Overview
- Mick North, who lost his five-year-old daughter Sophie in the 1996 Dunblane school shooting, urged police not to place firearms in all patrol cars.
- Scotland’s police staff association has advocated routine firearms in patrol vehicles, though the Scottish Government and senior officers have not backed the idea.
- The Dunblane attack killed 16 children and their teacher and led to public pressure, including the Snowdrop petition with more than 700,000 signatures, that helped secure a UK handgun ban within two years.
- Campaigners note Britain has had no further handgun massacres since the post-Dunblane legislation, a record they argue could be jeopardized by loosening controls.
- North also voiced concern over politicians who have criticized the ban and said he would campaign against any move to weaken firearms laws, as a new BBC documentary revisits how Britain banned handguns.