Gun Law from a Brit’s Perspective

So I have a friend on the soccer team who is from England.  We enjoy talking about interesting things, and one day the topic of guns came up somehow.  I grew up in the southern U.S., and my friend in England.  I grew up shooting guns, while he has never even held a weapon.  Needless to say, we have very differing views on the issue of gun control.  He feels that the U.S., just like England should have a ban on all firearms.  One of his main reasons for this was that he said it would greatly lower the murder rate.  Also, he said that he does not think that anyone absolutely has to own a weapon.  I think that most of his beliefs stem from the fact that he was raised in England, but he did have some good points.  I plan on conducting a formal interview with him when writing my final research paper, using him as a source.