UK Crime Might Never Have Been Considered with US Gun Laws

A lot of people think that the UK has better gun control laws than the United States. They certainly have more extensive measures; that’s for sure, but better? I’m not remotely willing to buy that.

As it stands, the average person in the United Kingdom has to hope and pray to not be targeted by a vicious criminal with evil intentions, and they have to do so because they have no means to defend themselves. Even knives are considered problematic there, while we buy them for our kids so they have one in their pocket when they reach an appropriate level of maturity.

We’re not remotely the same, despite sharing a language.

But a report of a recent arrest struck me as something that’s less likely to happen here with our gun laws, even though it’s just as much of a crime here as it is there.

At 7.45am on Sunday (May 25), officers responded to reports of a man allegedly threatening a shopworker on Jaunty Way, Basegreen, Sheffield.

The suspect was said to have been carrying an alleged firearm.

…

McKenzie Hatfield, aged 19, of Hollinsend Place, has been charged with with possession of an imitation firearm in a public place and is set to appear before Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on June 17.

Now, threatening someone with an “imitation firearm” is a crime everywhere in the United States. There’s no differentiation in the eyes of the law between using a real or fake firearm when you’re threatening bodily harm.

So why would this be different here in the United States?

Easy. If you try this in the US, you may well find yourself shot in response by either the person you’re threatening or by another party who witnesses the threat and doesn’t realize it’s a fake gun.

While bringing a knife to a gun fight is stupid, bringing a fake gun to a gun fight is even more idiotic. 

Yet in both cases, you’re dealing with a potential threat to human life. In Stand Your Ground states, you can use lethal force in such an instance without any duty to retreat, and you should.

It’s not just about you, after all. It’s about the potential victim.

When some snot-nosed little punk decides to threaten someone with a fake gun, they should consider that someone who is legally armed and dedicated to keeping people safe might be present and not realize the gun is fake. You can’t ascertain that at a glance. You’re almost never going to be able to, especially as some criminals paint their guns so they look like toys to avoid the gaze of law enforcement.

“But Tom, that punk might have had a real gun in the United States.”

Sure, he might have. He might have had a gun in the UK, though, despite all of their laws. Guns are a lot more common in criminal hands than most people might want to admit, so it’s not like the gun laws actually keep people like this kid from (allegedly) pulling something like this with a real firearm, except for the opportunity to get one.

If he’d faced getting shot for his efforts, he might have just stayed home and played Xbox instead.