Through our partners at the NRA, we have received notice that the First Reading of the Offensive Weapons Bill took place on 20 June; this is a formal procedure so no debate took place. The date for the Second Reading has not yet been announced.
The Bill, which is a reaction by the UK Government to the recent rise in serious violence, places a new focus on early intervention and looks to cover a number of items including acid and knives but of particular relevance to our members, it seeks to extend the prohibitions on possession of firearms to;
- “any rifle from which a shot, bullet, or other missile, with kinetic energy of more than 13,600 joules at the muzzle of the weapon, can be discharged”
- “any rifle with a chamber from which empty cartridge cases are extracted using
- I) energy from propellant gas, or
- Ii) energy imparted to a spring or other energy storage device by propellant gas,
other than a rifle which is chambered for .22 rim-fire cartridges”
- “any device (commonly known as a bump stock) which is designed or adapted so that –
- I) it is capable of forming part of or being added to a self-loading lethal barrelled weapon (as defined in section 5791b) and (2A)), and
- Ii) if it forms part of or is added to such a weapon, it increases the rate of fire of the weapon by using the recoil from the weapon to generate repeated pressure on the trigger…”
Much of the Bill relates to England, Wales and Northern Ireland but with so much cross-border activity in both directions, it is important we stay aware of and influence any proposed changes.
A full copy of the Bill is available to download using the link below:
The Home Office have also just published the responses to the consultation which can downloaded using the link below:
We are working with our partners at the NRA to review the proposals and work on a response which we will share with members when ready.