Pressure Group - The Snowdrop Campaign
Type of campaign: Pressure group - How was this campaign a pressure group?
How was this campaign a pressure group?
The Snowdrop campaign was considered a pressure group due to the
large number of campaigners that rallied to support the cause.
Although the campaign was started by Ann Pearston, the family and
friends of the murdered children and teacher, along with anti-firearm
supporters around the country soon got involved too.
Reasons behind the campaign
13th March 1996, Thomas Hamilton walked into the gym at
Dunblane Primary School and killed 16 young children and their
teacher before shooting himself. He also injured 13 other children
and three teachers.
A local resident, Ann Pearston, along with family and friends of
the children and teacher then started the campaign to call for the
ban of private ownership of handguns in the UK.
Campaign methods
After petitioning for the ban of private ownership of handguns,
780,000 signatures were collected, pressuring the government to
take action.
To gain supporters, campaigners took part in marches and even
made a short film, voiced by Sean Connery, that played in
cinemas before the movie.
Policy Introduced (What specific law/policy was changed or introduced)
Although the campaign didn’t see the full change it was aiming
for (the ban of all privately owned guns), it did see some success,
and with the little time it took for a law to be passed, this
campaign is considered the most successful campaign in Britain.
The government introduced the Firearms (amendment) Act 1997
which banned the private ownership of handguns above a .22
calibre.
This then led to a national gun amnesty where 165,353 licensed
handguns and 700 tonnes of ammunition were surrendered
across the UK.
4
Type of campaign: Pressure group - How was this campaign a pressure group?
How was this campaign a pressure group?
The Snowdrop campaign was considered a pressure group due to the
large number of campaigners that rallied to support the cause.
Although the campaign was started by Ann Pearston, the family and
friends of the murdered children and teacher, along with anti-firearm
supporters around the country soon got involved too.
Reasons behind the campaign
13th March 1996, Thomas Hamilton walked into the gym at
Dunblane Primary School and killed 16 young children and their
teacher before shooting himself. He also injured 13 other children
and three teachers.
A local resident, Ann Pearston, along with family and friends of
the children and teacher then started the campaign to call for the
ban of private ownership of handguns in the UK.
Campaign methods
After petitioning for the ban of private ownership of handguns,
780,000 signatures were collected, pressuring the government to
take action.
To gain supporters, campaigners took part in marches and even
made a short film, voiced by Sean Connery, that played in
cinemas before the movie.
Policy Introduced (What specific law/policy was changed or introduced)
Although the campaign didn’t see the full change it was aiming
for (the ban of all privately owned guns), it did see some success,
and with the little time it took for a law to be passed, this
campaign is considered the most successful campaign in Britain.
The government introduced the Firearms (amendment) Act 1997
which banned the private ownership of handguns above a .22
calibre.
This then led to a national gun amnesty where 165,353 licensed
handguns and 700 tonnes of ammunition were surrendered
across the UK.
4
