
In the United Kingdom, gun ownership is considered a privilege, not a right, and access by the general public to
firearm
A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions).
The first firearms originate ...
s is subject to strict control measures. Members of the public may own certain firearms for the purposes of sport shooting, recreation, hunting or occupational purposes, subject to licensing.
There is a uniform system of firearms licensing across Great Britain (with an additional
airgun
An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contr ...
licensing scheme in Scotland), and a separate system for Northern Ireland.
Great Britain
Licensing
With a few specialised exceptions, all firearms in the United Kingdom must be licensed on either a 5-year firearm certificate (FAC) or a shotgun certificate (SGC) issued by the police for the area in which they normally reside. Each certificate can list multiple firearms.
[Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Firearm certificates, England and Wales, 2004/05](_blank)
/ref> Shotguns (Section 2 firearms under the 1968 Act as amended) are defined in UK law as smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...
firearms with barrels not shorter than and a bore not larger than in diameter, no revolving cylinder, and either no magazine or a non-detachable magazine that is not capable of holding more than two cartridges, plus one in the chamber; shotguns with higher capacity require a firearm certificate. Shotguns thus defined are subject to a less rigorous certification process than for the full FAC; an applicant is not required by law to make a good case for being granted a certificate, but the police may withhold a certificate if they consider that the applicant does not have satisfactory security in place, or granting it would constitute a danger to public safety or to the peace. A certificate holder may possess as many shotguns as can be securely stored.
When applying for a firearm certificate, justification must be provided to the police for each firearm, and they are individually listed on the certificate by type, calibre, and serial number. A shotgun certificate similarly lists type, calibre and serial number, but permits possession of as many shotguns as can be safely accommodated. To gain permission for a new firearm, a "variation" must be sought, for a fee, unless the variation is made at the time of renewal, or unless it constitutes a one-for-one replacement of an existing firearm that will be disposed of. The certificate also sets out, by calibre, the maximum quantities of ammunition someone may possess at any one time, and is used to record ammunition purchases (except where ammunition is bought to use immediately on a range under s11 or s15 of the Firearms Act).
To obtain a firearm certificate, the police must be satisfied that a person has "good reason" to own each firearm, and that they can be trusted with it "without danger to the public safety or to the peace". Under Home Office guidelines, firearm certificates are only issued if a person has legitimate sporting, collecting, or work-related reasons for ownership. Since 1968, self-defence
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in tim ...
has not been considered a valid reason to own a firearm. The current licensing procedure involves: positive verification of identity, two referees of verifiable good character who have known the applicant for at least two years (and who may themselves be interviewed and/or investigated as part of the certification), approval of the application by the applicant's own family doctor, an inspection of the premises and cabinet where firearms will be kept and a face-to-face interview by a firearms enquiry officer (FEO), also known as a firearms liaison officer (FLO). Only when all these stages have been satisfactorily completed will a licence be issued, which must be renewed every 5 years.
Any person who has been sentenced to between three months and three years in prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...
is automatically prohibited from possessing firearms (including airguns) and ammunition for five years from release. A person who has been sentenced to more than three years is prohibited for life. Application may be made to a court to reverse these prohibitions and this is likely to be successful in relation to convictions for crimes which do not relate to a person's fitness to possess firearms. Similarly, persons applying for licences with recent, serious mental health issues will also be refused a certificate.
Any person holding a firearm or shotgun certificate must comply with strict storage conditions by storing their firearms/shotguns in a safe bolted to the floor or wall that complies to the standard BS 7558:1992. These storage arrangements are checked by the police before a licence is first granted, and on every renewal of the licence.
In the case of a firearm certificate the issuing police force may impose additional conditions over and above the statutory ones. However any condition appended to a certificate must be reasonable and must not be of such a restrictive nature as would amount to a constructive refusal to grant the certificate by making use so unlikely as to be practically impossible. Failure to comply with any of these conditions can result in criminal prosecution resulting in a prison sentence of up to six months. Revocation of the certificate is also possible, depending upon the nature of the breach. A visitor's permit is available for possession of firearms without certificate by visitors to the UK.
