already an amendment it can just be reamended to make it difficult to get guns in America. When we had the Dunblane shooting in, I think it was 96, we just changed the law to ban hand guns. My father had to hand over 3 handguns, he said at the time that his right to own hand guns was trumped by a child's right to life.

I grew up in the Highlands amidst lots of hunting estates. There were lots and lots of guns of many types, I knew one guy who had a 4G elephant rifle (although he only used it for demonstration/gun range purposes). Shotguns (410's and 12G mostly) and .22 rifles being most common though with 7.62mm being a popular deer hunting weapon. Personally I never owned anything beyond .22 air weapons for pest control usually rabbits and rats (had permissions for many square miles of land) which I gave up after moving to a more urban location where I didn't have access to anywhere I could shoot easily. Often it surprised people from the USA how much I knew about guns despite coming from the UK although I didn't keep up with it so my knowledge is a little stale.

Frankly, anyone who shouts and screams that it's an infringement of their rights should not be allowed to own a gun. That sort of overreaction is a major red flag, in my book.

I remember watching the Dunblane school shooting. I'm glad as a country we adopted the stricter rules on owning a gun from something like this. Unlike the USA which just seems not bothered about kids getting shot in schools.

Interesting you mentioned ammonium nitrate fertiliser, as a farmer I'm required to keep my fertiliser in a secure building and notify the police immediately if any goes 'missing'. Also have to notify the fire service as its storage is a fire hazard.

Possibly one of the most balanced discussions on this topic. The key is culture and need. You nailed this on that equal thought. Your thing makes sense in the US. Our thing makes sense in the UK,

I have never thought about this subject in all my life, But it was a very interesting watch, and your comments were spot on. Nice one fella Peace and love ❤️🙏❤️

I watched another American reactor in England viewing the same film. He was thinking of getting a gun for protection. I was offended that he felt the need to have one.

This is one of the most balanced and carefully considered videos I've seen comparing the UK and US gun laws. I subscribed on the spot! Sending love and respect from Scotland

you dont need a licence in uk for a vintage firearm. There's gun shops and military shops in the uk too.

Strictly speaking to bring down a tyrannical government if the majority population (That does mean millions upon millions.) is both motivated and mobilised you don't need a single weapon. Non co-operation and the power of the crowd is enough as witnessed in the former Warsaw pact. Even the army will have second thoughts about firing on their own people as they might have to pay for it later on if the revolution succeeds. It is likely they might join in.

There is also the difference in the law vs public want. These may be the laws but the low numbers are really pushed by the fact the public don't want to own guns and the possible dangers that brings

As someone who's lived my entire life in the UK, there are very few jobs I can think of that would get you a private firearm license. The military (obviously) provide the firearms. Most police officers aren't armed (well, they are, but non-lethal; batons, pepper spray, tazers). There are specialised firearms officers, but, like the military, the guns aren't privately owned. You gave two examples of occupations that might have firearms; hunters and farmers. Hunting is extremely rare in this country. I'm 25 and have never met a hunter. Most animals are domesticated (farmed), like cows and sheep. Hunting is also heavily restricted. For example, hunting foxes is only legal if the fox is causing damage to your property or the environment. Farmers have no real reason to own a gun. The largest predator in the UK is the badger (10-12kg (~22-26 US lbs)); you could probably fight it with your bare hands in a pinch. Also, the animals small enough to be harmed by the smaller predators we do have are usually kept close to the farmyard, where predators rarely go. The only occupations I can think of where you might potentially have a reason to own your own gun are if you work as a security guard for a large company or a wealthy individual, or as a bodyguard for said wealthy individual. Even then, you may not get the license.

What I have never understood about US gun laws is that when you have mass shootings it is almost shrugged off and nothing changes. We had two mass shootings (one with children) in the UK which changed everything and brought in much stronger laws which most people agreed with. The US has had several notable mass shootings (more than one of them including children) and nothing really changed apart from calls to arm teachers. I think by restricting guns we have a safer society - even criminals who can get guns do not tend to operate with them especially against the general public. I do not know of anyone who feels the need to get a gun for protection. The evidence is in the statistics when compared to the UK and Europe, the US and other parts of the Americas do really badly.

