The UK has some of the most strict gun control laws in the world. Owning a gun for self-defense isn't really a thing over there and only a small handful of people can qualify to have one--and most of them don't seem to be able to keep it at home where it might be handy to protect yourself.

A lot of people look at UK "gun crime" statistics and argue that those numbers are proof that gun control works and that we should do similarly. Of course, they ignore the fact that our non-gun homicide rate is higher than their total homicide rate, which suggests that there's more going on than gun laws, but people who think we should follow the UK's lead aren't the sharpest crayons in the box.

After all, if those laws worked as advertised, this sort of thing wouldn't happen.

As fitness fanatics worked out in the packed gym, the three young gunmen calmly walked into the weights room.

Spotting their target, they pulled out a 9mm Scorpion submachine gun capable of firing 1,000 rounds a minute. While terrified gym-goers ran for their lives, the hoodlums aimed the pistol and 'cocked' it as if planning to shoot.

It was the day gang war spilled over into what should have been the family-friendly surroundings of Moss Side Leisure Centre. Bizarrely while the terrifying rampage was ongoing, in the room next door police officers were giving a talk on violent crime.

OK, can we just pause here to laugh at the irony?

British cops were right freaking there, and they were talking about violent crime, while it was happening right under their noses. Almost literally.

And the gun was a  Skorpion vz. 61, which really should be spelled as such. After all, the CZ Scorpion is also 9mm, but a different firearm entirely.

Moving on...

Thankfully, the gunmen Antonio Wint, Andre Marshall, and a 17-year-old boy, didn't pull the trigger. Instead they smashed their 23-year-old victim over the head with the gun and punched him several times, leaving him battered and bloody.

As they fled the scene in a green Suburau Impreza on the afternoon of July 3, 2007, police were already on their tail. Two constables from GMP's Longsight drugs unit heard details of the attack over their radio.

A short time later they discovered three hooded figures hiding in a Whalley Range alleyway. Armed with only a can of CS gas, body armour and one radio between them they took cover and called for back-up.

But as Wint, then 21, and Marshall, 22, made an escape they came face-to-face.

"Wint was clearly holding a gun," one of the officers would later say. "We were unarmed and for a split second we all looked at each other, every one of us scared. We recognised them instantly as wanted Gooch members."

Now, it's worth noting that no shots were apparently fired, but only because the three thugs restrained themselves. They definitely had the means--yes, the guns were actually loaded--and they just didn't, even when cornered by police who were disarmed themselves.

This is a machine pistol. This is the sort of thing that's difficult, if not impossible, to get here at an affordable price for most Americans, and a couple of street crooks in the UK had one.

It seems to me that gun control didn't accomplish a blasted thing in trying to keep gang-bangers from getting guns.

That's not surprising, though. These are people who are willing to walk into a gym and beat a guy after pulling a gun on everyone. Do you think something like a gun control law is really going to deter them?

Does anyone think that it'll somehow work better here in the United States?

If so, please let me know. I have some beachfront property in Nebraska to sell you.