A few years old, but I think this is still relevant

[gejohnston]

Not sure what the political bent of the paper (from what I understand correctly, UK media is very biased) but I thought this is worthy of discussion. Yes is is simply an anecdotes in the UK, but sometimes anecdotes can serve as an illustration of a larger point.


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23419742-i-bought-a-sub-machinegun-within-24-hours.do

This guy's comment on the story put it better than I could:

No big surprise here. When the legitimate hand gun owners were demonised and deprived of our sport we predicted this, some 10 years ago. Banning legitimate target pistol shooting has done nothing to curb gun crime, in fact it is significantly worse. The root cause of this gun crime is lax policing and poor support from the Courts in tackling drug and gang culture. Drugs and gangs are the root cause of gun crime.

- James, Long Island, New York., 06/11/2007 16:44

[TheWraith]

1. The London Evening Standard is generally considered a good paper...

Although back then, prior to the takeover by Alexander Lebedev (who also owns The Independent) they had something of a reputation for incendiary headlines, and for letting their op-ed section go a little wild (although obviously this isn't op-ed).

But yes, it's no big shock that the UK has illegal guns. Particularly since making a gun from scratch is far easier now than it was say 10 years ago, thanks to CNC milling.

[gejohnston]

2. No big shock to me either, but

I was aiming for a specific audience if you get my drift.

[Euromutt]

3. An SMG for £200? Must've been used a few times

According to the Guardian, the going rate for a Glock is £2,000 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/30/ukcrime1), but the price of black market guns goes down if they've previously been used in a shooting (otherwise, who would buy a gun that could be used to link you to a shooting you didn't commit?).