So refreshing to hear a measured & nuanced arguement on gun ownership - here in the UK i have no desire to own a gun & the only information we tend to get about USA gun laws are short news clips of the,......"enthusiastic" gun owners (to be diplomatic!!) who tend to stare at the camera & shout rather than speak! - as opposed to to a thoughtful measured commentary from yourself - keep up the good work!!

To add some detail to this, rifles and long barrelled pistols etc mentioned in the video come under a section 1 firearms certificate, there is an important legal distinction between licensing and certification, though in real terms they are much of a muchness and the differences are broadly negligible. The “good reason” you provide could apply to all the guns you own or you could have more than one reason but you do have to apply for what’s referred to colloquially as an “acquisition” before you buy a gun (£20 in my constituency unless it’s part of a grant or renewal) but you can apply to acquire more than gun at a time, as an example if you apply for a firearms certificate to shoot a. 22 rifle at a target (good reason being sports, target shooting) then you may be approved but only for that 1 .22 rifle and only for shooting at targets, if you wanted to go and shoot rabbits with it you should inform the police of your intention to do so and again there will be a cost involved in making the changes to your existing certification (colloquially known as a variation) you also have to apply to hold an amount of ammunition which also has to be approved (essentially meaning you can only store a limited amount of ammo at your own property at any given time though the numbers are usually reasonable in my experience). If, having already been certified for .22 and an appropriate amount of ammo, you then decide you would like to own a .44 rifle you have to apply to vary your certificate to include the acquisition for a .44 rifle and ammo. Though again you can submit one variation listing multiple guns/types of gun along with necessary ammo storage increases/ugh sudden large lists may cause suspicion. A point on pistols, the out right banning of pistols is a slight misnomer, rather they are subject to much stricter regulation. You could for example own a live firing pistol as part of a collection for occasional ugh this good reason would strictly limit you ammunition storage capacity (firing only being occasional) and there may be limitations introduced as to where the firearm is stored then may for example prefer that the pistol be stored at a range approved by the home office for this purpose, it’s also stipulate a collection cannot begin by buying a pistol, example you could if you desire apply to own a recently manufactured colt peacemaker for occasional firing as part of an old west themed collection, however you would need to demonstrate a convincing (probably quite vast) collection of old west themed items (not necessarily guns but would be easier if you did already own other firearms that fit in the collection. More commonly you could own a pistol for work purposes as a vet for “humane dispatch” (probably a bit much for cats and dogs but some vets still use this method with horses, cows and other large farmed idea being you want something big enough to actually meet the humane aspect of the brief, so for the animals listed .22 is out, you also don’t want it so powerful it may go right through and be a danger in the other side so that’s most rifle calibres out, this is also a task generally conducted at a range of less than a few metres so using a rifle chambered in a pistol caliber is rather cumbersome also black powder is very messy and impractical, so pistols are allowed to be used although again restrictions are imposed, the main one being a maximum capacity is 3 rounds essentially meaning you could, as a vet working in the appropriate field, apply to own something like a glock in 9mm for humane dispatch but the magazines would have to be modified to only hold three rounds, the theory is it shouldn’t take more than 3 rounds to dispatch the suffering animal. My point here is there are a number of ways (more than mentioned) to access pistols in the uk but it is very much more difficult and severely uncommon and a lot of the applications are not granted based on the reason not being good enough/ too many alternative solutions being available in the case of the vet a lethal injection being much cleaner when the dosage and administration is correct. To qualify everything I’ve said this is my understanding of what I have read there may be people with much more experience who know better, additionally these rules may have changed slightly since my last thorough read through a few years ago our government is sneaky like that, always changing things, also the implementation of the rules Varys between constabulary’s so people may have different experiences of operating under the same rules, if I’ve made any errors and people know better feel free to correct me I just thought some stuff wasn’t very clear in the video that was being reacted to and wanted to add some detail for those interested.