The penalty for possession of any type of firearm without a certificate is a maximum of 14 years in prison and an unlimited fine. The penalty for section 5 categories of firearm is subject to a mandatory minimum of five years. (The sentencing judge has discretion to depart from the minimum sentence if there are "exceptional circumstances".) The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006
The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Origin
The United Kingdom Government published a paper "Drinking Responsibly - The Government's Proposals" in 2005 setting out their proposals for ...
increased restrictions on the use, possession, sale and manufacture of both airgun
An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contr ...
s and imitation firearms.
Prohibited weapons
These weapons are subject to general prohibition:
* Automatic
Automatic may refer to:
Music Bands
* Automatic (Australian band), Australian rock band
* Automatic (American band), American rock band
* The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band
Albums
* ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 el ...
or burst-fire firearms
* Semi-automatic or pump-action
Pump action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge (firearms), cartridge and typically to co ...
rifles other than those chambered for .22 rimfire cartridges
* Manually actuated release system rifles (MARS) and lever release rifles (not to be confused with lever action).
* Most handguns (firearms with a barrel length under or overall length under ), other than muzzle loading handguns and handguns that are air weapons (neither of which have minimum length thresholds).
* Firearms disguised as another item (e.g. walking sticks, mobile telephones, etc.).
* Rockets and mortars.
* Air guns chambered for self-contained gas cartridges. (Existing owners prior to 20 January 2004 were allowed ownership subject to obtaining a firearm certificate.)
* Any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other substance. This would generally include stun guns, or electric shock devices, CS gas
The compound 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (also called ''o''-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile; chemical formula: C10H5ClN2), a cyanocarbon, is the defining component of the lachrymatory agent commonly referred to as CS gas, a tear gas which ...
(tear gas), OC spray
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a lachrymator (tear gas) product containing as its active ingredient the chemical compound capsaicin, which irritates the eyes with burning and pain ...
(pepper spray), etc. Cattle prods would not generally be included, but it would depend on the type.
Firearms which previously fell into a prohibited category cannot be made legal by conversion to an otherwise permitted form. For example, a pistol which is adapted by permanently fitting a long smooth-bore barrel to it does not thereby become permitted.
Rifles
UK law does not provide a statutory definition for a "rifle". Most long firearms with rifled barrels will – by default – be classified as Section 1, and can be held on a firearm certificate. This includes single-shot; bolt-action; Martini-action; lever-action (also called under-lever action); and revolver rifles in any calibre. Self-loading and pump-action rifles are only permitted in .22 rimfire calibre.
Handguns
The 1997 Acts (see below) do not ban pistols as such and are drafted in terms of "short firearms". These acts prohibit firearms with a barrel shorter than or an overall length less than In practice this includes most pistols and revolvers, with the exception of those that are air weapons, muzzling loading (pistols and revolvers) or signalling apparatus.
A wide variety of black powder muzzle-loading handguns can still be possessed in Great Britain, plus a small number of muzzle-loading smokeless powder pistols and revolvers (in various calibres) are manufactured, such as the Westlake Taurus and Alfa Proj .357 muzzle-loading revolvers. All other handguns are mostly prohibited in Great Britain, with some exceptions such as those used for the humane dispatch of injured animals (such as deer) and some historical firearms.
That law created a new market for "long-barrelled revolvers" and "long-barrelled pistols", firearms with a permanently attached extension to the grip, with overall dimensions larger than those prohibited. Long-barrelled pistols in single-shot, or long-barrelled revolvers, both of any calibre, or semi-automatic in .22 rimfire, are all permitted with a firearm certificate.
Pistol shooting for sporting purposes was effectively banned in 1997, although a temporary exemption was made for competitors to bring Section 5 firearms into the UK for the 2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...
. This exemption only applied to the Games period and Home Nation pistol shooters had to train abroad prior to the Games. Ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Baroness Jowell, (; 17 September 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a Labour Party (UK), British Labour Party politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) f ...
