Controls of deactivated firearms to be reviewed

Shooting Times

January 17, 2008

The police estimate that there are 120,000 deactivated firearms in the UK. Concerns have been raised that some are being used in gun crime.

The Home Secretary commented that she wants to balance protecting the public with the rights of responsible collectors of deactivated firearms: “I will shortly consult on a sensible way forward to allow genuine curators to collect legitimate firearms while giving the police and other enforcement agencies the powers they need to get black market firearms off our streets.”

She continued: “Before 1995, the standards for deactivating guns were less stringent than those which currently apply. The police tell me these pre-1995 weapons are turning up more and more in gun-related crimes and I want to address these concerns to eliminate the threat from our streets.”

The rest of this article appears in 17 January issue of Shooting Times.