I'm really glad you did this video, really informative for Americans and brits

An example of how hard it is to obtain a firearms licence in the UK. When I was in the army, my Sgt. Major was refused a private shotgun licence because his cousin had been convicted of armed robbery. It took a letter of assurance from the Colonel to the Police authority for him to obtain it.

Shooting in Britain is target, clay pigeon shooting or shooting birds on an estate of a stately home or farmers with shotguns dealing with pests as well as other shooting.

The problem with guns is that it takes almost no time and thought to cause tragedy. You can cause tragedy with anything or nothing at all, but it takes more commitment. We do have the occasional firearm tragedy, but they're just much more rare. The black market for guns was quite rife here after the war I believe, so I'm sure in the unlikely event that the USA chose to change their gun laws, the black market would continue almost indefinitely anyway.

Great set up and video bro 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

I live rural and some of my friends have guns for legit reasons. I have never seen a gun carried as a form of intimidation of one's fellow humans.

The main difference is the UK does not have a gun culture like the US. I also think that a US citizen carrying a gun for protection would be tempted to use it in a situation rather than use fist ect.

I have seen this video before and it is one of the better ones - although still not entirely accurate. But then it is quite complicated. The thing to realise, is that nothing is actually "banned" in the UK.....however, getting the right to access certain things is nearly impossible to get. Everything is covered by levels, called "Sections". The basic summary is: Section 1 (aka Firearms Certificate): Any Semi-Auto 22 Rimfire Rifles and Long Barrelled Pistols. Any calibre Long Barrelled Revolver. Any calibre Manual Action Rifles (Bolt/Lever/Straight Pull). Any muzzleloading firearm...if you are going to fire it. Any shotguns that are not covered by Section 2 - including cannons under 24 inch long and rifled shotguns (but not semi or pump rifled). You have to have a valid reason for every firearm you own, and are assigned "slots" to buy them. You also have to have slots to buy the ammo for specific calibres too, and are restricted to a quantity of each calibre. Section 2 (aka Shotgun Certificate): Any smoothbore Shotgun with a capacity less than 3. So Pump, Semi-Auto and break action (with up to three barrels). The police have to have a valid reason why you can NOT have these and there are, in theory but they will query your storage security, no limits on how many you can buy. Section 5 (Restricted): Semi-Auto and Pump Action Rifles (including rifled shotguns). All pistols not covered by Section 1. Automatic firearms. Basically these are not possible to own by the general public.....but you can get permission to own or have Section 5 e.g. Registered Firearms Dealer that sells Section 5 firearms (often to the Police), humane dispatch (restricted revolvers or short barrelled .410 shotguns) which requires you to be a deer stalker or vet etc. There are also other Sections, which allow Section 5 firearm ownership. Section 7.1 Heritage Pistols: Certain pistols manufactured prior to 1 January 1919 and for which ammunition is not readily available to be held at home as part of a collection without ammunition and allows them to be exhibited. They need to held on a Section 1 firearms, so need a specific slot assigned to a specific gun (not just calibre). Section 7.3 Heritage Pistols (to be fired): Permits the possession and use of heritage pistols at Designated Sites of which the NRA at Bisley was the first and remains the largest in terms of numbers held (but other ranges are getting Section 7.3 permissions). You cannot personally remove the firearm from the site (unless you are an RFD with that right). They need to held on a Section 1 firearms, so need a specific slot assigned to a specific gun (not just calibre) and each gun will be assessed to see whether it is considered historically relevant (so post WWII pistols are much more difficult to get, unless you can show you have a specific reason to own e.g. to own every variant of a 1911 etc). Section 58 - Obsolete Calibres: Certain firearms are considered to have calibres that are no longer readily available and have historic relevance e.g. Martini Henry, 577 Snider, all historic muzzle loading firearms etc. These can be owned WITHOUT a certificate of any kind....as long as you do not actually fire them. So wallhangers essentially. However they can be made to be Section 1 and then fired, if you can load the appropriate ammo yourself.

In the UK you simply can’t own a handgun or assault weapon at home. Since the Dunblane massacre (school shooting) gun laws are heavily restricted and rightly so. If you want to own a handgun you have to leave it in a gun club where you can use it but it must be registered and you must be eligible to own it. If you are caught with any calibre of handgun without the proper licence in the UK there is a minimum sentence of 5 years. It is very difficult to own a gun here and for that I am grateful.

I find that many of those who scream about constitutional rights when it comes to guns, forget the constitution when it comes to the separation of church and state.

When the 2nd amendment was written a skilled musketman could fire 5 aimed shots a minute and a decent musket took a highly skilled gun Smith many hours to make and they were expensive and very cumbersome, just sayin'. FYI, since January 2018, in Scotland you need a police issued license to own a sub 12 ft/lb air weapon or a sub 6 ft/lb air pistol.

Hey beard :) I think its difficult for Americans to understand the UK (and general European) mentality towards firearms. I live in London, so there's always the threat of knife crime, abuse, nutters etc. However, when I visited the US for 2 months (LA, Big Bear, Death Valley, Yosemite, San Fran) even in the countryside I was very apprehensive approaching people because in the back of my mind there was a possibility that the perfectly, nice person I was talking to could have a gun in their back pocket. Over here, its mostly confined to sport and hunting (which is rare). I think the current gun law in the US has a causality: the more people have access to guns, the higher the gun crime and hence more people buy guns to protect themselves. No disrespect, its just different to what I'm used to. We're not perfect in the UK but I'm thankful that owning a gun is not usual. Love and peace, love your channel x

A thing my uncle (who was my teacher when it came to learning how to shoot correctly) used to say was "their is only 3 legitimate reasons to own a gun. 1. Leisure 2. Hunting 3. Sport/ competition shooting. And any other reason someone gives is just bullshit and that includes self defence. "

As an English person I see no reason why you should have guns at all. If you were civilised then there would be no need.

The thing that makes me laugh about people who own guns for self defence at home and swear their weapons are always locked up safely and unloaded is this - if someone breaks into your home with a gun, preparing to kill you and your family, are they going to sit and have a cuppa whilst they wait for you to go and get your gun from the safe, load it up and come and shoot them? It's ridiculous. You can't keep guns safely locked up and unloaded and then use them against a sudden intruder. It's virtually impossible. Most people who end up using their guns use them on themselves or their loved ones. Too many people are crazy.

With rights come responsibilities Hunting in the American sense isnt permitted in the UK. There are some hunting licenses for things like grouse which are strictly limited in number and time. Sport would be competitive target or clay pigeon. Leisure is an odd one because you cant have a gun just for fun.

Sgc and fac holder here, can't understand how suppressors are such a issue in the land of the 'free'

For me there's a difference in the application of 'desire' and 'need.' Most Brits have no need to own a firearm, and The vast majority that have no need, have no desire to own one. Whereas in the US, I feel that it the the desire to own a firearm that come first, even if there is no need.

People need to check their definitions... * _a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency_ * _a military force that engages in rebel or terrorist activities in opposition to a regular army_ Then added specifically for our cousins over the pond... _(in the US) all able-bodied civilians eligible by law for military service_ By this definition in the USA if you've got flat feet, a conscientious objector or otherwise unfit to be in military service - even for mental health reasons then you aren't eligible to own a weapon, because you aren't a part of the militia.

It's gone way past the point where the US can change its gun laws. In the UK we used to be able to carry guns not that long ago relatively but we changed the law in carrying rather than owning.

Good reaction again, Sir. Thank you.

Sport in the UK would not be hunting. Sport would refer to Olympic style shooting. Pest control for farmers counts as Work.

EB, a balanced view, you're right, there is a criminal underground that can supply firearms. You need to be in the crime business to get one. Different culture. Self defence is not a good enough reason to own a gun. Knife crime is an issue, its horrifying who many young people are getting killed with knives...

It also goes on your accommodation here too, the safe to store your shotgun for example has to be fixed from a certain distance of neighbouring walls…… if you live in a flat for example (apartment) you can’t legally have a fitted safe meaning you can’t have the gun

Interesting video! Big predators went extinct in the UK a few hundred years ago but they're talking about reintroducing wolves and lynxes in England and Scotland for deer population control. When I was a kid there was a panther roaming the countryside though. I assume he escaped from a zoo but I can't remember the whole story.