(Minister for the Olympics) and the Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
agreed to use Home Office powers to issue a small number of Section 5 permits to elite pistol shooters nominated by British Shooting
British Shooting is the national governing body for ISSF shooting sport disciplines in the United Kingdom. The organisation serves as a single shooting body to receive public funding from UK Sport and Sport England, administer high performance ...
. With Glasgow winning the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...
, this arrangement was extended beyond the Olympics, with a small number of UK ranges licensed for Section 5 shooting.
A few models of ISSF 50 meter pistol
50 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often called Free Pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It is one of the oldest shooting disciplines, dating back to the 19th century and only having seen marginal rule changes since 1936. ...
(also known as "Free Pistol") have been produced which exceed the defined dimensions for prohibited "short firearms" and qualify as Section 1 firearms. Some free pistols offered removable stabiliser bars; UK-legal models are manufactured with stabilisers permanently fixed. Examples include the single-shot Pardini K22 Longarm and the five-shot Westlake Britarms Long Pistol.
Specific models of blank-firing starting pistol
A starting pistol or starter pistol is a blank handgun or, more recently, an electronic toy gun or device with a button connected to a sound system that is fired to start track and field races as well as some competitive swimming races. Tradit ...
that are "readily convertible" to fire live ammunition may also be either banned or require a firearm certificate. The Bruni Olympic .380 BBM
The Bruni BBM Olympic .380, officially marketed as the Olympic 38, is a blank-firing revolver manufactured by Italian replica firearms company Bruni. It was banned in the United Kingdom as being "readily convertible" into a "live-firing" gun.
Des ...
blank-firing revolver was banned in 2010 on evidence that it was being illegally converted to fire live ammunition. In October 2024, the National Crime Agency declared that all top/side-venting blank-firing pistol replicas by Turkish companies such as BLOW, CEONIC, EKOL, and Retay, which were previously sold legally in the United Kingdom were officially reclassified by the Home Office as being 'readily convertible' and thus should be considered by the English & Welsh courts to be Section 5 firearms.
The decision was made following several police seizures of lethally-modified blank pistols and at least 4 murders being committed using similar weapons in the past 2 years. Legal owners of such blank-firing replicas in England and Wales were expected to surrender them by February 28, 2025 in an amnesty, but received no compensation for losses that could stretch to many hundreds or thousands of pounds. The has been no equivalent announcement from the Scottish Government, who have executive control over the Scottish Courts and legal system, and no equivalent amnesty was announced by Police Scotland, so the status of these blank fires remains somewhat uncertain in Scotland.
Shotguns
Single-, double-, or triple-barrelled shotguns, or those with a lever-action, bolt-action, pump-action, or semi-automatic action and fixed magazine capacity of no more than 2 cartridges are permitted on a shotgun certificate as long as they meet the criteria of having a minimum barrel length of , overall length of , and a non-detachable magazine (if present).
There is no limit on the number of guns or amount of ammunition that a shotgun certificate holder can acquire or possess at one time, although each shotgun must be recorded on the certificates. Cartridges obtained using a shotgun certificate must have at least 5 projectiles each with a maximum size of . Other types of shotgun ammunition such as solid slugs can only be bought following the grant of a firearm certificate.
Shotguns with a detachable magazine or larger fixed magazine are considered firearms and require a firearm certificate ( rule and fixed overall length) or break action shotguns with a minimum barrel and overall fixed length.
Airguns
Airguns are firearms like any other according to the definition given in the Firearms Act 1968 at section 57(1). However, with the exception of Scotland where a certificate is now required, they are exempt from the requirement that a firearm certificate or shotgun certificate needs to be obtained to possess or acquire them provided that they meet certain limits as to their power. Air pistols with a muzzle energy not exceeding and other airguns with muzzle energy not exceeding do not require a certificate and may be acquired, purchased and possessed by anyone over the age of 18 who is not a prohibited person as specified in section 21 of the Act, which relates to persons previously convicted of a crime.
