Dangerous offensive weapons bill petition
- Thread starter jb1
- Start date
however, the bit in the bill trying to stop any knives being posted to a residential address may affect you if you don't get your stalking and larder knives from the local shop
or want to sell a knife to someone further than an easy meetup
Have your say on the Offensive Weapons Bill
Just received this in my Inbox...
Have your say on the Offensive Weapons Bill - News from Parliament - UK Parliament
Nick
Just received this in my Inbox...
Have your say on the Offensive Weapons Bill - News from Parliament - UK Parliament
Nick
Thanks - I think this is probably sufficiently important for a thread of its own.
Leadwasp
Well-Known Member
Back in October the Government began a consultation on proposals to restrict, change and/or ban the possession of corrosive substances without good reason, the way edged tools are sold, .50 rifles (apparently being materiel destruction devices NOT) and MARS/lever release rifles by moving them to Section 5. This argument is primarily formed by concerns about terrorism and the illegal use of Section 5 ammunition against the state. All this despite the fact that there is no evidence base.
Without any consultation the measures have been expanded to include bump stocks AND the government has revised the .50 ban to be rifles that exceed a certain energy limit.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/offensive-and-dangerous-weapons-new-legislation
What this means effectively in simplistic terms is that if you're coming home from the hardware shop with drain cleaner YOU have to justify good reason to possess it. You are limited to only buying a gralloching knife locally. You can have your .500 Jeffrey because the Home Office gets the idea of hunting (<10,000 FtLb) but the government doesn't want British teams to win long range medals, or for the specialist skills of our amateurs to be fed back in to our national security (>10,000FtLb). I'm no expert on lever release or bump stocks but I believe one of these types is of considerable help to disabled shooters.
There has been a huge effort to lobby against all of this, especially as the government has moved forwards with this as part of its Serious Violence Strategy (SVS). The FCSA (Fifty Calibre Shooting Association) has championed the lobbying, and many other groups such as the NRA and BASC have been working just as hard.
The Bill has received 2 readings in The House Of Commons and shooting was fortunate enough to receive strong representation from many MP's. These were on the whole Conservative MP's. One Plaid MP said excellent things. By and large I think Labour were all on a march somewhere as their benches were so empty it was scandalous. Liberals - not sure. Scottish Nasty Party were absent because the Tories were talking about public safety - Ministers for the Bill and MP's speaking sense - therefore the SNP couldn't blame anyone so weren't there. They also have problems comprehending deer management anyway so grasping the significance of an edged tool is a bit much for them.
Since then a petition has been launched (posts above) to remove the firearms elements from the Bill. The Bill is at committee stage and they are clearly interested in what we have to say - there is hope.
I would urge all those who shoot to sign, support, petition etc against these proposals for many reasons. Largely that they are not evidence led, impose huge restraints on the law abiding and yet offer no tangible increase in public safety. In terms of the firearms matters alone ministers are often ill informed if not plain wrong and are now reaching back to Northern Ireland to justify the energy ban. They argue for urgent changes for public safety, yet have 'consulted' for months, delayed some more and now try a new argument that basically says it's so important that we've done nothing for 20 years or more since the Terminator was at large - a terrorist with an illegally owned gun, using illegal ammunition. The whole Section 5 argument is just nutty - they're afraid S5 won't work, so they propose to move the very things they are (unjustifiably) afraid of to S5.
I hope I've gone some way to explain what is going on. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge on these issues since they all began in October. I apologise for being flippant at times but the empty benches in the House of Commons had a very clear political skew about them
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AFAIK it's nothing to do with the petition; but rather that the result of the second reading was that the Bill would be sent to Public Committee. In some ways it is quite encouraging that their thinking is sufficiently joined-up to draw the petition's signatories' attention to this, so that they can make submissions.
Now we just need to get on and make some sensible submissions - and perhaps copy those submissions to our MPs.
flytie
Well-Known Member
I have signed the petition, as I have many others. Taken part in the consultative process, as I have in many others. I have even emailed my MP a list of questions to be asked on the second reading, as I have on previous legislation. And what have I achieved, apart from wasting my time? You can guess the answer.
Simon
Simon
Leadwasp
Well-Known Member
I don't think you have wasted your time. Its the very actions of people like yourself that have got the committee interested in our views, and MP's to speak on our behalf. We're not even half done yet are showing more promise than I would have expected.
Hear, hear!
The time to give up on this and admit we've wasted our time is if the laws are passed unaltered. And even then, we won't have wasted our time - for we'll be able to reckon the time expended into the total time we've spent on supporting both our fellow sportsmen and the rule of just and equitable law: which are virtuous ends in themselves, even if the outcome is not as one might have hoped.
scotlanddeerstalking
Well-Known Member
done,,,,,
I wrote to my MP last week re the Bill 2nd Reading,he replied quickly and discussed my concerns with the Minister,including the ownership of knives for hunters /fishermen/gamekkeepers..I the received all of the Minutes of the Committee meeting and the promise that the Minister would move favourably on the possession of knives for legitimate users who had good reason to possess....as a defence if collared...a positive move IMHO Thankyou Julian Lewis MP !
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