Britain to Offer Amnesty on Illegal Guns
The British government Thursday announced an amnesty on illegally held or unwanted guns, eight days after a social misfit shot and killed 16 children and their teacher in a Scottish school.
“It has been agreed that an amnesty will take place. The details are being worked out, and we will advise [Parliament] of them as soon as possible,” Prime Minister John Major told the House of Commons.
An official in Major’s office said the amnesty was being considered even before last week’s massacre in Dunblane. The measure would require no legislation.
Middle-aged loner Thomas Hamilton was carrying four handguns, for which he had legal permits, when he went on a rampage at Dunblane Primary School. He later shot himself.
The last amnesty, in 1988, was introduced after 27-year-old Michael Ryan killed 16 people and himself in his hometown of Hungerford, England.
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