Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997
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| Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 | |
| United Kingdom Parliament | |
| Long title: | An Act to extend the class of prohibited weapons under the Firearms Act 1968 to include small-calibre pistols. |
| Statute book chapter: | 1997 c. 64 |
| Introduced by: | Jack Straw[1] |
| Territorial extent: | England and Wales; Scotland |
| Dates | |
| Date of Royal Assent: | 27 November 1997 |
| Commencement: | 17 December 1997, 1 February 1998[2] |
| Other legislation | |
| Amendments: | |
| Related legislation: | Firearms Act 1968, Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 |
| Status: Current legislation | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Official text of the statute as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database | |
The Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 was the second of two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1997 that amended the regulation of firearms within the United Kingdom. The other Act was the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. It was introduced by the new Labour government of Tony Blair.
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[edit] Background
The act was created in response to the Snowdrop Petition following the Dunblane Massacre. The previous Conservative government had followed the recommendations of the Cullen Report on the massacre and introduced the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 that banned "high calibre" (sic) handguns, greater than .22 calibre. But this new (No. 2) act banned the private ownership of all cartridge ammunition handguns, regardless of calibre.
The only handguns to escape the ban were:
- Antique and Muzzle-loading black powder guns
- Guns of historic interest whose ammunition is no longer available ('Section 7.1' weapons)
- Guns of historic interest with current calibres ('Section 7.3' weapons)
- Air pistols
- Guns which fall outside the Home Office definition of "Handguns" (e.g. NSRA "Long Arms", and Long-Barreled Handguns both Small- and Full-bore), where their dimensions - usually barrel length, but also overall firearm length, rules them out of the Home Office definitions, so for legal purposes, they are treated as rifles.
Guns of historic interest are ones typically manufactured before 1919. Since Section 7.3 historic weapons use currently available ammunition, they must be kept at a secure designated site such as the Bisley camp.
[edit] Reaction to the Ban
The pistol ban makes very few exceptions for people to own a cartridge handgun legally. This has resulted in the complete cessation of recreational and competitive target shooting with handguns in the UK, requiring Britons seek these pursuits abroad in countries such as Belgium, France, Switzerland, the USA, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, where gun ownership is less restrictive. A recent agreement has been made whereby the shortlisted British Olympic pistol team for the 2012 Olympics will be granted short-term Section 5 exceptions and be allowed to import their pistols and store them at a certain, secure site for the duration of the games[citation needed].
Also it is considered by pro-gun lobbyists that gun ownership could adequately be controlled through the use of Firearm Certificates and background checks[citation needed].
[edit] Effectiveness of the Act
There has been an increase in crimes involving firearms since the mid 1990 by criminals in the majority of shootings and not by certified shooters.[citation needed]. It is also often perceived that handguns can easily be obtained illegally[citation needed].
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official text of the statute as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
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