Well here it is, the bad news and the not so bad news, the Govt. response to the HAC report, the Govt. intends: GENERAL: -a ban on the use of lethal firearms (an oxymoron, as all firearms in our legislation by definition are lethal) by anyone aged under 16 unless supervised by a responsible adult (the Govt. stresses that a complete ban on young people using firearms is unworkable and unsafe); -a minimum age of 18 for the possession of any lethal firearm; -"proper regulation" of the shooting sports to prevent the development of a "gun culture" (I have no idea what they are going on about); -greater efforts to tackle the illegal use of guns (translation, a crackdown on dealers); -revision of Home Office Guidance to Police; -"progressing work" on the national database of certificate holders required by the 1997 Act; -a consolidating Firearms Act; -a "possible ban" on the sale of replicas to anyone aged under 18, providing "replica" can be defined. -the Firearms Consultative Committee will retain its present format; AIRGUNS: -a "clear standard" for measuring the lethality of airguns; -a review to take into account changes in airgun technology; -restricting the sale of airguns to RFDs if possible; -more controls on the sale of "airsoft guns" (basically an age limit of 18, reading between the lines); -better education of the public in relation to the contents of legislation and airgun safety. -there will be no licensing system for airguns as it would be "cumbersome, costly and difficult to administer". SHOTGUNS (i.e. Section 2 firearms): -An applicant for a shotgun certificate should have to show "good reason" for requiring a shotgun certificate (rather than for each gun, as is the case with FACs); -Clarification of the powers available to police to revoke a SGC; -"Tighter controls" on how many shotguns can be held on a SGC (basically a mad system being developed, you would have to get a variation for the number of shotguns you want, above some arbitrary basic number); -the requirement for referees to be extended to shotgun certificates (from the firearm certificate system); OTHER FIREARMS (Section 1 and 5) -An applicant for a firearm certificate should be at least 18 years of age. -- So there you have it! My personal view is that the worst bits are the age limits, although it depends on the nuances of how it is written into law. If an applicant for an FAC has to be 18, does that mean no-one under 18 can use a Section 1 firearm? Or could they use one while supervised by the FAC holder? Most likely, anyone under 18 could only use a Section 1 firearm while a member of a club or on a miniature rifle range. Also the idea of number limits on shotguns stinks, my suggestion was that as the police are notified of every sale, the restriction should be that a person can only possess shotguns that he can show he has secure storage for, that would be a better idea as someone who goes nuts only has two hands, so the number of guns they possess is irrelevant if they are securely kept. Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
