What are the gun laws in the UK?
To own a gun (rifle or shotgun, anything else is not permitted in private ownership) you must be licenced. To be licenced you need to make an application to your local Police who after thoroughly checking your background will visit you for a personal interview and satisfy themselves that you have secure methods of storage for guns and ammunition. That means a locked safe that nobody but the licence holder has access to either the keys or the combination. This is rechecked on each renewal. Keeping a loaded shotgun under the bed would result in confiscation of the gun, certificate revocation and probable criminal charges. Using a gun in self defence is not considered ‘reasonable force’ and would therefore more than likely result in a manslaughter or attempted murder charge being brought against the gun owner. We just don’t have that gun culture. The UK has no real gun lobby and self defence is not a valid (or legal) reason for owning a gun. (except in Northern Ireland). The UK has about