The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006
The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Origin
The United Kingdom Government published a paper "Drinking Responsibly - The Government's Proposals" in 2005 setting out their proposals for ...
controls online or mail-order sales of airguns by way of trade or business; transactions must be finalised face-to-face, although the contract of sale may take place at a distance. The airgun may be sent by the seller to a registered firearms dealer (who will act as the seller's agent in the sale) from whom the gun may be collected by the purchaser. The same Act introduced the requirement that a person selling airguns or ammunition for airguns by way of trade or business be a registered firearms dealer. It is not an offence for a private individual to sell an airgun to another person as long as both parties are not legally barred from possessing airguns and the transaction does not constitute a business activity.
In 2006 it became a crime to fire an air weapon beyond the boundary of any premises without the occupier's permission, and increased the lower age limit for buying or possessing an air weapon to 18 years. From 10 February 2011 the Crime and Security Act 2010
The Crime and Security Act 2010 (c. 17) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that introduced various measures relating to policing, crime and security; primarily regarding domestic violence, gang violence, anti-social behaviour, and ...
(s. 46) made it an offence "for a person in possession of an air weapon to fail to take reasonable precautions to prevent any person under the age of eighteen from having the weapon with him".
Any person who is in a building or is on land as a trespasser whilst having a firearm with them commits the offence of trespassing with a firearm. It is immaterial whether or not they have any ammunition with them at the time or whether they actually intend to use it at the place in which they were trespassing.
Ammunition
Explosive, incendiary, noxious (biological, chemical), and armour-piercing ammunition types are prohibited for civilians. The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 (section 9) generally prohibited expanding ammunition
Expanding bullets, also known colloquially as dumdum bullets, are projectiles designed to expand on impact. This causes the bullet to increase in diameter, to combat over-penetration and produce a larger wound, thus dealing more damage to a liv ...
, but this conflicted with the Deer Act 1991 (which mandated its use for deer stalking). An exemption permitted the acquisition and possession of expanding ammunition on firearm certificates held for game shooting or deer-stalking but not target shooting. Section 219 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3) is an omnibus Act of Parliament, act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It received royal assent on 31 January 2017.
Synopsis
The act enacts various changes to existing rules involving Police and Crime ...
modified the 1997 Act to only apply to pistol ammunition. The distinction is no longer made for rifles and expanding ammunition may be used for target shooting. The quantity of ammunition a certificate holder may possess is determined by certificate conditions on a per-calibre basis.
Shotgun cartridges are not restricted by certificate conditions and a shotgun certificate holder may acquire and possess as many as they like. Due to their bulky nature, normal shotgun cartridges are not subject to the same secure storage requirements as section 1 ammunition. Solid slugs or cartridges containing fewer than 5 projectiles are considered section 1 and must be held on a firearm certificate.
Definitions
Section 57 of the Firearms Act 1968
The Firearms Act 1968 (c. 27) is a UK act of Parliament, controlling use and possession of firearms.
Overview
The Act brought together all existing firearms legislation in a single statute. For the first time, it introduced controls for long ...
defines a firearm as:
* A lethal barrelled weapon, meaning a barrelled weapon of any description from which a shot, bullet or other missile, with kinetic energy of more than 1 joule
The joule ( , or ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). In terms of SI base units, one joule corresponds to one kilogram- metre squared per second squared One joule is equal to the amount of work d ...
at the muzzle of the weapon, can be discharged (with an exception for airsoft guns)
* A prohibited weapon
* A relevant component part, namely a:
** Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...
, chamber or cylinder
A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...
** Frame, body or receiver
** Breech block
A breechblock (or breech block) is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a breech loading weapon (whether small arms or artillery) before or at the moment of firing. It seals the breech and contains the pressure generated by th ...
, bolt or other mechanism for containing the pressure of discharge at the rear of a chamber
* An accessory to a weapon where the accessory is designed or adapted to diminish the noise or flash caused by firing the weapon
Ammunition for firearms may only be possessed by the holder of a firearm certificate with authority to possess that type of ammunition. Shotgun cartridges can legally be possessed by anybody over the age of 15. No licence is required to possess such ammunition so long as the cartridges contain 5 or more shots.
