Legal review relating to deactivated weapons
The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith is calling for the law regarding firearms which were deactivated prior to 1995 to be tightened up. This represents a threat to those re-enactors who use deactivated weapons as part of their living history displays, so the public can see how they operate in complete safety. It could also potentially mean that the value of some deactivated weapons is severely reduced after people have spent years and substantial amounts of money on their collections.
Government figures show that for 2005-06 deactivated weapons accounted for only 0.04% of gun crime (8 out of 21,521 recorded offences) and of these 8 crimes only 4 involved re-activated weapons.
NAReS are monitoring this situation and will be working closely with other organisations and the Government to protect our members interests and ensure that law abiding re-enactors are represented.
Home office press release:
"Home Secretary: deactivated guns should be banned
11 January 2008
The Home Secretary calls for strict new controls.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith would like to see a ban on sales of deactivated guns, and she plans to take action on the issue this year.
Thousands of guns in circulation
Police estimate that 120,000 firearms once altered so that they could not fire bullets are in circulation in the UK.
While many are owned by responsible gun collectors who store them safely, others are in the hands of criminal gangs who reconfigure them back into working order.
Speaking in Merseyside where she was visiting an anti-gang programme, the Home Secretary said that, while gun crime was relatively rare in most of the country, deactivated guns are a growing problem.
'Tackling gun crime is key to making people feel safer and more secure in their communities,' she said. 'We already have the tightest controls in Europe, but there is more we can do to remove the threat of gun crime.'
Consultation to come later this year
Before the government submits legislation on the issue, it will conduct a consultation to get feedback from police, social workers, those in the legal system and gun owners about the issue.
Any legislation would have a clear goal of removing illegal guns from the streets, not depriving collectors of the right to own safely deactivated antique weapons.
'I will shortly consult on a way forward, one that will allow genuine curators to collect legitimate firearms, while giving police and other enforcement agencies the powers they need to get black-market firearms off our streets,' she said.
Older guns preferred
Criminals generally favour guns deactivated before 1995, when standards on deactivation become tougher, making the guns harder to reactivate.
'Police tell me these pre-1995 weapons are turning up more and more in gun-related crime, and I want to address their concerns and effectively eliminate the threat from our streets,' the Home Secretary said."
