TRANSCRIPT OF A RADIO INTERVIEW of 5th July, 2005 with Dr Sean Gabb -- from BBC Radio Lancashire

Interviewer: Let's get another view on this. I'm pleased to say joining us now from the Libertarian Alliance is Dr Sean Gabb. Sean good afternoon.

Dr Sean Gabb: Good afternoon.

I: Um, lets, let's go back to the simple equation. The more people who have guns, the more dangerous people have guns, the more dangerous society is isn't it?

SIG: Not at all, before 1920 you could walk into a gun shop in this country and without showing any identification or any permit buy as many guns and ammunition as you could afford and you could carry that round and keep them at home for defence of your life and property. In those days England was an astonishingly peaceful country. There were millions and millions of guns in circulation and yet gun crime was almost unknown. Now there is no straight equation between the number of guns legally available and the amount of crime.

I: Do you think this is a choice then, you're from the Libertarian Alliance, do you think this is a choice of personal freedom here, personal choice?

SIG: I think it's a question of personal freedom. You have the right to protect yourself and your family in the best way available.

I: Does that mean if you have a gun to shoot an intruder though?

SIG: Yes it does. If anyone breaks into your house he takes his life into his own hands and if you do not kill him you are acting mercifully. No, this is a question about you, about the listeners, do you want to be able to feel secure in your home, do you want to be able to protect yourself and your family?

I: But does society feel more secure if there are more guns around, if there are more guns in people's homes? In the glove box of cars?

SIG: No, no, the evidence is absolutely overwhelming. Those countries where guns are easily available for law abiding people are much more peaceful. We think of America, but America is a big place, it's 52 states all with their own laws. Those states which have very liberal gun control laws where you can have a gun at home and where you can use it do not have very much crime. Those parts of America which have very strict gun control laws, almost as strict in some places as our own, have very high levels of gun crime. The fact is that if you ban guns all you do is disarm the honest respectable public. Do you think criminals are at all deterred by gun control laws? No, it disarms us, they remain armed.

I: I just wonder though.

SIG: They can run through us like a fox through chickens.

I: It is the old scenario, isn't it, of why did you answer the door with a gun in your hands sir? I mean, having guns in the home is open to a fit of pique isn't it, it's open to people's temper.

SIG: If you believe that people are not fit to keep arms for their own defence, um, you know, it's a bit odd that you believe that people who have the right to vote in a government that, um, rules all out lives. You either trust people or you run the country like some gigantic open air lunatic asylum which is what the present government is doing.

I: Well let's talk about America then and, and, because there the gun lobby in America is, is hugely powerful isn't it? We mentioned Charlton Heston and, er, his colleagues and so on who, a really powerful lobbying voice there. Do you think in this country, if you own a gun, if you own a gun for sport, not necessarily for protecting, er, you and yours that you are seen as somehow odd, that you are seen as a pariah of society?

SIG: You are seen as somehow odd but I must say I'm not interested in owning guns for sport. The only use, as far as I'm concerned, the only place for guns in sport is to get people practiced so they can use guns for self defence. Um, look.

I: So you'd have a country that is armed to the teeth with personal arsenals at home?

SIG: Yes.

I: That sounds dangerous to me.

SIG: Well, it sounds like you want to run the country like an open air lunatic asylum. Now let me give you a little statistic. In this country 53% of burglaries take place in homes which are occupied. In America that figure is only 13% and the reason is because burglars, in America, are frightened that if they break into an occupied home they'll be shot. In this country burglars know that once they've broken in through the door they can do as they like with you. They can tie you up, they can pop your eyes out.

I: So to your mind it is redressing the balance?

SIG: Um, I'm not talking about redressing the balance, I'm talking about giving people like you and me and the listeners the most effective way to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the predations of the various armed street trash who are running uncontrolled on the streets of our country.

I: Ok Sean, we'll leave it there. Thank you very much for your time today.






Kentucky oldster uses magnum on invaders: "A 79-year-old man armed with a .357 magnum revolver shot two men after they broke into his home overnight. Police answering a call about a break-in and burglary found two men shot outside a home on Ellen Kay Drive in Grant County. The homeowner told police the two men kicked in his back door just before 5 a.m. Saturday. They tried to flee after being shot. Police said they found one wounded man in the driveway and followed a trail of blood to the other man nearby. Nearby residents were stunned but supported their neighbor's actions. "At that time in the morning, if I was in that situation, I might try to do the same thing," Everett Musgrave told News 5. "I am glad he was able to protect himself. That's the big thing. At least he's not hurt." "He's old school," Lisa Garner said of her neighbor. "My grandfather would have done the same thing. "It bothers me because we have children. It bothers me that anybody would intrude into your home," Garner said. Musgrave had a message for anybody thinking about breaking into somebody's home. "Yeah, don't pick the wrong door," Musgrave said".