Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/12/01/offensive-weapons-bill.html
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It’s doubly bad. The ERG are Far-right insane in the aristocratic and propertarian mould, but any legislation also has to be run past the DUP who are full-on Christian fundamentalist terrorists, who are also quite OK with gun ownership (but only for their side).
The UK has a tiny population of both types of GOP crazy, and due to Teresa May’s stupid decisions, the government is beholden to both of them.
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I don’t need to wait until next time. A friend of my brother was killed in the 2010 Cumbria shooting.
James “Jamie” Clark, 23, killed at Seascale.
For added unpleasantness, his birthday is on the same day as the Dunblane shooting. Needless to say, he is a bit sensitive about guns.
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The swivel-eyed wing of the Tories really are lower than vermin, to appropriate Aneurin Bevan.
This is literally playing with people’s lives, just to prove who can piss up the wall the highest. Scum.
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Wait, what assault rifles are not already banned in England? Can someone please explain?
Is this like trying to make murder double illegal?
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It’s even more pathetic because her deal will likely not make it through parliament.
Watching this from across the North Sea is like watching a train derailing in slow motion.
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Yes, they are, at least in general. This legislation was intended to ban the ownership of 0.5" calibre (or greater) weapons. I imagine this will be amended quickly enough when the Brexit shitshow has left town.
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Oh, so are 0.5" or greater caliber weapons a problem in england? Has there been a large number of crimes using them recently?
If they are banning things that could potentially be used in crimes, they really need to step up their game and add everything that could “possibly” be used in a crime while their is political will to do so.
They need to add more knife restrictions, large trucks need to be banned (after what happened in France), Poison gas… Has anyone thought about banning it? it could be really dangerous and all a bad person would need is an education or maybe some chemistry books.
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Or maybe, they could ban personal ownership of things that are of extreme danger to the population and have absolutely zero positive use cases…
Knives and trucks have valid uses for civilians, i await your argument for high-calibre weaponry…
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Ah… so the problem here is that the Stephen Bush at The New Statesman doesn’t know what an ‘assault rifle’ is.
(Hint - they have to be at least semi-automatic… and such rifles are indeed already illegal in the UK).
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Great callback!
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None on the British mainland AFAIK. I consider this a positive thing. I see no benefits in allowing ownership of these weapons, however. What are the use cases?
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Living on this side of the North Sea is like being in a slow-motion derailing.
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You know, I don’t care what the blasted things are called. I don’t want them for general sale in this country.
[Annoying twee voice]Oh, he doesn’t know what an assault rifle is![/annoying twee voice] This is about the silliest fucking argument-that-isn’t-an-argument that hoplophiles have ever presented in their fight against any rational control of firearms. Except for all the others.
Go away. Britain is not the US. We’ve got enough our own silliness here without importing American bullshit.
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I’m not shocked or surprised that the government would give this away – if you show them a giant flaming sewage-filled policy pothole, of course they’re going to swerve to hit it – but the fact that Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Shortbus of Shit wanted it is utterly baffling.
It’s not like when they try to fellate their American idols by boosting racism or healthcare privatisation. Those things at least have some UK counterpart (British racists and American health-insurance lobbyists, respectively). But the gun constituency simply does not exist in British politics. It’s not even really an issue for the tiny, electorally inert fox-hunting set. There is literally no reason for this other than to explicitly pledge allegiance to the US Republican Party and/or those who are far-right redditors first and British second.
It does seem odd that more hasn’t been made of this (unless the New Statesman piece is wrong). Perhaps it’s just too bizarre for mainstream commentators to even know what to do with it.
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I think it’s just the etiolated lamprey walking around with a hard-on and showing he can make life difficult for May. Which is somewhat ironic, given that he can’t find 47 mates to submit no confidence letters.
An as you say, and as Alastair Campbell almost said, the British don’t do guns, babies or Jesus. Quite right too.
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We’re really on a (toasted) roll with this guns/toaster thing, aren’t we? 
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And i’m pretty sure poison gasses (at least those with no other uses) are generally illegal for an individual to own.
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Weird-- but in line with other weirdness.
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