The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Indeed the EU is clearly the problem, not the solution.

Code: Select all

I think it has already started with the label "assault rifle".

And continues with "firearms that resemble military rifles"

They are more concerned with labels than with facts aaarggh

Terrorism is obviously NOT a problem when the government will allow a terrorist group to operate in the UK

morph007 wrote:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... ssels.html

Thank you for contacting Richard Ashworth MEP. Mr Ashworth has read your email and has asked me to respond on his behalf.

As you will be aware on the 18th November the European Commission announced measures which concern firearms in the EU. The proposals have been foreseen since the European Security Agenda which was adopted in April 2015, but have been accelerated as a result of the tragic attacks in Paris. In light of the threats posed by terrorism it is necessary for Europe to work closely together in matters of national-security and counter-terrorism.

Conservatives in the European Parliament agree on the need for a new directive; but believe there does need to be wider consideration of some of the proposals, particularly in regards to sporting activities. The Commission has agreed its drafting of the proposal is not perfect and has asked parliamentarians to work on it. Mr Ashworth believes it is important to crackdown on the illicit use and holding of weapons while producing clear rules for legal ownership.

Many parts of the proposal are unclear, which has led to confusion about which semi-automatics are to be banned. The exact nature of the responsibilities for museums, collectors and those doing historical re-enactments is also remains unclear. Furthermore many concerns have been correctly raised in regards to the impact the legislation on activities such as paint balling and the use of guns in films and television productions.

Mr Ashworth believes the responsibility for ensuring internal security is first and foremost with Member States. However there are many cross-border challenges that defy the capacity of individual countries to act alone and require EU support to build trust and facilitate cooperation, exchange of information and joint action.

The use of firearms by criminal and terrorist organisations poses a great security threat to citizens, as we have witnessed on several occasions this year. These tragic events call for a more coordinated European approach to control the use of weapons and fight against trafficking of firearms, as well as to combat crime and terrorism.

The Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May MP, reiterated these concerns and support for a more coordinated approach in a statement to the House of Commons following the attacks in Paris. On Friday 20th November, Mrs May attended an extraordinary meeting of the European Justice and Home Affairs Council, where she pressed for the need of greater information-sharing, passenger name records, and action on firearms.

As you will be aware, the UK has some of the strictest firearms laws in the world, including deactivation procedure. In a number of areas, it is hoped the directive will bring other Member States up to the same high-level as the UK.

There is clear evidence that criminals and terrorists can and do make use of the lack of common standards on deactivating firearms, the lack of a common system for marking firearm components, the poor control on internet sales, and the lack of common definition for “essential components”. Conservatives in the European Parliament agree on the need for a new Directive, and welcome many of the measures proposed by the Commission; but there does need to be wider consideration of some of the proposals, such as the de facto ban firearms which are now included in the category B7.

Semi-automatic rifles that “resemble” military weapons are widely used in some of the most popular forms of shooting sports, hunting and especially practical shooting (IPSC) and its derivatives. In some member states, they are widely owned and used for active reservists. Thus, a very large number of such weapons are currently owned by civilians in the EU. Conservatives in the European Parliament believe it is important to be careful that the EU does not ban the use of all firearms for sporting and reservist activities, and indirectly affect the national defence doctrines in some Member States.

It is essential that the legislation that is being adopted actually creates more security. Furthermore the new rules and restrictions must be areas where there are loopholes, and making sure that this Directive corrects the implementation failures of the last the firearms package.

Mr Ashworth is supportive of the elements of the proposal that will improve the sharing of registers between Member States, enhance the marking of weapons and enable the tracking of deactivated arms. However questions are being raised over the punishment of gun owners and especially the rights of hunters and sports shooters who have a tradition of using hunting rifles. Parliament will now initiate its own report on gun control, where Conservatives in the European Parliament hope for a greater inclusion and consideration of the rights of legal gun owners.

Thank you again for contacting Richard Ashworth MEP.


Kind regards,

Simon Saunders
Office of Richard Ashworth MEP
Conservative MEP for South East England

but there is a Facebook Group, based in Libya that is completely centered around the illicit small arms trade in that country. There is nothing surprising about the huge trade of illicit small arms in war torn countries, but the absolutely blatant exist of such a group is what really got me. The group has almost 9,000 members and is completely public on Facebook, - See more at: http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015 ... 9AH6n.dpuf

As of press time, only thirteen of the twenty-eight member states have submitted formal comments to the Commission on Firearms measures adopted on November 18, nine of which express concern with proposed semi-automatic reclassification (ban). The responses range from general reservations with the language and definitions to outright objections from member states such as Austria, Finland, Germany, Lithuania and Slovakia, with the latter emphatically noting that the envisaged ban “bears no relation to the core problem of the illegal ‘black market’ with firearms, which is the main source of weapons used in crime including terrorism”.