Gun plea on Dunblane anniversary

Mick North, whose daughter was among those killed at Dunblane, is campaigning against the trade in small arms

DUNBLANE, Scotland -- Leading charities are using the fifth anniversary of the Dunblane massacre to call for tighter international gun controls.

The Dunblane incident -- in which a teacher and her 16 pupils aged five and six were shot dead in their primary school gym -- led to calls for a nationwide ban on guns in the UK.

A total handgun ban was rejected by parliament but legislation was brought in to ban guns above .22 calibre and to restrict smaller calibre weapons to secure gun clubs.

Christian Aid, which is part of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) -- a coalition of civic associations and development agencies from 70 countries concerned over the humanitarian impact of armed violence -- says small arms are used to kill more than 500,000 people each year.

It has written to Foreign Secretary Robin Cook asking for his support for a forthcoming United Nations conference on the Illicit Traffic in Small Arms.

Also supporting the campaign is Mick North whose only daughter, Sophie, was one of those children murdered by Thomas Hamilton, a former Scout leader with a grudge against the movement, at Dunblane.

North travelled to Uganda as part of Oxfam's campaign to try to stop the global trade in small arms.

He comforts parents who have lost sons and daughters in Africa's violence by telling them he "understands what it's like to have a child who's been shot."

North, a former university lecturer who moved away from the Scottish town following the tragedy, told CNN: "Guns affect the lives of ordinary people who just want to get on with things.

"None of us who were directly affected by what happened in Dunblane had anything to do with guns.

"We didn't want guns in our lives, we just wanted to get on with our lives as they were, bring up our children, and the same is true of the people that I met in Uganda."

Mourners at one of the funerals for victims of the school shootings in Dunblane, Scotland, in March 1996

He adds: "It is poignant though, we've reached the fifth anniversary and most of the children were five, so it's now as long since they were killed as the time they spent alive. That obviously brings thoughts."

Sam Barratt, Oxfam's spokesman, said: "I know Mick has been quite upset by what he's seen, but at the same time very motivated to make sure the arms laws are tightened up internationally, so that these small arms don't end up in the wrong hands."

The Dunblane victims were in the gymnasium of the primary school when Hamilton burst in shortly after 9am on March 13, 1996.

Within minutes 15 of the children died in the hail of bullets. One died later in hospital.

Their teacher, Gwen Mayor, a 44-year-old mother of two, also died while two other teachers were left badly injured. Hamilton turned one of his four handguns on himself and was found dead at the scene.

CNN's Margaret Lowry and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Oxfam International
Christian Aid
International Action Network on Small Arms
Dunblane Massacre
United Nations
Illicit Traffic in Small Arms Conference

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