Britain has announced a month-long national firearms amnesty from March 31 in a bid to curb rising gun crime ahead of the introduction of tougher gun laws.
Home Office Minister Bob Ainsworth said the amnesty would allow citizens to surrender illegal guns, imitation firearms and ammunition to the police without fear of prosecution. "Perhaps the most disturbing element of changing gun use is the casual carrying of firearms, predominantly by young people," said Ainsworth in a statement.
"We need to act now to show that this is unacceptable and to stop the development of a 'gun culture' where firearms are treated as fashion accessories."
Gun crime has been on the rise in British cities for some time, but the issue took on a new dimension when two Birmingham teenagers celebrating New Year's Day were shot and killed in crossfire between rival gangs.
Britain's last national firearms amnesty in 1996, after a school massacre in Dunblane, Scotland in which 16 pupils and their teacher were killed, netted 23,000 weapons.
The Home Office is proposing legislation that would set at five years the minimum prison sentence for possession of an illegal firearm, as well as a ban on imitation and air-powered weapons in public places.
AFP