BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Gun prevalence in Sherlock

**Posted by inb4tehlulz** September 25, 2012 1:21 am

First, I'll start off with my understanding of gun law in England. As far as I know handguns, except muzzle loaders, are illegal in England, and even hunting rifles and shotguns require you to be a member of a shooting club and apply for licenses which are not guaranteed to be approved. Even most police officers don't carry hand guns.

If that's the case, how do Sherlock and Watson so easily seem to have handguns, even so far as Sherlock firing one for his own entertainment in his home? Obviously anyone that is intent on acquiring a handgun in England can, so long as they have the money and no qualms with the law, but is one supposed to just believe that there is no repercussion at all for Sherlock or Holmes simply because of his brother Mycroft? To me this seems to be slightly unreasonable.

Last edited by inb4tehlulz (September 25, 2012 1:21 am)

**Posted by NW16XE** September 25, 2012 1:37 am

It is just one gun, and it is John's; in the canon it is his service revolver which he kept when invalided home, and no, he probably shouldn't have. So far in the programme, the only time the police have seen them use a gun is when Sherlock takes John 'hostage' in TRF, anf that was a police gun, not theirs. I imagine Lestrade is aware of the gun and does some covering for them if necessary. But the gun is a canonical element from the stories.
Besides, it's telly.

**Posted by kazza474** September 25, 2012 2:51 am

There is a thread somewhere discussing guns etc, but honestly ... it's a minefield & I am not looking for that one! lol
But yes, as NW says, John has his service gun; obviously accidentally forgot to hand it back hen he came home injured. Those things can happen, accidentally.
Whether Sherlock has one also, I can't recall right now but let's face it; this is a guy who has a top level security pass 'borrowed' from his brother who almost runs the British Government. Surely acquiring & keeping a revolver around in case he needs it would be child's play for him?

And I agree, the authorities have probably turned a blind eye to these things.

**Posted by Davina** September 25, 2012 6:50 am

It's is a nod to canon and yes you are perfectly correct that this gun would not be held legally if this was for real but it is telly. It would also need to be locked away in a gun cabinet or room and not kept in a drawer.

The other time Sherlock used it was to 'call' the police outside Irene's place. The shooting at the wall is directly from canon with VC replaced by a smiley.

Kazza is right this is a dodgy area and now she's mentioned mines as well!

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** September 25, 2012 11:03 am

Yeah, I always imagined it to be just one gun, which is John's from his army days, and yes he should have handed it back in but accidentally on purpose forgot, and you know how much red tape and bureaucracy there is, it really wouldn't surprise me if quite a few soldiers got away with keeping their guns and the proper authorities just forgot to chase them up or keep proper records of who had handed it back in and who hadn't.

That's why most of the time it's John that handles the gun, although occasionally Sherlock "borrows" it. And no, they don't really use it in front of the police, just for private adventures. Lestrade probably knows about it but turns a blind eye.

**Posted by veecee** September 26, 2012 12:58 am

I've thought about this before, because it's a rather dramatic moment when we see John's gun in the drawer in Pink. I've noticed a big deal being made about guns in other British programs and movies, too. Unfortunately, in American TV and movies, guns are everywhere and everyone seems to have one. They've lost their shock value, so to speak.

I don't want to open a can of worms and start a discussion about gun control. I'm just talking about how they are used in film and television.

**Posted by The Doctor** September 26, 2012 3:23 am

John would most likely still hold a valid gun licence (so he can shoot on a registered training premises) but as for keeping an unregistered firearm on a private property (and carrying it concealed in public!) - indeed, a very serious offense and one of those areas where the show writers ask the audience for, well:

"Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poet and author, called drama "that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith ..."

Any creative endeavor, certainly any written creative endeavor, is only successful to the extent that the audience offers this willing suspension as they read, listen, or watch.

An author's work, in other words, does not have to be realistic, only believable and internally consistent (see Magic A is Magic A). When the author pushes the audience too far, the work fails."

