Yeah, we got our laws on guns because of Hungerford (which made the first big raft) and Dunblane massacres. They've also been perfectly fine, and iirc the Republic of Ireland manages well with similar gun laws. Northern Ireland allows guns for self defence, but Northern Ireland is a very peculiar and unique country.

The anti-protest laws were done by the post-Brexit lunge to the far right that Johnson and Truss spearheaded. It was not part of some major plot, it was the result of authoritarians like those two and the ERG suddenly being able to wield power due to a massive political crisis in the UK.