Shooting community sends message to Westminster

Fastest-growing shooting petition

A petition against Labour’s plans to merge shotgun and rifle licensing smashed through 100,000 signatures in just 10 days, making it the fastest-growing shooting petition on record.

Started on 11 December by Lisa Amers of GunTrader UK, the petition calls on Parliament to debate the Home Office’s proposal to align Section 2 (shotgun) with Section 1 (rifle) licensing. It reached the 100,000-signature threshold on 21 December, forcing the House of Commons Petitions Committee to consider a debate.

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Opposition builds ahead of licensing consultation

The petition runs separately from the Home Office’s consultation on the same proposals, which was promised by the end of the last year but is now expected this month. Its aim is to demonstrate opposition before the consultation even opens.

The petition states: “Keep Section 1 firearm and Section 2 shotgun licensing separate. I think this would help to protect law-abiding owners, the shooting industry and rural communities. Policies should focus on real public safety issues without burdening responsible citizens or damaging heritage and livelihoods.”

Christopher Graffius, BASC’s public affairs director, said the response has been unprecedented. “I cannot recall, in all my years, another shooting petition that’s got anywhere close to this,” he told Shooting Times. “It demonstrates how much our community cares about the issue.”

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Why a parliamentary debate matters

BASC has backed the petition fully, emailing members to encourage signatures and highlighting it to MPs. A parliamentary debate could prove crucial, likely falling after the consultation closes but before ministers make their final decision. Readers may recall July’s grouse shooting debate, which offers grounds for hope. Triggered by an anti-shooting petition, it saw all but one MP speak in support of grouse shooting. Rural organisations declared it “annihilated”.

Just as a ban on grouse shooting would impact not only grouse shooters but rural communities too, Mr Graffius warns that merging Sections 1 and 2 would damage far more than certificate holders. Beaters, pickers-up, gamekeepers, gundog trainers and rural businesses all depend on shooting. “A lot more people tuck into game dishes than actually pull a trigger,” he said, highlighting the shooting community’s importance in both conservation and food production.

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Call for shooters to engage politically

For those reluctant to engage with politics, or who consider it pointless, Mr Graffius had a clear message: “Nobody joins a shoot to get involved in politics. We’re here to enjoy the countryside, the company and the food. But when we’re threatened, we have to get involved.”

He added: “For decades, shooting has had to defeat legislative proposals which would have damaged it. We’ve done that very effectively, and that’s why we’re still shooting. So the notion that there’s no point, they’ll never listen to us, is a counsel of despair.”

Conor O’Gorman, BASC’s head of policy and campaigns, urged shooters to write to their MPs as well as sign the petition. “Be assured that this is making a difference in building political pressure,” he wrote. “Remember to point out that there is no evidence to support the proposals. Let’s rally together as never before and show the Government we mean business.”

Sign the petition at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/750236.