I legally carry a gun for defense. I also enjoy shooting sports. I no longer live in the UK and handguns were banned a long time after I left. I still follow UK events and I was shocked by the ban and confiscation. It was supposed to end gun crime (who on earth would believe that one?). Now we have these numbers but not even an apology to the legitimate handgunowners who were victimised.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3195908.stm
On a similar note: it seems it will soon be illegal to carry a pocket knife in Denmark. UK police will soon be using portable imaging technology to identify gun and knife carriers (civil liberties?).
The law everywhere (some countries more advanced in this matter than others) is forcing a division into sheep and wolves,
giving us the option of being a victim if we are the good law abiding citizen or a criminal if we seek to be prepared to defend ourselves, heaven forbid the consequences if we actually need to. With current trends I think it may be only a matter of time before my carry permit is revoked.