I write with regard to the recent calls in your letters pages for more draconian restrictions on firearms owned by law-abiding subjects of this country.

Is it appropriate to punish large numbers of people who have committed no crime for the actions of a few?

Banning pistols in the UK in 1997 bankrupted many small businesses and 60,000 had their lawful property confiscated.

None of these people had committed any crime nor has it resulted in any reduction in armed crime.

These ever-increasing calls for more draconian restrictions have no effect on the criminal element in society. There are many strong existing laws on statute relating to the misuse of firearms.

Why has the Government chosen to provide a platform for the anti-gun lobby to push for restrictions on legitimate firearms which it knows will have no effect?

Gun crime is a social problem with no quick fix and, while social problems persist, will continue to rise. This is why legitimate gun owners are facing illogical, pointless restrictions.

The one accepted and proven fact about gun crime is there is no link between legitimate licensed firearms and illegal gun use. (Research from Kings College Centre for Defence Studies in 2001).

-G N Burgess, Brighton