T_Richard,
Yes, you are correct. In the U.K, handguns can no longer be owned by the public.
The was a shooting in a school in Dunblane, in 1996, where one nutter went mad and shot up a town. Following that, the Government had a panic attack, and banned the public from owning any handguns.
It even extended as far as target pistols, which meant that the British olympic and Commonwealth teams then had to travel to mainland Europe to practice.
All that has happened since then, is the amount of gun crime continues to increase each year.
It just proves the old saying "when you criminalise guns, only criminals will have guns"
The government had exactly the same reaction a few years after Dunblane, when there was a spate of dogs attacking people.(mainly children). These were not generally family dogs, rather guard dogs, and dogs bread for fighting (illegal in the U.K). The majority of these were "pit bull type"dogs. (the pit bull is not a breed recognised by the U.K. kennel club). The Government then brought in the "Dangerous dogs act", which meant certain dogs had to be registered, muzzled in public and also microchipped.
It the police found one that was not registered or muzzled, it was put down, BUT, it was up to a panel of experts to first decide if it was a "pit bull type dog"
It makes a total mockery of the law if it takes a group of people to interpret it, as there is no definitive description of the type of dog.
I just want to state, I have never been a gun owner, nor have I ever owned a large dog, so I am not biased against either law. I am just stating my opinion of how stupid I think they both are.
Mr G