Hello Alan. One of my first memories is of "helping mum" in the kitchen, when she said "Your dad is late". We were called into the living room "He's on telly", just in time to see him kick in the door on an armed siege. He would not carry a gun, though his colleagues who went in did. I was scared on first seeing open carry in US, but my friend laughed and said, the bloke you saw in a cap would be the motel security. On getting to Texas his family took me to a gun fair. I was offered a Chinese made Kalashnikov for less than fifty dollars and shown where to file the small piece off to make it fully automatic. When I explained I was from UK, I was offered a hand gun on private sale there and then. Then going out in the desert with no help for miles, you can see why people there might want one. The most dangerous wild animal UK farmers would likely come across is a badger. There are big stags in Scotland, but not common everywhere. The rodents here would be hares or rabbits. Some farms still keep terriers for rats and farm cats for mice. As a tiny kid my family stayed in a caravan on a farm in Wales. The farmer had shot a fox and was carrying it. As a city kid I cried out " poor doggy", but now the foxes are common city dwellers too, as there are no raccoon type animals here to fill the scavenging role they filled.

"Threats to public safety" tends to mean people with dishonesty / violence convictions, as well as mental health issues. Interestingly, UK gun owners have a special code on their doctor's notes letting the doctor know that if he has to give the patient "bad news" the police will be informed and they will confiscate any firearms to prevent the shooter from using them in suicide. I always think "well what about kitchen knives and rope then?"

As a rule of thumb, I would say needing it for work would be a farmer needing a shotgun to protect his crops and livestock. Sport would be, perhaps, Grouse or Pheasant shooting. Leisure would be along the along lines of Clay Pidgeon shooting, or something like that.

Great content. Can I ask what webcam and recording application you use possibly?

Over here in my little neck of Euroland, the licensing requirements are more strict than they are in the UK and no one seems to have a problem with it. They used to be more like the UK, but then some wanker with a licensed automatic rifle shot up a mall. So yeah bi-annual psych-profiling is now a standard part of the license requirement. There are also more restrictions on calibre and all that jazz now. So you have to be a member (this requires a sort of permit as well) of a registered gun club for at least a year. At which point you're allowed to own a single small calibre handgun. The gun club has to have an active competition and all member are required to participate in said competition. If you want to be a hunter you need to either own or have notarised access to a hunting domain, before you can even apply for a license to hunt, you still have to be a member of a club and participate in their competition. In part this is to have a bit of social surveillance I suppose, when the board of a club notices someone going downhill psychologically, they are required to report it. Though how effective that is remains to be seen. Similar rules apply to airsoft replicas, because they often resemble a real fire arm. You have to have a background check, though less strict, you have to be a member of a club, you have to participate in events regularly (I believe at least once every 6 weeks) and the license has to be renewed every year. Air rifles, however are still pretty much unrestricted. No 7.5J limitations, none of that. You just have to be over 18 and you can buy whatever you like. I can buy and own a .50 cal 1000J+ PCP air rifle and no one cares. Now air rifle incidents are extremely rare, I've only heard of one in the news over the past decade, but that did involve a death. And given the air rifle that was used there, my plinking rifle is much more dangerous. Also silencers are very much recommended with air rifles here, you wouldn't want to disturb the neighbours when plinking. As far as I can find this stems from the idea that air rifles were mostly owned by farmers for pest control. And that they are relatively safe, i.e. unable to kill a person from across the street. These days that is less and less the case. Not that less farmers own an air rifle, but more that it's become more popular as a sport.

Sorry to disagree, a 'well regulated militia' at the time referred to what today you would call reserves- as in military reserves which were also used for local law enforcement etc. Well regulated referred to training. As a boy our reserves were called militia still here in Canada- which was called British North America before Confederation. Not that I was around for Confederation, lol. Great review. 👍

There are trades in the UK that allows the use of revolvers these are modified to chamber either 1 or 2 rounds no more but you can have a historical revolver that can be loaded with either 5 or 6 rounds depending on the chamber and type of revolver

As a side note. I believe in 1984. Under the Reagan administration. There was a ban on fully automatic machine guns. ( althought there are a couple exception to the ban as the ban is not retroactive. Meaning any weapon that fulls under the category of machine gun made before 1984 is not covered by the ban. Ownership of such weapon comes under federal jurisdiction and collectors can apply for a federal licence to own them).

