SECTION 1 & 2 MERGER GOES TO PARLIAMENT

Last year the UK government officially moved to consult on the convergence of Section 1 (firearms/rifles) and Section 2 (shotguns) licensing. This represents one of the most significant shifts in UK firearms law since 1997.

Historically, UK law has distinguished between rifles and shotguns based on their power, range and typical use:

Section 1
This covers high-power firearms like rifles, requiring a good reason for each individual firearm you own in the category. You have to demonstrate a very good reason to own the rifle – and every single one, not just the first.

Section 2
This covers shotguns, which have been more lightly regulated because they are viewed as essential tools of the trade for farmers and pest controllers, as well as the primary equipment for clay pigeon and live quarry shooting. They are also less powerful than rifles and other high-power firearms.

The government’s push for a merger gained momentum following the 2021 Keyham (Plymouth) shooting, where a legally held shotgun was used to kill several people.

On 12th August 2021, Jake Davison killed five people and himself in Keyham, Plymouth marking the UK’s worst mass shooting in over a decade. The tragedy sparked intense scrutiny of Devon and Cornwall Police’s practices.

Davison’s shotgun had been seized in 2020 following his involvement in an assault. However, Devon and Cornwall Police returned the shotgun to him the following year – just months before the killings.

An inquest revealed a catastrophic failure in the Devon and Cornwall Police licensing process: Police staff lacked proper training, risk assessments were flawed and Davison’s history of violence and interest in incel ideology were completely overlooked.

In short, the systemic negligence of Devon and Cornwall Police allowed a high-risk individual to legally regain a lethal weapon.

The debate is sharply polarised in the UK between the shooting community and the government:

The government position
Ministers argue that shotguns are lethal weapons and should face the same rigorous scrutiny as rifles. They aim to strengthen controls responding to pressure from coroners and public safety advocates.

The shooting community position
Our friends at BASC and the CPSA argue the merger is disproportionate. They point out that the 2021 tragedy was caused by a catastrophic failure of the Police’s adherence to the licensing process – not the law and process itself – and that the current status of Section 1 and Section 2 should remain. The government’s time and effort should be on enforcing adherence to the licensing process across all Police forces, not changing it.

That’s our view too.

Our message to the government is simple: Make sure the Police follow the existing licensing process rigorously, comprehensively and effectively. Don’t simply pay lip service to the Keyham tragedy, changing the process to be seen to be doing something.

If the change becomes law, shotguns would probably be moved under the Firearms Certificate (FAC) regime which would mean:

• Justification
  Shooters must prove a good reason for owning each of their shotguns. So if you have more than one shotgun, like many of us do, be prepared to justify each and every one, or to sell some. This could lead to a serious drop in value of our prized possessions – supply & demand…
• Increased admin
  Police would need to inspect land and approve specific uses for every shotgun. And when they seemingly have issues managing the process as it stands now for Section 2 licenses, where does the time and money come from to manage these new checks?
• Cartridge limits
  There would likely be new restrictions on the amount of ammunition a shooter can buy and store. No numbers have been touted yet as to what this limit could be but right now, up to 10,000 shells can be stored at home before exceeding the limit. After that your only option is to become a Registered Firearms Dealer (RFD). If, like us, you keep a good store for practice and comps and to get bulk price deals (2,000-3,000 on hand) you might have to think again.

There’s pros and cons being shared around – from the merger would create a unified system that everyone follows to the fact it would require owners to justify why they need multiple shotguns. These points are tackled back with the irrefutable feeling that adding 500,000+ shotgun owners to the FAC system is going to break it whilst penalising law-abiding shooters and devastating rural gun trades & clay shooting grounds.

Whichever way you look at it, the merger does not solve the issue of the catastrophic failure the inquest identified.

It just seems us shooters are once again in the firing line (pun intended) for an issue that we as a community were not the cause of. That shotgun should never have been given back to Davison after it had been removed. Period.

We’re not going to hold our breath but we are hoping that sense prevails and the time and money is spent where it should be – making everyone involved follow the already-effective licensing process.

Let’s see what the debate says and go from there.

Did you sign the petition to have the merger debated? We did.

It’s now surpassed the 100,000 signatures needed to get the issue debated in parliament and the date of the debate is not far away – 23rd February. They’ll be broadcasting it live on the UK Parliament YouTube channel so we can all watch and listen.

If you haven’t signed yet, do it now https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/750236 and add your voice to the debate. Whilst it’s already going to be debated, the more members of the shooting community that sign ahead of the debate, the greater the number of “interested persons” can be referenced during the debate, adding more pressure.