Gun Control – Shotguns are the next priority
by Gun Control Network on 16-03-2026
Press Release 16th March 2026
March 13th marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Dunblane massacre, an atrocity which, following extraordinary campaigning by the bereaved families and others, led to the banning of handguns. This set the UK up with the ‘gold standard’ of gun controls, a situation that lasted for many years. However, as we reflect on the importance of the ban in keeping Britain safe, a new threat to public safety has emerged: a series of fatal multiple shootings (many of them domestic) involving legally-held shotguns has thrown a different light on where the real threat to public safety now lies.
Licensed shotguns are now far more frequently misused, criminally and domestically, than any other legally-held gun, (346 shotguns were criminally misused in the year to March 2025 compared to 76 rifles), yet they are still subject to a less stringent licensing regime than rifles, unaltered since the original 1968 Firearms Act. At that time, rifles were regarded as the most dangerous gun and subjected to rigorous controls under Section 1 of the Act; shotguns, by contrast, were regarded as sports equipment and fell under Section 2. Shotgun owners are still allowed by law to own as many guns as they want on the same licence and do not have to justify a purpose for each weapon. They are allowed to amass ammunition, to lend guns to friends and family – including children – to transfer guns to another person’s certificate and to retain family heirlooms.
Shotguns are now the primary licensed gun risk to public safety. The law needs to recognise this by moving them into Section 1 where they will be more appropriately controlled. This would seem obvious, as indeed it has been to coroners in their Prevention of Future Deaths reports, the Independent Office of Police Conduct and the Scottish Affairs Committee, all of whom have recommended the change. Yet such a move is fiercely opposed by gun owners who resent the cost and constraints of such a change.
The law is lagging behind current reality. The police have introduced stricter guidance to firearms licensing officers to try to plug the gap, but guidance does not have the same force as the law. The Government needs to recognise this and act to reduce the risk of another atrocity.
In 1996, Australia introduced strict gun laws after a massacre of 35 people in Port Arthur but, since then, those controls have been systematically eroded by the gun lobby, something that probably contributed to the Bondi Beach shootings in December. Following that atrocity, States and the Federal Government have scrambled to review gun laws.
GCN’s sister organisation – Gun Control Australia – has now sent a letter to Sir Keir Starmer urging him to take action to ensure that the UK gun laws reflect current reality and do not slide as they did in Australia. The letter is a timely reminder to the UK that we must never be complacent. Maintaining our ‘gold standard’ of gun control must involve full recognition of the danger posed by shotguns. We urge the Government to put public safety above the wishes of the gun lobby and move shotguns into Section 1. One gun, one licence.