New figures present half 1,000,000 Brits have weapons, together with youngsters as younger as NINE

Guns are beneath a few of the strictest controls on the earth in Britain, however this doesn’t imply they aren’t commonplace. 

There at the moment are 1,956,079 legally-owned firearms and shotguns in the country, a 20 p.c enhance over the previous 20 years. The overwhelming majority are registered with police in rural areas, and are used for searching, aggressive taking pictures and different sports activities. 

Theft from their rightful house owners, nevertheless, is likely one of the fundamental routes by which such weapons discover their means into the palms of violent criminals, alongside being trafficked from abroad. Around 900,000 guns are thought to be in circulation illegally.

Although gun deaths are reducing, horrific incidents nonetheless happen. Last August, nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot and killed by a masked gunman on the doorstep of her house in Liverpool.

Children can personal these deadly weapons too. Thanks to laws principally unchanged in half a century, in 2023 the youngest firearm license holder is 14, and a nine-year-old holds a shotgun certificates.

Fully computerized and submachine weapons are classed as “prohibited weapons”, as are the vast majority of handguns since reforms following the 1996 Dunblane massacre in Scotland.

Those accessible to the general public fall beneath the Firearms Act 1968, which distinguishes between two forms of gun. 

Shotguns are by far the most typical, with 1,340,452 lined by a certificates as of March 2023 – a quantity that has remained broadly steady over the previous 20 years. They are primarily used for vermin management, clay pigeon taking pictures and sport.

The remaining 615,627 are thought-about firearms, made up principally of rifles, usually used for goal taking pictures. They have nearly doubled in quantity since 2003.

Dr Iain Overton, Executive Director of Action on Armed Violence, advised Express.co.uk: “The rise in firearms from around 300,000 to 600,000 is notable, and we should always be vigilant about any increase in gun ownership. 

“However, it’s important to consider these numbers within context. In the UK, our issue is not high-frequency mass shootings, unlike some other countries.”

Just over 20,000 people in the US died from gun violence last year, in response to Gun Violence Archive. The comparable determine in England and Wales was simply 31.

Total weapon offences and accidents attributable to weapons are roughly a 3rd of what they have been 20 years in the past, in response to Home Office data.

As it stands, the legislation permits firearm certificates to be issued to kids as younger as 14 – and no age restrictions in any respect apply to shotguns. A complete of 1,275 certificates holders are at present aged 17 or beneath, and 72 youngsters aged 13 and beneath have a shotgun license.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) claims regardless of this there are nonetheless “plenty of regulations limiting your activity” in case you are granted a certificates at a younger age. 

“First of all there is the adult supervision that must occur up to ages of 14 or 15 depending on what firearm is being used,” a spokesperson for the nation’s largest taking pictures organisation mentioned.

“Then there is the fact that under-18s cannot purchase either a firearm or ammunition.”

They added: “This means they can only borrow or acquire a firearm from an adult, it is therefore the adult’s responsibility to judge whether the person is safe to use the firearm.

“Secondly, in each case the local police force must be satisfied that there is good cause to issue a certificate in the first instance.”

The Gun Control Network (GCN) is a non-profit that was arrange within the wake of Dunblane. Speaking to Express.co.uk, a spokesperson claimed that it was a “well-promoted myth that being handed a gun at a young age promotes discipline and respect for the weapon.”

Certificates could be utilized for on-line, and require a passport photograph, a referee and fee of a payment – usually £88 for firearms and £79.50 for shotguns, regardless of it costing up to £520 to process a certificate, in response to the BASC.

Nowhere in Britain are possession charges larger than in Dyfed-Powys within the Welsh countryside, the place there are 2,785 firearms and 6,557 shotguns for each 100,000 residents.

For shotguns, this price falls 13-fold to 553 in Manchester, 519 in London and 505 in Liverpool. Far extra folks have weapons within the nation.

Dr Overton mentioned: “Our gun ownership remains largely within rural and shooting communities, and the firearms favoured by these communities do not appear to be contributing significantly to rising crime rates in our major cities, where knife crime remains the more pressing concern.”

There have been 282 homicides in the year ending March 2022 involving a knife in England and Wales – the best annual whole on file.

“We must, however, remain aware of the mental health challenges often faced by rural communities – such as farmers – who are already sensitive to high suicide rates,” Dr Overton added. “As such, we would caution against complacency in the face of rising shotgun ownership within these demographics.”

This isn’t to say weapons – even registered ones – aren’t utilized in lethal assaults on others. Just a number of months in the past, on February 5, George Pattison, 39, used a shotgun to murder his 45-year-old wife Emma and their seven-year-old daughter at their Epsom College home. 

On August 12, 2021, 22-year-old Jake Davison shot and killed 5 folks, together with his mom, earlier than fatally taking pictures himself within the Keyham space of Plymouth. 

The mass homicide, one of many deadliest in British historical past, was dedicated utilizing a authorized pump-action shotgun. 

Mr Davison’s weapon and license had been eliminated in 2020 following an altercation, however have been returned to him just weeks before the atrocity, sparking fierce public backlash.

The Home Office subsequently reviewed its steerage for gun licence purposes. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has welcomed the enhancement of the “already extensive checks”.

Chief Constable Debbie Tedds, NPCC lead for firearms licensing and explosives, mentioned: “It is disappointing, however, that the Government will not be taking forward the recommendation to review the legislation and practice around Section 1 firearms and Section 2 shotgun licensing which, in light of the tragic incident in Plymouth, we see as an opportunity to further strengthen the legislation and could help mitigate any potential threat to public safety stopping firearms ending up in the wrong hands.”

The GCN spokesperson – who most popular to stay nameless – prompt reform was gradual coming as a result of present laws was a “hotchpotch” of legal guidelines, and the parliamentary time required was “enormous”.  

They added: “The other reason is the shooting lobby. They are very vocal, very powerful and they are in all the right places: in Parliament, in the Lords and in the police.”

A Home Office spokesperson mentioned: “Britain has very tough gun laws and, as the public expect, anyone possessing a firearm or shotgun must comply with the law at all times. There are very strict controls on young certificate holders including around supervision.

“Strong firearms controls are essential to keep the public safe and we keep our licensing system under constant review to preserve public safety.”

Over the previous yr, 97 p.c of firearm license purposes and 96 p.c of shotgun license purposes have been profitable.