Anything fun is. Even our police anti-terrorist teams are not trusted with burst or full-auto capable weapons, and as for our military… Well, you’ve seen the SA-80.
There are guns, mostly of the Fudd variety, but they are heavily restricted and regulated, and possesion is licenced.
It annoys me when someone such as Carl Benjamin, aka Sargon of Akkad, comes out with his “but there are 500,000 guns in the UK” line. I do not know where he gets this statistic from, or what it counts as guns [does it include airguns, airsoft - as although these are easier to obtain, regulations have become increasingly odious], but let’s assume that it is correct and applies purely to firearms.
Shotgun licences are easier to obtain, as they depend upon the authorities finding reason for you to not be granted one. Rifle licences place the onus on you to prove that you have a need for one and that you are competent etc. Add in that you’re supposed to keep firearms and ammunition locked in a safe. [That said, regulations are slightly looser for certain black powder and .22" LR type firearms]
Basically, if you’re a farmer, gamekeeper or a toff, you’ll probably be able to get your hands on a gun for the purposes of pest-control [well, kind of - Oi! Have you got a licence for that?] or hunting (this is much more of an upper-middle / upper class and aristocratic activity in the UK than in the US).
Whilst defensive use of guns is at least theoretically possible, the reality is that guns and ammunition stored separately in safes are unlikely to be at hand when you most need it (and you will likely face a stiff legal struggle to prove that you were in the right). Similarly, whilst we still have Bisley and clay pigeon shooting is a thing, you won’t see Ian & Karl run’n’gunning in British Brutality here any time soon - and even Olympic events have been affected:
“I think the sport needed to modernize itself,” said Rob Stull, a three-time Olympic pentathlete and managing director of USA Modern Pentathlon. “Laser pistols are a great solution.”
Still, not everyone is convinced.
“I thought it was cooler when we were shooting pellets,” said 20-year-old modern pentathlete Margeaux Isaksen, “but c’est la vie .”
But don’t worry, our ever more restrictive gun laws have curbed armed crime…
Fortunately, my assault teaspoon is still street legal!
Oh…
Do you think I can claim asylum? After all, you seem to let everybody else in.