UK deems additional controls on shotguns ‘unnecessary’
THE GUN TRADE ASSOCIATION of the UK has reported that the government has decided to proceed with tightening the use of shotguns, which would have had significant detrimental affects on farming and other rural pursuits.
The proposal followed three coronial investigations with the home secretary being urged to place new, unspecified, legislation before parliament.
In particular the propsal was to remove the presumption that a gun licence ‘shall be granted’ if the applicant otherwise meets all the requirements for licensing.
Commonsense prevails
In a statement, the UK government said:
“we are concerned that additional controls on shotguns are unnecessary and would have a negative impact on their legitimate use”.
This reflects the direct message the Gun Trade Association has made in private meetings.
New fees loom
The UK government has, however, flagged changes to firearm fees to make the more ‘cost reflective’.
Exactly what this means remains to be seen however whether the fees are ‘reasonable’ will depend on whether the governments management of firearm licences is efficient or inefficient.
In short, cost reflective means you pay low fees for efficiency, and high fees for inefficiency.
We’ll follow this matter closely, but well done to the GTA for its advocacy in the UK.
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