These MEP'S are going to vote for the new ban.

[ordnance]

I have contacted a few here and they are against the EU ban.

[Mezzer]

I have contacted a few here and they are against the EU ban.

+1

My response from the MEP representing the North West was fairly positive against the ban although he supported the proposal for a common deactivation standard.

Mezzer

[Racalman]

This is the reply I had from a South East Region UKIP MEP:

We have just discussed this in our usual MEPs meeting. For many the impact on museum/historical collections, private (licensed) weapons etc was news. As usual it looks as though the EU is over-reacting and trying to cultivate the public mood to its advantage.

Our legal and other research staff will ensure that we are fully briefed on this in advance of the vote including reviewing the usual EU 'small print'. In all likelihood each of us may consider an oral explanation of vote to ensure our position is well known.

[artiglio]

Good morning, following the OP's comments i wrote to the south east's MEPS, first to reply is Ms Dodds.

Dear (artiglio)

Thank you for your e-mail outlining your concerns regarding the proposed alterations to the EU Firearms Directive.

The Parisian terror attacks, where over 120 people were killed by firearms, was always going to provoke heightened security measures, including increased scrutiny and regulation of firearms. As you are aware, the European Commission have announced their proposed changes to the EU Firearms Directive, the main piece of EU-wide legislation that governs the use and regulation of firearms.

These amendments, as I’m sure you’re aware, aim to reduce security threats from firearms, making it increasingly difficult to acquire firearms, especially deactivated ones. The European Commission has proposed implementing stricter conditions for the online acquisition of firearms, aiming to prohibit the acquisition of firearms or munitions through the internet, and to restrict ownership of blank firing weapons due to their ability to be turned into firearms. There will also be further restrictions to the use and circulation of deactivated firearms, and citizens, as you have rightly pointed out, will not be allowed to own some of the most dangerous firearms, including Kalashnikovs, used during the Parisian shootings.

Under current laws, citizens can own Category A weapons if they have been deactivated. Deactivated firearms, in this current climate, could pose a huge threat to the safety of European citizens. As I’m sure you’re aware, those who know how to reactivate them could do some serious damage to people.

The Commissioners, Elzbieta Bienkowska, and Dimitris Avramopoulos, do have experience with firearms, as they have lots of military experience. Before entering the European Commission, Avramopoulos has represented Greece in Vienna at the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe. In November 2011, he was appointed the Greek Minister for National Defence within the coalition government of Lucas Papademos. Bienkowska also has military experience, winning the Gold Fire Service medal, or indeed, the ‘Medal of Merit for National Defence.’ As I’m sure you’re aware, this is a medal awarded to people who have done work to strengthen the Polish military.

The European Firearms Directive will also help to give guidance to the UK’s own gun-law reforms. Our most recent gun law is the Firearms Act, which was drafted in 1968. There are many problems with this act, including a lack of definition over key terms, e.g. ‘lethal barrelled weapon’, ambiguities within the act, especially concerning deactivated weapons, and the act has also failed to keep pace with modern technology. There is a complete lack of coherence within the Firearms Act, with 34 separate acts contained within the current UK firearm legislation. The European Firearms Directive, if accepted by the European Parliament, will help to provide a direction for the expected reforms of the Firearms Act, in addition to the recent views expressed within the recent conference organised by the government’s law reform advisers.

The weapons used within the Parisian terrorist attacks were obtained on the black market. I can appreciate your comments and concerns that the proposed alterations to the European Firearms Directive will only serve to penalise law-abiding citizens. Shooting does contribute vast amounts of money to the economy, particularly within Britain, where £2 billion a year is generated through shooting and shooting-related activities. These are concerns that many constituents have aired with me, and I have passed both yours and their concerns to Claude Moraes MEP, chair of the European Parliament civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee.

However, the Commission has also announced that it would be developing an action plan against the illegal trafficking of weapons and explosives. Recently, the amount of weapons on the black market has risen at a rapid rate (double digit percentages) for several years, and EU countries need to work together to crack down on these markets. Within this action plan, a range of issues aim to be tackled, including the illegal purchase of weapons on the black market, the control of illegal weapons and explosives in the internal market (especially from the Balkan countries or ex-war zones), and organised crime. It is also the Commission’s aim to propose actions to support Member States’ activities, building on the Action Plan on illicit trafficking in firearms between the EU and the Western Balkans.

In this context, the European Firearms Directive is part of a package aiming to tackle the proliferation of firearms across the European Union. The aim of the European Commission is not to inhibit and limit the hobbies and interests of its citizens; the aim is to protect and safeguard their citizens.

It is also important to note that these proposals have not yet been confirmed and accepted by the European Parliament and the European Council. The proposals will have its first reading in the European Parliament soon. Here, the directive will be debated, and amendments can be drafted. Both the EU Parliament and the Commission have to agree on the contents of the bill. If this is not the case, then the bill is sent for a 2nd reading. In this way, both the European Parliament and the European Commission will work together and come to a conclusion that a great many citizens of the European Union will be happy with.

Thanks again for getting in touch; I would like to invite you to please take a moment to complete my online constituent's survey here http://www.AnnelieseDoddsMEP.uk/survey. If you're interested in keeping updated on my work, both here in the South East and in the European Parliament, you can sign-up for my report back e-newsletter here http://www.AnnelieseDoddsMEP.uk/e_newsletter.

With best wishes,
Yours sincerely

Anneliese Dodds MEP

[Blackstuff]

HAven't had a response from any of the 3 MEP's i emailed or my MP. All Labour onanists mind so its not a surprise.

[artiglio]

I emailed my enquiry to all MEP's listed as representing the South East on saturday, so fair play to Ms. Dodds she's replied in a timely fashion, i've sent a response.

[Sim G]

She fudged it, Phil. In a huge email she only told you what you already knew and certainly didn't state how she would vote! But we can guess...

She reckons she has it tied up with this line; "In this way, both the European Parliament and the European Commission will work together and come to a conclusion that a great many citizens of the European Union will be happy with."

She's convinced she's a champion of democracy when she's nothing more than a tiny cog in the machine of oppression.

[Airbrush]

She fudged it, Phil. In a huge email she only told you what you already knew and certainly didn't state how she would vote! But we can guess...

She reckons she has it tied up with this line; "In this way, both the European Parliament and the European Commission will work together and come to a conclusion that a great many citizens of the European Union will be happy with."

She's convinced she's a champion of democracy when she's nothing more than a tiny cog in the machine of oppression.

Lol, that was a quick edit. clapclap I was just going to post

[Sim G]

Yeah, I got my MEPs mixed up...... Could have been embarrassing! Lol

[Airbrush]

Yeah, I got my MEPs mixed up...... Could have been embarrassing! Lol

You reckon?