Firearms control response is welcomed

The Government?s long-awaited response to the Home Affairs Committee (HAC) report on firearms control was released last Thursday, 29 September, and was immediately welcomed by the UK?s shooting organisations.

Fears that the coalition Government would consider major upheaval of firearms legislation following the Whitehaven shootings in Cumbria, in June last year, proved largely unfounded. The response from the shooting community praised the sensible and considered approach the Government had taken. The Home Affairs Select Committee?s report, published last December, had backed some far-reaching recommendations, including the proposal that shotguns should be given Section 1 firearms status, but the Government?s response largely supported the existing licensing system.

David Taylor, shooting campaigns manager at the Countryside Alliance, commented: ?The Government?s response to the report is to be welcomed, not least because this is an evidence based response rather than a knee-jerk reaction. Overall, we are pleased that the Government has taken a sensible approach, and has clearly listened to the evidence. Too often there is a rush to legislate which penalises law-abiding shooters while doing nothing to address the real problem of gun crime.?

The rest of this article appears in the 5th October issue of Shooting Times.

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