Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Report: UK Gun Owner Loses Licenses Over Social Media Presence

Monday, April 29, 2019

Report: UK Gun Owner Loses Licenses Over Social Media Presence

In 2016, UK shooter and popular YouTube gun channel personality Callum Long-Collins told the BBC, “Being British and a firearms owner, it almost feels illegal to have any sort of opinion on using guns for self-defense.” The comments appear to have been proved correct. According to an April 23 article in The Times titled, “Gun licences stripped from shooting activist over YouTube comments,” Long-Collins told the publication that he lost an appeal to have his firearms licenses reinstated with the primary reason being the content of his YouTube page, EnglishShooting.

According to a 2018 report from PJMedia, Long-Collins’ firearms licenses were revoked in 2016 following a reportedly false assault allegation that was later dropped. However, after coming to the attention of the state, UK authorities began looking into Long-Collins’s social media presence.

Long-Collins’s primary offense appears to have been his advocacy for the right to armed self-defense. Back in 2015, following the attacks at the Bataclan theater in Paris, France, Long-Collins posted a video to his YouTube page about the event. In it, Long-Collins reportedly contemplated that the French should be able to exercise their Right-to-Carry a handgun for self-defense in order to prevent such terrorist violence. U.S. gun right supporters must pay close attention to the ongoing denigration of natural rights in the UK and other countries and redouble our efforts to ensure Americans never face these abuses of power.

 

 

In an attempt to preserve his ability to own firearms, Long-Collins announced in June 2018 that he would be no longer post videos to his YouTube Channel. In a farewell video, Long-Collins explained that after the initial incident, “police then looked at previous videos that I had made in previous views that I had voiced on the channel and they felt that that wasn't in keeping with that of a licensed firearms owner within the UK.” The shooter went on to note, 

Over the past two years I've made significant efforts to change the direction of the channel change the videos and to change my own beliefs in views around fire firearms and firearm ownership, unfortunately, I've failed to bring the channel and the videos to the standard that the police feel is adequate.

Long-Collins also stated that, “due to repeated comments from other people on the videos [the licensing authorities] felt that the channel was a forum of extremism.”

In early 2019, Long-Collins began posting new videos to EnglishShooting. In an April 3, 2019 video Long-Collins explained to viewers that he no longer has a shotgun or firearm certificate.

Shortly after posting new content to the YouTube channel, Long-Collins sat down for an interview with The Times. The shooter told the paper, “The main issue was a video that I made around the Paris attacks where I advocated the French to be able to use handguns for self-defence because of the frequency of attacks that were happening at the time.”

The UK government does not respect its subjects’ natural right to keep and bear arms. In the UK, prospective firearms licensees are required to provide “good reason” for owning a firearm. In the majority of the UK, self-defense is not considered sufficient reason to own a firearm. Further, police are given wide discretion in determining whether a person has met the licensing criteria.  Despite the protection provided by the First and Second Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, U.S. gun owners should view Long-Collins’s situation as a warning, rather than as further evidence of American superiority.

 

 

 

 

 

For an excellent overview of the firearms laws in Great Britain, please visit the Library of Congress at: https://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-control/greatbritain.php

Moreover, the UK government does not recognize its subjects’ right to free speech.   

Despite the protection provided by the First and Second Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, U.S. gun owners should view Long-Collins’s situation as a warning, rather than as further evidence of American superiority.

On this side of the pond, some anti-gun politicians have shown a willingness to restrict firearms rights based on a person’s speech. In January, Illinois State Rep. Daniel Didech introduced a legislation that would require the state police to “conduct a search of the purchasers' social media accounts available to the public to determine if there is any information that would disqualify the person from obtaining or require revocation of a currently valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card.”

In addition to opposition from gun rights organizations, the legislation prompted concerns from the American Civil Liberties Union. An ACLU representative told CBS Chicago, “A person’s political beliefs, a person’s religious beliefs, things that should not play a part in whether someone gets a FOID card.”

 U.S. gun right supporters must pay close attention to the ongoing denigration of natural rights in the UK and other countries and redouble our efforts to ensure Americans never face these abuses of power.

%MCEPASTEBIN%

TRENDING NOW
Is This What Help Looks Like in Chicago?

News  

Monday, June 5, 2023

Is This What Help Looks Like in Chicago?

Chicago, desperate to do something to try to diminish the violent crime that is ravaging the city, has turned to programs that are not your traditional law enforcement approach to try to help stem the ...

Study: Restrictive Gun Control Laws “Unlikely” to Solve Problem of Youth Gun Violence

News  

Monday, June 5, 2023

Study: Restrictive Gun Control Laws “Unlikely” to Solve Problem of Youth Gun Violence

A first of its kind study published in late May in the American Medical Association’s JAMA Network Open concluded that community-level “social vulnerability” factors like poverty, unemployment, crowded housing, and minority status were much more likely than ...

Maine: House to Vote on Anti-Shooting Range Bill

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Maine: House to Vote on Anti-Shooting Range Bill

Tomorrow, the Maine House is scheduled to vote on Legislative Document 1000, which would establish a firearm range safety group within the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. This legislation is the first step in ...

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

News  

Monday, January 30, 2023

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

On Monday, January 30, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) published the final Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces” rule for public inspection in the federal register.

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Advances Pistol Brace Resolution

News  

Monday, April 24, 2023

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Advances Pistol Brace Resolution

On April 19, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted 23-15 to advance H.J.Res.44, which would reign in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ attempt to regulate pistol stabilizing braces. The resolution employs ...

Connecticut:  Gov. Lamont Signs Major Gun Control Bill

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Connecticut: Gov. Lamont Signs Major Gun Control Bill

On Tuesday, anti-gun Gov. Ned Lamont inked his signature on more Second Amendment restrictions in Connecticut.  The Governor signed H.6667 which contained several firearm restrictions, including a ban on open carry and the adoption of ...

Connecticut:  Gun Control Bill Passes the House and Moves to the Senate

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Connecticut: Gun Control Bill Passes the House and Moves to the Senate

On Thursday, the House passed HB 6667 on a vote of 96-51.  This drastic gun control legislation has a bit of everything.  It contains a ban on open carry and strengthens prohibitions and registration of semi-auto "assault ...

New York:  Approaching End of Session Is A Dangerous Time For Gun Owners

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

New York: Approaching End of Session Is A Dangerous Time For Gun Owners

We are in the ninth inning in Albany, and the anti-gun politicians are always looking to steal a base.  You can count the number of scheduled 2023 legislative session days on one hand, which means ...

NRA Files Papers in Legal Challenge to ATF “Pistol Brace Rule,” Defends Members Against ‘Arbitrary Attack’

News  

Second Amendment  

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

NRA Files Papers in Legal Challenge to ATF “Pistol Brace Rule,” Defends Members Against ‘Arbitrary Attack’

The National Rifle Association of America (“NRA”) today announced it is intervening in a pending case to protect its members from the “pistol brace rule” promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ...

South Carolina Final Constitutional Carry Vote Soon - Contact Your Senator Today!

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

South Carolina Final Constitutional Carry Vote Soon - Contact Your Senator Today!

Senate Bill 109/House Bill 3594, NRA-backed constitutional carry bills, could be up for a Senate floor vote as early as this week. Your active participation has been pivotal in safeguarding and upholding our fundamental right to ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.