Dunblane : 'We cannot let people forget' as 30th anniversary of atrocity marked
Ellie Crozier, whose sister was killed in the atrocity, has warned UK gun laws need tightened
The sister of a five-year-old girl killed in the Dunblane atrocity has said “we cannot let people forget” what happened and warned that UK gun laws are “at risk” 30 years on.
Ellie Crozier’s sister Emma was one of the 16 children murdered along with their teacher, Gwen Mayor, in the shooting at Dunblane Primary School on March 13, 1996.
Ms Crozier, 28, said she and her brother Jack will always wonder what their relationship with their sister would have been like, and that she “was and still is deeply loved” by her family.
Following Emma’s death, her parents were among those who campaigned for tighter gun controls and she and her brother have also become involved in campaigning, including in the US.
Reflecting on the impact her sister’s death had on her family, Ms Crozier said: “Growing up, we talked about Emma a lot and openly.
“My parents went through one of the most traumatic events a parent can go through and used their grief to make our corner of the planet safer.
“Emma was and still is deeply loved. My brother and I are really close. We’ll always wonder what our relationship with Emma would have been like.
“At the end of the day, I should have a big sister, and that will always be felt.”
Ms Crozier said Dunblane has a “beautiful and resilient community”, and that while the loss is still felt “the love is felt too”.
However, she said that 30 years on from the tragedy many people living in Dunblane do not know about the shooting or were too young at the time to remember it.
She said: “This is why it’s important we talk about Dunblane, we cannot let people forget.”
In the wake of the massacre, the Snowdrop Petition campaign, set up by a group of parents from the Dunblane area, gathered more than 700,000 signatures backing a ban on the private ownership of handguns.
Meanwhile, the Gun Control Network, who worked in parallel with the Snowdrop campaign spearheaded by mothers in the town, has revealed its members faced death threats and bomb scares as they pushed for the ban.
A ban on most handguns was introduced in 1997 by John Major’s Conservative government.
Later that year, legislation widening the ban to include all cartridge ammunition handguns was introduced by Tony Blair’s Labour government.
However, Ms Crozier said a lot has changed in the 30 years since the shooting and stressed it is important that legislation matches current circumstances.
She warned that while UK laws are strict they are “at risk” amid changes in society.
Concerns have been raised that legislation does not address the rise of guns manufactured by 3D printing or converted replica guns, as well as weapons with barrels just long enough to fall outside the handgun ban .
She added: “The world is bigger in so many ways and inevitably cultures shift too. Something we’ve noticed is a shift in attitudes towards guns.
“An example of this can be seen in the American-style shooting ranges you can see in gun clubs here in Scotland, in video games – you can even 3D-print guns.
“Our laws are strict, but they are not perfect, and they are also at risk. Whenever we allow easier access to guns, we create loopholes that allow these dangerous weapons to fall into the wrong hands.
“There is a notion, even from various politicians, that our laws should be relaxed. This cannot happen, under any circumstances. The cost is too high.”
She and her brother have also been to the US to campaign for tighter gun controls there.
She said she thinks there is the prospect of laws changing as although there is a “strong, collected and powerful gun lobby”, generally people agree that they want their children to be safe.
She said: “There are some incredible activists in America, as well as congresspeople who genuinely want to see and affect change.
“The Snowdrop Campaign started with three women who decided that they wanted to make sure Dunblane would never be repeated. These were ‘ordinary’ women with no political or media backgrounds.
“I think a lot of people feel that they need to be directly affected by something to speak up about it.
“The Snowdrop Campaign is the perfect example of how ordinary people can affect incredible change.”
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander has said he is determined to honour the memory of victims of the Dunblane massacre by upholding the UK’s tight gun laws. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he supported a review of firearms legislation to close any loopholes.
GCN chairwoman Gill Marshall-Andrews recalled the “very strong and very violent” resistance the group faced from the pro-gun lobby.
She said: “We were under enormous pressure from the gun lobby, because we were the obvious target for them.
“They couldn’t really target the Dunblane families. They couldn’t criticise them. They couldn’t attack them because of who they were.
“Mick (North, whose child was among those killed) was involved but the rest of us were not involved in Dunblane. So we were, as it were, legitimate targets.
“We had a lot of death threats. We had a PO Box in Finchley that was regularly closed because of bomb threats.”
Ms Marshall-Andrews said the campaigners were repeatedly told handguns could not be banned “because pistol shooting is the fastest growing sport in the UK”.
She added: “If you think about that, that sums it up in a nutshell, because if handguns had not been banned then, we would be down the American road.”
In September 1996, the Cullen Report recommended tighter restrictions on gun ownership, and in 1997 John Major’s Conservative government introduced a ban on most handguns.
Later that year, Tony Blair’s Labour government introduced legislation widening the ban to include all cartridge ammunition handguns.
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