Proposals to Restrict Shotguns

The latest threat to UK gun ownership is focussed on making Section 2 shotguns akin to Section 1 firearms in the licensing system.

That would require 'good reason' to own each and every gun in a collection. It would undoubtedly lead to each shooter owning fewer guns and impose greater restrictions on buying amd selling shotguns.

It has even been suggested that the sale of shotguns from person to person be outlawed, every transaction having to be handled by a Registered Firearms Dealer.

The Gun Trade Association's chairman has warned its members accordingly:

'While we are still awaiting an official publication date for the Consultation, we have been assured that it will be published this side of Christmas and will be open for submissions for ten weeks.

Over the past few days, I have been in discussions with the British Shooting Sports Council (BSSC) in a bid to put in place the structures and resources to enable the gun trade to speak with a single voice in harmony with shooting lobbies such as BASC, CPSA, the Countryside Alliance, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and others. We are being supported in our efforts by the Shooting Industry Fund. There was also a meeting with the new Policing Minister yesterday. I will be sitting down with Home Office officials in Whitehall later this month.

In the very near future, we will be publishing the results of our trade survey. This research will reveal the effects harmonisation of Sections 1 & 2 could be expected to have on the trade, its customers and beyond.

Right now, however, I counsel patience.

There is little any of us can do until we see the precise measures proposed in the Consultation. At that point, the GTA will be pulling together its own comprehensive submission addressing the key challenges facing the trade and arguing our case.

The GTA will also be moving swiftly to give you the tools to submit your views to the Home Office. It is vital that as many GTA members as possible put in submissions. There is force in numbers and the Home Office is duty bound to consider each and every submission made.

In terms of petitions and letters to Parliament, these are best kept until the Home Office issues a formal Government Response early next year. If there is a recommendation to proceed to legislate on the harmonisation of Sections 1 & 2, then we will move immediately into full national campaign mode. The lobbying of Parliament will form part of that campaign.

I know many of you feel intensely concerned at this time. Of course, you are free to write to your local MP to express that concern. However, I would stress that, as a trade, we will only be able to defend our businesses successfully if we work together at all levels. Above all else, we need to remain cool-headed.

It is the GTA’s job to defend and promote the trade. We are here to serve you. For that reason, we’ll be issuing a Special Edition of our newspaper, Gun Trade Insider, later this month explaining everything you need to know about this Consultation, the many steps between a consultation and a parliamentary bill entering the Statute Book and the part you can play at each and every stage of the process.

This is a marathon rather than a sprint. Any legislation is many months, if not years away. Our first goal now is to stop any Sections 1&2 proposal dead in its tracks at the earliest possible opportunity. The first opportunity comes with the publication of the Consultation.'

Discussions with knowledgeable insiders suggest this threat is very real. The authorities are serious and have dedicated time and resources to enacting further restrictions. We urge all readers in the UK to join and support a shooting organisation which has the means and expertise to help oppose any such infringemens of our current liberties.

Writing to your Member of Parliament to voice your concerns and objections is also a worthwhile action to take before the process begins in ernest.