Seeing how commonplace firearms appear in contemporary popular culture, the writers will not have hesitated too long to make John's gun show canon.

Last edited by The Doctor (September 26, 2012 3:25 am)

**Posted by Chrissi** September 26, 2012 4:36 pm

In the commentaries Mark and Steven talk about that issue, too.

"Also, we never actually say how he got that gun; it’s just there. It’s one of those marvellous things you can do in television: you say, ‘He’s got a gun,’ and it doesn’t seem incredible that a military man would have one. Maybe not supposed to have it but he’s got it."

**Posted by veecee** October 4, 2012 9:36 pm

The Doctor wrote:
John would most likely still hold a valid gun licence (so he can shoot on a registered training premises) but as for keeping an unregistered firearm on a private property (and carrying it concealed in public!) - indeed, a very serious offense and one of those areas where the show writers ask the audience for, well:

"Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poet and author, called drama "that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith ..."

Any creative endeavor, certainly any written creative endeavor, is only successful to the extent that the audience offers this willing suspension as they read, listen, or watch.

An author's work, in other words, does not have to be realistic, only believable and internally consistent (see Magic A is Magic A). When the author pushes the audience too far, the work fails."

Seeing how commonplace firearms appear in contemporary popular culture, the writers will not have hesitated too long to make John's gun show canon.

Am I the only one who thought that, in his despondent state, John was keeping the gun as a possible suicide method?

On another note, near the end of Pink, doesn't John tell Sherlock that the gun is at the bottom of the Thames, or something like that? And then it shows up again in Game?

**Posted by The Doctor** October 5, 2012 12:27 am

I just made myself assume that John is nearly broken but not willing to take his own life but yeah, scary thoughts.

However, the Thames incident also confuses me slightly!

**Posted by NW16XE** October 5, 2012 12:32 am

veecee wrote:
On another note, near the end of Pink, doesn't John tell Sherlock that the gun is at the bottom of the Thames, or something like that? And then it shows up again in Game?

Yes, he does say that, but was it ASiP or the pilot?

**Posted by kazza474** October 5, 2012 3:19 am

NW16XE wrote:
Yes, he does say that, but was it ASiP or the pilot?

It was in the pilot, not in 'Pink'.

Here's the relevant script from Pink:

Holmes: Are you all right?
Watson: Yes of course I'm alright.
Holmes: You have just killed a man.
Watson: Yes, I .... It's true, innit. But he wasn't a very nice man.
Holmes: No. No, no he wasn't really, was he?
Watson: And frankly a bloody awful cabbie.
Holmes: That's true. He was a bad cabbie. You should have seen the route he took us to get here.
Watson: Stop. We can't giggle. It's a crime scene. Stop it.
Holmes: You're the one who shot him, not me.

Watson: You were going to take that damn pill weren't you.
Holmes: Of course I wasn't. Biding my time. Knew you'd turn up.
Watson: No you didn't. That's how you get your kicks isn't it? You risk your life to prove you're clever.
Holmes: Why would I do that?
Watson: Because you're an idiot.
Holmes: You can always tell a good Chinese place by examining the bottom third of the door handle.

**Posted by besleybean** October 5, 2012 4:04 pm

I personally have an issue with all forms of gratuitous violence...but we haven't seen too much of that in Sherlock.

**Posted by horserider99** October 5, 2012 5:50 pm

It might be legal for veterans to carry firearms, which would explain why John gets a gun. maybe Sherlock's just special. ;p

**Posted by besleybean** October 5, 2012 6:02 pm

Sherlock doesn't have a gun.
John presumably has a license and keeps his gun locked away, but Sherlock keeps nicking it!

**Posted by The Doctor** October 6, 2012 11:40 am

horserider99 wrote:
It might be legal for veterans to carry firearms, which would explain why John gets a gun. maybe Sherlock's just special. ;p

Wrong, sorry. And one might assume, especially not veterans! But I already discussed the 'gun problem' earlier and shall not repeat myself. Dull

**Posted by besleybean** October 6, 2012 6:23 pm

I was paying attention!