Rapid Responses to:

EDITORIALS: Gwen Adshead, Peter Fonagy, and Sameer P Sarkar Violence and gun crime BMJ 2007; 335: 837 [Full text]

Rapid Responses: Submit a response to this article

Rapid Responses published:

Guns, Knifes, and drugs

Peter O'Loughlin, Beckenham BR3 3AT   (27 October 2007)

"Gun" Crime

Keith Baxby   (4 November 2007)

Guns, Knifes, and drugs 27 October 2007
Peter O'Loughlin, Principle The Eden Lodge Practice, Beckenham BR3 3AT Send response to journal: Re: Guns, Knifes, and drugs	The reference to the Dunblane and Hungerford massacres as having nothing to do with drugs is open to question, the killer in Hungerford, was in fact an habitual drinker. The killing of young people, by in some cases their peers is frequently influenced by the use of psycho active drugs. Competing interests: None declared
"Gun" Crime 4 November 2007
Keith Baxby, Retired surgeon Dundee Send response to journal: Re: "Gun" Crime	The editorial by Adshead et al rightly emphasises that guns themselves are not the problem and that focusing on gun control will not prevent armed crime on city streets. They point out that in the UK ownership of handguns has been restricted for 10 years but fatal gun crimes still occur. In fact the "restriction" is virtually a total ban (except in Northern Ireland where no such restrictions were deemed necessary); and crimes using handguns not only "still occur", but have increased at least five-fold in the interval. They write "One possible inference might be that guns themselves are not risky, but the intention to use them is". Suppose this had been an article on fatal road accidents, and the authors had argued that, because driving dangerously was against the law but people were still killed by cars, perhaps cars themselves were not risky, but the intention to drive them dangerously was. They would invite derision by stating the obvious. So it is with firearms, which in themselves have no inherent danger. Banning handguns has made their possession and use more attractive to the very people who would misuse them and has not reduced "gun crime", while depriving several thousand law-abiding people of a sport which teaches safety, self discipline and hand-eye co-ordination. We have the silly situation that British pistol shooters who wish to represent their country in the Olympic Games have to travel abroad to practise for an event that will be held in London, yet anyone with evil intent and £500 can buy a handgun illegally in any British city. It is much easier for politicians to ban something than to tackle the underlying causes of offending. This easy course is made easier by maintaing the myth of a link between legitimate firearms use and armed crime on city streets. Competing interests: KB is a legitimate firearm user and chairman of a target rifle club. In 1997 the government confiscated his legally held target pistols as part of its policy to "get handguns off the streets".