We routinely hear American anti-gun cities and states blame neighboring states for their own gun issues. Chicago, in particular, is notorious for trying to blame Indiana for their violence without ever explaining how Indiana isn’t a lot more violent.

Yet when you look at somewhere like the United Kingdom, you have to wonder where those guns are coming from. After all, they’re an island. Further, all the nations that have easy access to them also have very strict gun control laws in place. It’s not like Scotland is a gun rights paradise and criminals are just driving south with a trunkload (or should I say “bootload”?) of guns.

No, they get them some other way.

The sentencing of a UK man who was involved in smuggling guns and drugs provides some indication of just how British bad guys get their guns.

A man who fled the UK after drugs and guns were found at his house has been jailed for 14 years.

Police searched the house of Marius Supelis after a van had been stopped at the French border with guns and ammunition hidden inside, along with a TV and music speaker.

The van driver had told border officials that the items were due to be delivered to the home of Supelis who lived in Ollard Avenue in Wisbech.

When UK border force stopped the van and x-rayed its contents, they found a laundry bag with guns stashed inside.

Three handguns were also found on a makeshift shelf in the top of a boom box music speaker, held in place by three screws.

…

The guns had been adapted to fire live ammunition and the bullets found in his bedroom were identical to those seized from the delivery van.

See, this is something I’ve seen before.

Apparently, one common tactic of British criminals is to adapt non-functional replicas of firearms into fully-functional weapons. I don’t know just how common it is, but I’ve run across several different mentions of this being used to arm British criminals.

Now, let’s take a step back for a moment and look at this.

These people are surrounded by nations that have very strict gun laws, laws meant to disarm people like them and they know it. So what do they do? Anything they can to arm themselves. If they’re not using backyard-built firearms, they’re adapting lawful and inoperable guns into working models instead.

Let this stand as a reminder, folks. Criminals will get guns no matter what laws you put in place. The only thing gun laws do is inhibit the law-abiding citizen who has done nothing wrong, nothing to warrant being disarmed. The UK flipped out after a mass shooting and issued wholesale gun confiscation. So what did criminals do? What they always do. They ignored all the laws and continue to get guns regardless.

Meanwhile, the average British person is powerless to respond to the threats that present themselves. They’re not even allowed to carry pocket knives anymore, for crying out loud. What are they going to do against a bad guy who has a gun?

And this should illustrate that such a thing is a very real possibility.