On 13 March we commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of the Dunblane primary school shooting in Scotland , in which 16 small children and their teacher lost their lives. Two other teachers and 12 more children were wounded. The solitary assailant was armed with high-powered handguns that had been legally obtained. The public outrage, sorrow and anger resulting from the Dunblane massacre led to the UK banning the civilian ownership of handguns in 1997. Britain 's gun control organisation, the Gun Control Network, was at the forefront of the campaign to ban handguns. GCN is an active IANSA member and continues to campaign for reforms to prevent gun violence in the UK.
The anniversary of Dunblane is a time to remember those who were lost in this, the most shocking civilian shooting in Britian's collective memory, to reevaluate how far we have come to building a safe and secure society, and to consolidate our energy for the battles we still have yet to fight, to ensure that this never happens again.
Send a message of condolence to the families here.
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