Budgen was also vociferous in protecting the rights of gun owners following the Dunblane massacre. His speech was described in the "The Guardian" by columnist Simon Hoggart as "one of the last great parliamentary speeches". The Dunblane bill created a situation where small calibre pistols were illegal in the UK (apart from a 3-week period in 2002 for the Commonwealth Games being held in Manchester, with British teams being forced to practise in France).