It has been my observation that some in the UK avoid dealing with their crime problems by pointing to ours in the US--this recent BBC Article on Guns shows that you do have a serious and growing problem with gun crimes.

It also shows that the murder rate in England and Wales, though signficantly less than in the US, is actually about the highest in Europe (save the former Soviet states, who kill each other at 7-10 times the rate that we do).

Wake up and smell the coffee.