I worked in the shooting industry in the UK for about 20 years and the gun laws can seem complicated. And the funny thing with knives is that they restricted the length of pocket knives and that sort but you can walk into a shop and pick up kitchen knives with no problem and they are the ones that people use.

I think the size of a country must be considered, as well as the culture. Being geographically small, pretty much every piece of land in Britain is either owned or administered. Hunting in the sense of shooting an animal in the wild is not an issue. Protection against wild animals is also not an issue - we don't have wolves, bears, big cats etc. Shooting animals is mostly done on private estates (organised parties to shoot specially raised game birds or deer), or on farms (to control vermin such as foxes). Sport shooting (clays or targets) is done in clubs and on privately owned land.

I live in New Zealand where there is much more of a hunting society than in the UK but probably less so than the US. It is common for some people to go out with rifles and sometimes dogs depending on what they are hunting, shooting deer or boar mainly, but also goats. Children are often encouraged to start by shooting possum, and professional hunters and well to do tourists pay good money to helicopter hunt tahr. There has also been a push to encourage people to get out and shoot wallaby. Duck numbers are also controlled by shooting at certain times of the year. All the species mentioned were introduced into the country, some specifically for hunting, some escaped captivity and found the country to their liking, but all are considered pests. That said, the types of weapons are strictly controlled, especially since the Christchurch Mosque shooting two years ago, and gun crime is still reasonably uncommon.

Collectors can collect obsolete calibre weapons, deactivated weapons. Also replica air guns are very popular if only for target/plinking, re enactors and Air softers can have non firing replicas and airsoft and as mentioned for pest control air rifles ,(sub 12ft lb) , and pistols , (sub 6ft lb...I think) are adequate for the job. In short you can have a 'representation ' of a gun under certain circumstances and for most uk folk interested in a bit of target work or collecting, deactivated and air guns are fine....and a lot safer! 🙂🙂🙂

Uzis, and certain ARs etc r legal but doubt you'll find a gun shop that sells them in UK. Most firearms licences are farmers owning shotguns .

Without watching this reaction first, I have to say I’m actually immensely intrigued by both sides of the gun argument in the US. I don’t think firearms could ever be forcibly taken from Americans who support it. Us Brits and Yanks are too stubborn in our personality, and there would be chaos if any president tried. All I would say personally, is that the branches of the US Constitution are called ‘amendments’ for a reason. Policies and laws aren’t infinite. It undermines democracy.

Ok so I've been an armourer on military equipment for over thirty years and that AR15 argument simply does not hold water .223 is essentially identical to 5.56mm. The modern civil AR15 is based on the military AR15 that entered service in the early 1960s, with no differences in the essential features bar the lack full auto. As somebody who was trained by the British Army, full automatic was reserved for very specific situations, FIBUA, close woodland and when directed as part of an ambush group. The rest of the time rifles would be set to Repetion (semi). The fact is especially with an intermediate cartridge accurate aimed fire can be put down very rapidly making it far more effective than letting rip on automatic. The .223/5.56mm projectile doesn't give a rat's arse what it was fired from, civil or military rifle, the effect on target is the same. It was originally designed as a military rifle and at heart remains just that. The knife issue here while certainly a problem in bigger cities is very much overblown by some of the US media to claim that the whole of the UK is awash in knife crime. It is not. As regards gun culture here in the UK, yes it's true there basically isn't one, the vast majority of the population are not remotely interested and there isn't the space in the countryside or range of wildlife to drive a large interest in hunting. That last slide with the UZI and HK416, all those rifles mentioned are all versions in .22lr, semi auto only, none of them are of course available in semi (or full auto) in their original calibres.

My uncle is a retired UK Marine, former Armed Police Officer and retired private security here is the UK and he had quite a few different guns with his jobs. I used to go shooting with him and my cousin and I know he had an Uzi and the HK-416.