The Senedd
The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...
and the Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
cannot legislate on firearms. Firearms regulation is reserved
Reserved is a Polish apparel retailer headquartered in Gdańsk, Poland. It was founded in 1999 and remains the flagship brand of the LPP (company), LPP group, which has more than 2,200 retail stores located in over 38 countries and also owns su ...
to Westminster, with the exception in Scotland of air guns since 2012.
Scotland
In 2006, Glasgow politician Tommy Sheridan
Thomas Sheridan (born 7 March 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as convenor of Solidarity from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) from 1998 to 2004 and as co-convenor of Solidarity from ...
of the political party Solidarity
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
launched a consultation to restrict possession of air guns, highlighting recent cases including the death of toddler Andrew Morton, but the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to ban airguns at the time so any measures would have needed to be formally approved by the government of the United Kingdom. Around this time, the media gave some exposure to growing public desire to have air guns banned or regulated, particularly from the parents of a child that died after being struck in the head by a pellet in Easterhouse, a suburb of east Glasgow. The child was said to have had a skull only two millimetres thick at the point of impact.
MSPs such as Kenny MacAskill
Kenneth Wright MacAskill (born 28 April 1958) is a Scottish politician who was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian (UK Parliament constituency), East Lothian from 2019 United Kingdom general elect ...
have claimed Scotland has a problem with air gun violence. However official figures show that out of the estimated 500,000 airguns in Scotland there were only 195 offences, a ratio of less than 0.04%. Not all of these offences have been linked to violence with many being minor.
The Commission on Scottish Devolution when implemented gave the Scottish Parliament powers to regulate air guns. On 14 December 2012, a consultation was launched to investigate proposals for licensing air weapons in Scotland. The Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice foreword in the consultation paper (titled ''Proposals for Licensing Air Weapons in Scotland'') stated that the Scottish government "oes
Oes or owes were metallic O-shaped rings or eyelets sewn on to clothes and furnishing textiles for decorative effect. Made of gold, silver, or copper, they were used on clothing and furnishing fabrics and were smaller than modern sequins. They wer ...
not intend to ban air weapons outright, but oes
Oes or owes were metallic O-shaped rings or eyelets sewn on to clothes and furnishing textiles for decorative effect. Made of gold, silver, or copper, they were used on clothing and furnishing fabrics and were smaller than modern sequins. They wer ...
not think that it is appropriate in our modern Scotland that there can be up to half a million unregistered, uncontrolled and often forgotten firearms in circulation". It stated an aim to "ensure that only those people with a legitimate reason for owning and using an airgun should have access to them in the future, and that they are properly licensed and accounted for". In 2011/12 there were 195 offences involving air weapons in Scotland, compared to 3,554 in England and Wales. The consultation closed in March 2013 with 1,101 responses, 87% of which were opposed to the principle of licensing air weapons.
As of 31 December 2016, it is a requirement to hold an airgun certificate in Scotland to possess an air rifle with muzzle energy less than or air pistol with muzzle energy less than . There are some exceptions for current FAC and SGC holders in that they may hold an air rifle on their current certificate and apply to add it/them when next renewing their FAC or SGC.
Northern Ireland
Gun control laws in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
are less restrictive in some areas than gun laws in Great Britain due to the Good Friday Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
, allowing Northern Ireland to govern itself and pass less restrictive laws. Gun law in Northern Ireland consists primarily of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004. Any firearm that has a muzzle energy exceeding must be listed on a firearms certificate. Northern Ireland has one firearms certificate and all firearms are listed on that certificate irrespective of type.
All firearms owners in Northern Ireland are required to apply for a firearm certificate to possess firearms. Permits are issued to anyone who has good reason to possess firearms, such as target shooting and hunting. All firearms certificate holders are required to demonstrate they can be entrusted with a firearm. It is recommended that firearms dealers selling firearms are to instruct new buyers, and those changing/acquiring another firearm, about the safety procedures for that firearm. Firearm certificate holders in Northern Ireland may transport their firearms (except handguns) to Great Britain and possess those firearms while in Great Britain due to reciprocal firearms certificate licensing arrangements. Firearms certificate holders are limited to the number of rounds of each calibre of ammunition listed on their certificate to 1000 per listed calibre. This is a standard allowance given to every certificate holder. If a certificate holder requires a larger allowance, they must request that increase from PSNI Firearms Branch.
