A decade ago a few of us from various organisations tried to get back the ownership and use of .22 calibre Rimfire pistols for sporting purposes in England, Wales and Scotland, starting with a government petition. The organisations and sporting press backed this UNITY campaign and the lack of unity was a rude awakening with only 21K signatures secured.
We the undersigned respectfully petition the Government to amend the Firearms Acts to allow the ownership and use of .22 calibre Rimfire pistols for competitive sporting purposes in England, Wales and Scotland. We the undersigned therefore request that the Government: 1. Repeal the Firearms...
petition.parliament.uk
BASC has pressed the Home Office to continue what the last government started and take sound moderators out of the licensing system and we have been told by civil servants that this is still on the agenda, and we will continue to lobby for this to happen.
The fight right now is about the government’s proposals for licensing fee increases that were announced without proper consultation, nor assurances that the income raised from changes will be allocated to police firearms licensing departments.
The latest BASC advice on writing to your MP is here:
Writing to your MP is top of the list in terms of what you can you do to assist BASC in fighting for a fair deal on firearms licensing fees.
basc.org.uk
A PigeonWatch forum member has suggested the following text for those emails/letters which I think is an excellent summary:
As certificate holders, we are now facing full cost recovery, effectively bearing the burden of a process that is necessitated not by us but by government and police requirements. While we understand the need for licensing to ensure safety and compliance, it is only fair to expect a timely and efficient service in return. This should include clear and enforceable deadlines for processing renewals and grants to avoid the undue stress and disruption currently experienced by many shooters.