Gun Control Works
In 1996, at the time of the gun massacre of 16 children and their teacher in Dunblane, pistol shooting was claimed to be the fastest growing sport in the country. It looked as if we were heading down the American route. The 1997 handgun ban stopped that. Now, as new threats emerge and loopholes are exploited, there is more work to do.
Gun Control Works
Comparative data from around the world show a clear connection between gun ownership and gun deaths: the higher the rate of gun ownership, the more gun deaths there are. The graph demonstrates this clearly.
GCN campaigns for tighter control of guns of all kinds. We know that people are safer, and feel safer, in societies where there are fewer guns. We know that gun control works, and that it is not an end in itself, but a direction of travel – a continuing process. Complacency is not an option.
More guns means more gun deaths
Latest News
Over 60% of Guns used in UK Femicides were Licensed, New Data Reveals
Posted 5 Days Ago
October 2024 Review
Posted 9 Days Ago
September 2024 Review
Posted on 20/10/24
August 2024 Review
Posted on 15/09/24
SUMMARY OF FATAL GUN INCIDENTS April 2023 – March 2024
Posted on 14/09/24
July 2024 Review
Posted on 13/09/24
June 2024 Review
Posted on 13/09/24
May 2024 Review
Posted on 13/09/24
April 2024 Review
Posted on 13/09/24
Press Release from Gun Control Network, Emma Ambler and Rhianon Bragg 28 August 2024
Posted on 28/08/24
It’s Time for Action on Airguns
Posted on 18/08/24
March 2024 Review
Posted on 21/04/24
January 2024 Review
Posted on 08/04/24
Summary of Fatal Gun Incidents April 2022 – March 2023
Posted on 08/04/24
February 2024 Review
Posted on 08/04/24
December 2023 Review
Posted on 14/01/24
November 2023 Review
Posted on 30/12/23
October 2023 Review
Posted on 13/11/23
One gun, one licence
Posted on 13/11/23
Thérèse Coffey and BASC
Posted on 09/10/23
Government fails to implement Plymouth coroner recommendations
Posted on 30/06/23
Government failure to tackle broken gun licensing system
Posted on 12/06/23
Licence to kill – GCN proposes new law to license those who wish to kill birds and animals
Posted on 01/06/23
Airsoft guns and other realistic imitations are weapons of choice in crime
Posted on 15/05/23
Where is the Home Office Response to the Plymouth Coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths Report? Bereaved Families are still waiting.
Posted on 09/05/23
Plymouth Coroner Demands Urgent Reforms to Gun Licensing System
Posted on 20/03/23
New Gun Laws and more funding required to keep the public safe
Posted on 31/01/23
Scottish Affairs Committee makes recommendations on Firearms Licensing
Posted on 22/12/22
Gun licences may last for 10 years, not 5
Posted on 09/03/22
Robust gun licensing costs money
Posted on 02/09/21
Re-released – Why is the taxpayer subsidising gun owners?
Posted on 28/08/21
Guns in Plymouth create heartbreak and havoc
Posted on 17/08/21
DUNBLANE – 25 YEARS ON
Posted on 11/03/21
Firearms Consultation − another useless public consultation?
Posted on 11/01/21
A Mother’s plea for Stanley’s Law – The licensing of airguns
Posted on 02/12/20
Are UK gun controls really the gold standard we think they are?
Posted on 24/04/20
Tasers will escalate violence against police. Body cams may mitigate the harm
Posted on 02/10/19
Following New Zealand’s lead… let’s ban semi-automatic guns here
Posted on 23/03/19
New Zealand shootings — another licensed gun owner
Posted on 19/03/19
Playing Politics with Public Safety
Posted on 26/11/18
Downloadable and downright dangerous
Posted on 05/08/18
Children still dying from airgun misuse
Posted on 02/08/18
Careless gun owners go unpunished
Posted on 03/04/18
Minister to review airgun menace — at last!
Posted on 13/12/17
Loophole allows Airsoft ‘skirmishers’ to evade new gun legislation
Posted on 02/05/17
Since April 2016 more than a fifth of reported gun deaths have involved the police or military
Posted on 12/01/17
Five years on from Horden killings Minister confirms no plans for gun hotline
Posted on 19/12/16
20th Anniversary of the Gun Control Network
Posted on 14/10/16
More Deaths from Licensed Guns
Posted on 15/07/16
Guns and children: a dangerous mix
Posted on 30/03/16
The Gun Control Network launches its new interactive website
Posted on 17/03/16
Law Commission Report – Firearms Law: Reforms to Address Pressing Problems (15 Dec 2015)
Posted on 21/12/15
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary report on firearms licensing
Posted on 15/09/15
Enforcer or public servant: What sort of police force do we want?
Posted on 20/05/15
Routinely arming the police with tasers is counterproductive
Posted on 13/02/15
Over 60% of Guns used in UK Femicides were Licensed, New Data Reveals
by Gun Control Network on 15-11-2024
New analysis reveals that more than 60% of women killed by firearms in the UK over the past five years were shot by men with licensed guns. This unsettling data, based on research by the UK’s Gun Control Network (GCN) on femicide between 2019 and 2024, highlights the lethal risk posed to women when licensed […]
Read MoreOctober 2024 Review
by Gun Control Network on 11-11-2024
GCN is committed to preventing gun violence and we work to pursue that objective through changes to the legal system, public services and attitudes to guns. We collect and analyse data to provide all stakeholders with the evidence needed to initiate change. GCN collects data on gun incidents and related sentences, inquests and investigations in […]
Read MoreAbout GCN
Who we are and what we want
The Gun Control Network was established as a small non-profit making organisation in July 1996 in the aftermath of the Dunblane tragedy. The founders included lawyers, academics and the parents of victims killed in Dunblane and Hungerford. It was the first gun control organisation in the UK.
At the time, in 1987, of the massacre of 16 people in Hungerford there was no UK organisation campaigning for tighter gun laws and the shooting lobby succeeded in watering down much of the proposed new firearms legislation.
After the tragedy in Dunblane in 1996, where 16 children and their teacher in the school gym were killed, we were determined to ensure that the same thing didn’t happen again. The public demanded real change in the gun laws and they got it. We now have a complete ban on handguns in this country and some of the strictest gun laws in the world. This dramatic achievement, and others are outlined in the Achievements menu.
Our Key Objectives
Our current objectives are:
- One single unified licensing system for all guns with a power of over one joule.
- One licence per gun.
- The cost of a licence to cover the full cost of the application with no subsidy from the taxpayer.
- Police information systems to be integrated so licences to be refused or revoked where there is evidence of domestic violence, drug/alcohol abuse, mental illness, or criminal activity.
- GP records to be tagged so police will be alerted to any licence holder who is or becomes unfit.
Get in Touch
How to contact GCN
Please contact us if you have any questions. Either email us directly
Email: guncontrolnetwork@gmail.com
Or use the form