Semi-automatic rifles are permitted when chambered in .22 rimfire. Handguns, shotguns and air rifles are permitted in various calibres. There is currently no limit on magazine capacity for rifles or handguns. Shotguns are limited to a magazine capacity of 2 cartridges for field use. The shotgun capacity can be increased, upon application to the PSNI firearms branch, for target shooting use. Magazines are considered a component part in Northern Ireland and a firearms certificate holder may only possess magazines for firearms listed on their certificate. As of 2021, all magazines are required to be listed on firearms certificates. This measure is PSNI Firearms Branch policy in line with EU Directive 2021/555 on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons. PSNI Firearms Branch are to clarify exactly how this will take place.
A firearm certificate for a personal protection weapon will only be authorised where the Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland.
It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...
deems there is a "verifiable specific risk" to the life of an individual and that the possession of a firearm is a reasonable, proportionate and necessary measure to protect their life. Permits for personal protection also allow the holder to carry their firearms concealed. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom where personal protection is accepted as a legitimate reason to obtain and own a firearm.
Statistics
As of 31 March 2024 (Great Britain) and May 2024 (Northern Ireland), there were:
* In England and Wales, 147,364 firearm certificates on issue (covering 624,245 firearms), and 495,798 shotgun certificates on issue (covering 1,345,973 shotguns).
* In Scotland, 25,145 firearm certificates on issue (covering 110,343 firearms), 43,809 shotgun certificates on issue (covering 132,323 shotguns), and 31,970 air weapon certificates on issue.
* In Northern Ireland, 53,607 firearm certificates on issue.
History
The concept of legislating the use and ownership of weapons goes back at least as far as 1285 (13 Edw 1) when the teaching or practice of fencing with a buckler was banned in the City of London.[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 1 (1101–1377) p. 279.] In 1305 the Statute of Arms stipulated the weapons that could be carried or used at a tournament of knights. This stated that not even a knight could bring a pointed sword, and his attendants were not permitted to wear or have a dagger.[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 1 (1101–1377) p. 418] Throwing spears were banned in 1383 (7 Ric 2 c. 13), and in 1388 servants, apprentices, and labourers were banned from wearing a sword in public except in time of war (12 Ric 2 c. 6).[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 2 (1377–1509) p. 55][''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 2 (1377–1509) p. 77] A statute of 1511 (3 Hen 8 c. 3) banned foreigners from having or using a longbow
A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. Longbows for hunting and warfare have been made from many different woods in many cultures; in Europe they date from the Paleolithic era and, since the Bronze Age, were mad ...
in England, and also banned them from taking bows or arrows out of the country.[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 3 (1509–47) p. 77.]
The first legislation to specifically mention firearms was 6 Hen 8 c. 13 (1514), which prohibited the use of hand guns by anyone who did not own land with an income of at least forty marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks
A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
per year. The same rule also applied to crossbow
A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...
s. There was an exception for those who lived on a ship, or within seven miles of the sea, or "upon any of the English Marches foranenst Scotland", when a gun or crossbow was permitted to defend one's home or town.[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 3 (1509–47) pp. 184–85] In 1522 the land value threshold was amended to £100 (14 Hen 8 c. 7), and these rules were repeated in 1533 (25 Hen 8 c. 17).[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 3 (1509–47) p. 267.][''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 3 (1509–47) pp. 509–511.] In 1534, as a result of dissent within Wales to King Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
proclaiming himself head of the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
, it was made illegal for any Welsh man or anyone in Wales to take a weapon of any sort, "any bill, longebowe, crosbowe, handgon, swerde, staffe, daggare, halberde, morespike, speare, or any other maner of weapon", to any public assembly, fair, market, church, or meeting, or within two miles of any court (26 Hen 8 c. 6).[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 3 (1509–47) p. 553.]
