Change in law - antiques and prohibited persons

[Gaz]

http://basc.org.uk/firearms/changes-to-legislation/

Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

Sections 108-112 changes firearms law including the new offence of ‘possession of illegal firearms with intent to supply’, and increases the penalty for illegal firearms importation to 10 years imprisonment.

More importantly: section 110 extends the statutory prohibition on owning firearms and ammunition to certain suspended sentences. The possession of antique firearms now also becomes prohibited for prohibited persons. The Home Office circular below provides further details:

The idiots we allow to dictate to us have now created a situation where an FAC and SGC holder who once had a suspended sentence greater than three months can never possess an antique firearm.

Plus ca change.

[Blackstuff]

Surely it's not applied retrospectively?

[davidh195]

http://basc.org.uk/firearms/changes-to-legislation/

Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

Sections 108-112 changes firearms law including the new offence of ‘possession of illegal firearms with intent to supply’, and increases the penalty for illegal firearms importation to 10 years imprisonment.

More importantly: section 110 extends the statutory prohibition on owning firearms and ammunition to certain suspended sentences. The possession of antique firearms now also becomes prohibited for prohibited persons. The Home Office circular below provides further details:

The idiots we allow to dictate to us have now created a situation where an FAC and SGC holder who once had a suspended sentence greater than three months can never possess an antique firearm.

Plus ca change.

I hope the legislaton works its the best hope of maintaining the status quo.


David

It coluld be worse I hope it works

[Mr_Logic]

Because that is definitely a good use of taxpayers' money. Gaz - your track record on stats is excellent - how many antique firearms possessed by those now prohibited have been used in a crime in the last 5 years?

I am guessing at zero.

[Gaz]

I'm pretty certain it's zero, too, but the Home Office refuse to break down the number of legal and illegal firearms in their official stats, or even to provide a meaningful breakdown by type - for example, their official stats for "firearms crime" include airguns, replicas and airsoft toys, as well as rifles, pistols and shotguns.

That's deliberate policy by them - it makes it easier for their political masters to claim "we have cut gun crime" or "we have taken weapons off the streets" when in reality a PCSO's confiscated a slack handful of BB guns from kids playing in their front gardens, or some such.

This seems like a sop to the NABIS campaign to repeal Section 58, after all the careful interviews given by them which were designed to paint the antique firearms exemption as some sort of deadly loophole allowing the possession of guns in the streets and suchlike.

The suspended sentence part is, again, a sop to campaigners demanding that "action be taken" after the Derrick Bird murders. You'll remember Bird had had a suspended sentence something like 20 years before he applied for his FAC.

[Sim G]

Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 has ammended s21 and s58 to include those who have committed a serious criminal offence, which has warranted a custodial sentence, but for extenuating circumstances of the offender on an individual cases basis, has had that custodial sentence suspended. Non the less, that suspended sentence will be treated as a custodial for the purposes of the Firearms Act.

Under s21 a person receiving a custodial sentence (and now also a suspended) of between three months and three years is prohibited from owning firearms and ammunition (and now an antique firearm) for a period of five years from their release. (no doubt a notional conditional release date in respect of a suspended sentence)

Once that operational period has expired, the convicted person will be able to apply for a FAC or SGC and own antique/curio firearms without restriction.

A person is only prohibited for life if, a life sentence is imposed or a custodial sentence over three years received. The maximum sentence that can be suspended, by a Crown Court, is 24 months. 6 months in magistrates.