Gun Control, law concerning limits on the possession and use of firearms. All countries have restrictions on some firearms, which vary according to the history of the nation and its circumstances: in the United States, for example, its constitution provides for the right to bear arms. Though American legal scholars dispute the meaning of the constitutional provision, it has been used—together with a long history of private gun ownership—to resist strict firearms control in the United States. European countries have stricter laws. In the United Kingdom the police are generally unarmed and guns are seen to have little place in civilian life, except for some leisure purposes.

In the United Kingdom it is an offence to possess a firearm or a shotgun without a certificate from the police. Firearms certificates are granted if the applicant has good reason to have one, and presents no danger to public safety or the peace. People who have been sentenced to three years or more in prison, and those of intemperate habits or unsound mind, may not be granted certificates; a certificate may also be refused on any other reasonable grounds. Shotgun certificates are more easily obtainable, but the applicant still needs a good reason for having one: they are most usually used in shooting sports. An applicant refused a certificate may appeal to the Crown Court.

Certain particularly dangerous firearms are prohibited, such as most rifle weapons with automatic function or loading, all kinds of explosive or noxious munitions, and disguised firearms. Authority to hold such weapons may be granted by a government minister, most commonly to those involved in theatre and cinema productions, for signalling flares on ships and aeroplanes, or to certified museum curators. Significant restrictions are placed on their movement and storage.

There are a number of weapons for which no certificate is required, such as starting pistols for athletics, miniature rifles on fairgrounds, and air weapons up to a certain power. In certain circumstances it is not an offence to use a shotgun lawfully held by somebody else, for example, when shooting on private property.

Other firearms offences that may be committed regardless of whether the offender holds a certificate or not include carrying a loaded shotgun or air weapon in a public place, and carrying a firearm together with ammunition, whether or not the firearm is actually loaded. Shortening the barrel of a shotgun is illegal: “sawn-off” shotguns are a favoured weapon of bank robbers. Dealing in firearms is only permitted by a licensed dealer, who must have

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