How do laws change over time? Flashcards
Main events that changed gun laws in the UK?
- The 1987 Hungerford Massacre
- The 1996 Dunblane Primary School Shooting
What was the snowdrop campaign?
The Snowdrop Campaign was founded by families and friends of those affected by the tragedy in Dunblane, and gained 750,000 signatures to a petition for a ban on private gun ownership in six weeks.
What were the laws that passed after the Dunblane massacre?
The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 banned all handguns above .22 calibre
Firearms (Amendment) (No 2) Act 1997, passed by the subsequent Labour government, which extended the ban to all handguns regardless of calibre.
What are the 4 ways homosexuality laws have changed in the UK?
- The Wolfendon Report
- Campaigns
- Politicians
- Human Rights
The Wolfendon Report?
-By 1954 over 1000 gay soldiers were imprisoned after WW2 for being gay
-The government set up a committee under John Wolfendon to consider reform of the law
-Published in 1957 - homosexual acts in private between consenting men over the age of 21 be legalised
-Then legalised in 1967
Human Rights: Homosexuality?
- 2010 Equality act outlaws the discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
- The Supreme Court orders that the state has no right to control citizens private life.
Campaigns: Homosexuality?
- The homosexuality law reform society - successfully campaigned for the change in law that legalised gay sex in 1967
- Stonewall and homosexuality equality - equalising the age of consent at 16
What legal changes have improved children’s welfare?
- Compulsory schooling: introduced in 1880, keeping children out of paid work
- Laws excluding children from paid work: in the 19th century a series of factory acts gradually excluded children from the workplace
- Laws and policies that only apply to children: eg. minimum ages reinforce the idea that children are different from adultes so different rules must be applied.