Agree with antony our laws are amongst some of the strictest in the world not saying the most though but it means we are much safer and thats a good thing in my eyes

I understand the 2 nd amendment and what it means . And when it was written it made perfect sense. The trouble is that it doesn’t matter how many guns you have if you need to defend yourself against a tyrannical government, (which is loosely what the 2nd amendment was written for) you don’t stand a chance in the modern world. You might have a AR15 but you’re government has got drones and if that’s not enough the most powerful military in the world . Don’t misunderstand me I’m English and am obviously biased and probably don’t have all my facts straight but if you can’t protect yourselves from a tyrannical government why do you need a semi automatic for home protection. I agree that it’s your right to defend yourself and your family. I respect that right. A handgun is the better choice for home protection. I just don’t understand why you need that kind of firepower. Maybe just maybe it’s because Americans love their guns . We don’t over here. It can be debated for ever . So what I just wrote is pretty irrelevant really 😂

UK's last mass shooting was in August last year (2021) in Plymouth 6 dead including a child. He was checked by police, friends and family reported some concerns yet he was able to convince police he was ok and held his licence. The last before that was in 2010 in Cumbria taxi driver killed 12 people. Neither led to changes in our gun laws. Our gun laws last changed in 1997 in response to the Dunblane massacre where a guy shot up a primary school killing 16 kids and their teacher. Before that rules were that restrict as many people weren't interested in owning them.

From a UK point of view; your 2nd amendment says you have the right to bear arms. That was made in the time of flintlock type muskets; ok against N Indians, rebel nutters . A musket is ok against similar type people. Consider it nowadays - pistols, single trigger rifles ok. But who the f.vk needs M60/M16 or any other auto guns? Who needs military type guns except the military or police ?

I was a referee for someone who wanted to own a gun. When the interviewer talked to me he just rang me up and said ‘is he the kind of person that would go and shoot someone?’ And I said ‘8 don’t think so’ and that was it.

My mate owns a fair few guns and has done for 15 years here in the UK and regularly goes to the range. One mass school shooting was enough for us to say enough and happy about that. Edit: also per capita our knife crime is still low compared the states and its vastly a London issue where most of the country is fine.

The framers missed how guns would advance. A fast musketeer got up to 2 or 3 shots a minute, provided it wasn't raining.

One thing that I think the video did not mention is that suppressors are quite easy to get in the UK. Also double barrelled shotguns (for clay shooting etc) are quite easy to get as well.

Generally speaking here in Scotland drugs top the charts for death, followed by knifes. Dunblane still casts a long shadow here, oh and there is rumbles of banning crossbows next.

Our gun laws are very strict with mandatory prison sentences for holding unlicensed firearms. The sentences vary with the firearm and especially if used in crime. Even ex-armed forces risk prison if found with 'souvenirs' from their active service. The laws have been gradually made stricter. I'm 73 and my younger cousin, with a keen interest in WWII, was bought a deactivated 303 Lee-Enfield for his 60th birthday (no firing pin and welded block in barrel). Nevertheless, the arms supplier recommended he used a bolted bracket for wall mount and advised he could be in trouble if it wasn't secure and stolen, since a stranger wouldn't know it was deactivated if used in a robbery.

When you send off for your firearm license and you fill in all the forms. When you get the letter back saying you failed. They will not tell you what is the correct qualifiers. It constantly varies on what they deem as a good reason. One of my friends owns a few 1000 acres of farm land. He was trying to get a shotgun license to control pests. He'd spent £2000 on a heavy duty gun safe, had no children that could hurt themselves and he was refused. IIFC he had just 14 days to appeal or he couldn't re-apply for 12 months. He was so incensed that on his appeal papers under the reasons why he wanted a gun he wrote "I don't want one". And he got his shotgun licence.

You mentioned moles and shooting them, did you watch the Jasper Carrott skit about shooting moles 😄😄 should also watch is Lollypop one too. Farmers have it work for "pests" that could be foxes or badgers etc, but also may have it for hunting. Many