The only people who were affected by this act were responsible gun owners. Criminals who wanted to obtain guns before this act was in place continued to do what they did after this act was put in place i.e. obtain weapons illegaly. Only safety conscious responsible gun owners were persecuted by this.

Introducing such restrictive and severe laws as far as gun ownership is concerned is not a means to restrict or even stop gun crime. Those who wish to obtain illegal weapons and commit illegal acts are certainly not going to attempt an application for any kind of firearm license.

As far as pistols are concerned there is now effectively no Practical Pistol competitions in the UK (other than the variant air pistol disciplines) any more despite this being considered the benchmark for gun handling safety at a sporting event.

And in answer to the question, no I dont feel any safer.