From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_Kingdom
History of gun control in the United Kingdom
With the decline of
Archery as mandatory there were growing concerns in the sixteenth century over the use of guns and crossbows. Four acts were imposed to restrict their use
[8] As English subjects, Protestants had a conditional right to possess arms according to the
Bill of Rights.
[9]That the subjects which are Protestants may have Arms for their Defence suitable to their Conditions, and as allowed by Law.
The rights of English subjects, and, after 1707, British subjects, to possess arms was recognised under English Common Law. Sir
William Blackstone's
Commentaries on the Laws of England, were highly influential and were used as a reference and text book for English Common Law. In his Commentaries, Blackstone described the right to arms.
[10]The fifth and last auxiliary right of the subject, that I shall at present mention, is that of having arms for their defence, suitable to their condition and degree, and such as are allowed by law. Which is also declared by the same statute I W. & M. st.2. c.2. and is indeed a public allowance, under due restrictions, of the natural right of resistance and self-preservation, when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression.
Formerly, this same British common law applied to the UK and Australia, as well as until 1791 to the Colonies in North America that became the United States. The right to keep and bear arms had originated in England during the reign of
Henry II with the 1181
Assize of Arms, and developed as part of
Common Law. These rights no longer exist in the UK, since the UK's doctrine of
Parliamentary sovereignty allows the repeal of previous laws with no enshrined exceptions such as contained within a codified
constitution.
Modern restrictions on gun ownership began in 1903, with the Pistols Act. This required a person to obtain a gun licence before they could buy a firearm with a barrel shorter than 9 inches. The gun licence had been introduced as a revenue measure in 1870; the law required a person to obtain a licence if he wanted to carry a gun outside his home, whether for hunting, self-defence, or other reasons, but not to buy one. The licences cost 10 shillings, which is about £31 in 2005 money, lasted one year, and could be bought over the counter at post-offices.
A registration system gun law - the Firearms Act - was first introduced to Great Britain in 1920, spurred on partly due to fears of a surge in crime that might have resulted from the large number of guns available following
World War I and in part due to fears of working class unrest in this period. The law did not initially affect smoothbore weapons, which were available for purchase without any form of paperwork.
Fully
automatic weapons were almost completely banned from private ownership by the
1937 Firearms Act, which took its inspiration from the US 1934
National Firearms Act.[
citation needed] Such weapons are nowadays only available to certain special collectors, museums and prop companies. The 1937 Act also consolidated changes to the 1920 Act that controlled shotguns with barrels shorter than 20". This length was later raised by the 1968 Firearms act to 24".
The first control of long-barrelled shotguns began in 1968 with the Criminal Justice and Firearms Act
[8]. This required a person to obtain a "Shotgun Certificate" to own any shotgun. The Act did not require the registration of shotguns, only licensing. This act was accompanied by an
Amnesty when many older weapons were handed into the police. This has remained a feature of British Policing that following an incident a brief amnesty is declared.
[11]
Changes in public attitudes in the 1970s and 1980s changed the basis on which firearms were perceived and understood in British society. Increasingly graphic portrayals of firearms involved in gratuitous acts of violence in the
mass media gave rise to concern of the emergence of an aggressive "
gun culture". A steady rise in violent gun crime in general also became an issue of concern.
Yes you have. Or more properly, reeve:
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reeve_(England)
In
England, a
reeve was an official elected annually by the
serfs to supervise lands for a
lord. The reeve himself was a serf. He had many duties such as making sure the
serfs started work on time and ensuring that no one was cheating the lord out of money. The system was introduced by the
Saxons, dating at least to the 7th century, and continued after the
Norman Conquest.
The reeve of an entire
shire was a Shire-reeve, predecessor to the
Sheriff.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights_of_Englishmen
The term
Rights of Englishmen is used to describe the rights granted to English citizens under the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights.
artyon:
