Not a whole lot of people are shedding tears for Brian Thompson right now. The UnitedHealthcare CEO wasn’t exactly the most sympathetic murder victim in the world if we’re being honest. Still, that didn’t mean he should have been killed.
As things currently stand, everyone in the US–even those celebrating Thompson’s killing–are talking about so-called ghost guns after the alleged killer was found with one in his possession.
That’s not overly surprising. Most anti-gun folks will latch onto any excuse to push for some kind of gun control. That’s all this is.
But apparently, it’s not just the US brand of gun grabber fretting over “ghost guns.” It seems some in the UK are worried, too.
Lax laws around 3D printed guns mean police risk losing control over firearms in the UK, ministers have been warned.
Calls have been mounted for a clampdown on software and online manuals used to make the deadly weapons after a former Met Police chief sounded the alarm. Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe, former commissioner of the capital’s police force, said there had been a “fair few instances” of so-called ghost guns being made in this country.
It follows the murder of health insurance tycoon Brian Thompson in New York with what investigators believe was a 3D-printed weapon. Lord Hogan-Howe warned that failing to act now would be disastrous.
Home Office minister Lord David Hanson hinted that new laws could be introduced in the coming months to tighten controls on these firearms. The former Met chief said: “If we lose this control point, which the 3D printers allow, then we’re going to be in a serious situation.”
I’m sorry, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the idea of lax laws around any gun in the UK.
Handguns are generally banned there. There’s no evidence anyone can make their own firearm anywhere there lawfully. There’s no way to lawfully get the parts needed to build one like the alleged killer reportedly did to finish his guns. In short, they’ve done everything that one might reasonably believe would prevent such a thing from happening anywhere in England.
Why are they freaking out?
Maybe because they know the laws aren’t actually going to do anything?
The alleged killer likely 3D printed a receiver and assembled a so-called ghost gun because the media made a lot about how you couldn’t trace them. He probably figured it would help keep him from getting caught because most people don’t know what “gun tracing” actually is or how it works.
But in the UK, things are a bit different. People simply can’t get traditionally manufactured handguns. It’s not possible, at least for most folks. So, those who are so inclined will find a way to make firearms for themselves or for sale. Lawmakers there probably know this and are freaking out because now people might start thinking about it more. Especially as more and more designs like the FCG-9–a design that uses off-the-shelf hardware store parts for anything that’s not printed–become available, that becomes a bigger issue.
The UK has all the laws in the world. They just know they don’t do anything.
Read the full article here
