Does the Trigger Pull the Finger: The Uses, Abuses and Rational Reform of Firearms Law in the United Kingdom

In the wake of yet another spree killing in the UK, the authors ask: should our gun laws be made any tighter? The answer's an unequivocal No. The UK's firearms laws are already inconsistent and profoundly illogical. Their administration has turned into a massive bureaucratic job-creation scheme, and is a disgrace to the police service. And if that's not enough for you, they have been unlawful since 1998, as well as unconstitutional. With caustic wit, the authors look into the deep background of the law, the ever-more restrictive, knee-jerk measures of the 20th century, bizarre prosecutions, and at the rational legal decisions that police and bureaucrats routinely ignore. And they show how each new curb on firearms ownership has resulted in yet more guns joining the pool of 'illegal' unregistered weapons. Then they deliver their programme for wholesale reform. They argue for disposing of the current prohibitions (such as the pointless ban on handguns), setting up a national firearms agency, and generally making it easier for people to own guns. Most important, they show how a relaxation of British gun laws will actually be simpler, cheaper, and safer than the present self-defeating shambles.