Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the Dunblane massacre, in which a crazed gunman burst into a school in Scotland and shot dead 16 children, aged around 5 years old, and their teacher before turning the gun on himself. After the massacre, the British public demanded a ban on handguns, and thousands signed an anti-handgun petition. This forced the government to ban them.
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Families light candles for children
12th March 2006
The families of Dunblane massacre victims will light candles on Monday on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy.
Parents of the murdered children will mark the anniversary privately, in quiet reflection of the day that changed their lives forever. They have chosen not to hold a special memorial service and have appealed to be allowed the chance to grieve in private.
Sixteen children and their teacher, Gwen Mayor, were killed on March 13, 1996, when misfit loner Thomas Hamilton burst into Dunblane Primary School gym and opened fire, before shooting himself.
The world looked on in horror as details of the bloody massacre unfolded. Thousands of candles were lit all over the world on the first anniversary of the shootings in 1997 following a request from the families.
In a statement, a spokesman for the victims' families said last week: "On the anniversary we will be lighting candles, as we have done every year, and will recall with great affection how so many people in Dunblane and beyond also lit candles on the first anniversary to show that our children and their teacher were not forgotten. We hope they will be remembered on this 10th anniversary."
Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions calling for a ban on handguns in the wake of the massacre. Despite widespread opposition from the gun lobby, in 1997 the Government introduced tough gun controls.
The Gun Control Network (GCN) - which included relatives of those killed in the Hungerford massacre - continues to campaign for a national gun register.
A register, which would track everyone who has a gun licence and those who have been judged unfit, was proposed nine years ago, but still has not been introduced.
Gill Marshall-Andrews, chair of GCN, said: "Provision for a national database of gun owners was made in the first Firearms Amendment Act of 1997. It is indeed bizarre that nine years later the nation still waits. Is this incompetence or a lack of political will?"
Mick North, whose daughter Sophie was killed by Hamilton and who has campaigned on behalf of GCN, said: "I have no doubt that had it not been possible for Hamilton legally to own guns simply for the purpose of target shooting, that he would never have thought through or carried out his crime."
thetimesonline.co.uk
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Families light candles for children
12th March 2006
The families of Dunblane massacre victims will light candles on Monday on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy.
Parents of the murdered children will mark the anniversary privately, in quiet reflection of the day that changed their lives forever. They have chosen not to hold a special memorial service and have appealed to be allowed the chance to grieve in private.
Sixteen children and their teacher, Gwen Mayor, were killed on March 13, 1996, when misfit loner Thomas Hamilton burst into Dunblane Primary School gym and opened fire, before shooting himself.
The world looked on in horror as details of the bloody massacre unfolded. Thousands of candles were lit all over the world on the first anniversary of the shootings in 1997 following a request from the families.
In a statement, a spokesman for the victims' families said last week: "On the anniversary we will be lighting candles, as we have done every year, and will recall with great affection how so many people in Dunblane and beyond also lit candles on the first anniversary to show that our children and their teacher were not forgotten. We hope they will be remembered on this 10th anniversary."
Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions calling for a ban on handguns in the wake of the massacre. Despite widespread opposition from the gun lobby, in 1997 the Government introduced tough gun controls.
The Gun Control Network (GCN) - which included relatives of those killed in the Hungerford massacre - continues to campaign for a national gun register.
A register, which would track everyone who has a gun licence and those who have been judged unfit, was proposed nine years ago, but still has not been introduced.
Gill Marshall-Andrews, chair of GCN, said: "Provision for a national database of gun owners was made in the first Firearms Amendment Act of 1997. It is indeed bizarre that nine years later the nation still waits. Is this incompetence or a lack of political will?"
Mick North, whose daughter Sophie was killed by Hamilton and who has campaigned on behalf of GCN, said: "I have no doubt that had it not been possible for Hamilton legally to own guns simply for the purpose of target shooting, that he would never have thought through or carried out his crime."
thetimesonline.co.uk