By 1541 the increased variety of handheld firearms required new legislation and it was then made illegal to own any "handgun hagbutt or demy hake, or use or kepe in his or their houses or elsewhere any handgun hagbut or demy hake", except for those owning land worth more than £100. These weapons were required to be at least three feet long (91.4 cm), unless they were a "hagbutt or demyhake", when the minimum length was three-quarters of a yard (68 cm). In addition, these weapons could be used only for firing at a bank of earth, a butt, or a mark, and not for shooting game (33 Hen 8 c. 6).[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 3 (1509–47) p. 894.] An act of 1548 (2 Edw 6 c. 14) stipulated that no one less than a lord could fire a handgun within any town or city, that hayleshot, or any other form of shot that delivered more than one pellet at a time, was banned entirely, and that anyone wishing to fire a handgun had to register with a justice of the peace first. The purpose of this was given as that the king might know where in the country armed men were to be found should he need them for any purpose. This is not yet gun licensing, but owner registration.[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 4 (1547–84) p. 140.]
A statute of 1558 (4 & 5 Phil. & Mar. c. 2), when England was at war with both Scotland and France, stipulated that everyone with property, including "anye Honoures Lordeshipes Manours Houses Landes Meadowes Pastires or Wooddes", over certain thresholds had to provide specific numbers of horses, armour and weapons, including hagbutts, "for the better furniture and defence of this Realme". Everyone worth more than £1,000 had to have six horses suitable for knights in armour, complete with saddle and harness, ten more horses for light cavalry, forty sets of armour, forty pikes, thirty longbows, thirty sheaves of arrows, thirty metal helmets, twenty halberds, twenty hagbutts, and twenty salets. Men with lesser amounts of property were required to provided fewer weapons, so that a man whose property was valued at £20 had to provide one set of armour, one longbow with one sheaf of arrows, one steel helmet, and one hagbutt. There is no mention of whether or not these men had to be registered, but anyone living in Wales was excused finding a hagbutt, and had to replace each weapon with a longbow and sheaf of arrows. Furthermore, these hagbutts were to be used only in accordance with the existing statute (33 Hen 8 c. 6) and could not be carried on the public highway unless going to or from a muster or to war.[''Statutes of the Realm'' Vol 4 (1547–84) p. 402.]
1584–1714
After the assassination of William the Silent
William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...
in 1584 with a concealed wheellock
A wheellock, wheel-lock, or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock, and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name ...
pistol, Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
, fearing assassination by Roman Catholics, banned possession of wheellock pistols in England near a royal palace in 1594. There were growing concerns in the 16th century over the use of guns and crossbows. Four acts were imposed to restrict their use in England and Wales.
The Militia Act 1662 (14 Cha. 2
14 Cha. 2
The third part of the first session of the 2nd Parliament of King Charles II (the 'Cavalier Parliament') which met from 7 January 1662 until 19 May 1662.
This session was also traditionally cited as 14 Car. 2, 14 Chas. 2 or 14 C. 2 ...
. c. 3), entitled ''An Act for ordering the Forces in the several Counties of this Kingdom'', passed shortly after the Restoration, enabled and authorized, by warrant, local government personnel to search for and seize all arms in the custody or possession of any person or persons whom the government judged dangerous to the peace of the kingdom. It prohibited the search of rural houses during the night hours. It made it lawful in case of resistance to enter by force. Furthermore, it allowed for the restoration of seized arms.
The Bill of Rights
A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...
restated the ancient rights of the people to bear arms by reinstating the right of Protestants to have arms after they had been disarmed
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as ...
by James II. It follows closely the Declaration of Rights made in Parliament in February 1689. The Bill of Rights text declares that "the Subjects which are Protestants may have Arms for their Defence suitable to their Conditions and as allowed by Law".
The rights of English subjects and, after 1707, British subjects, to possess arms was recognised under English common law. Sir William Blackstone
Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, Justice (title), justice, and Tory (British political party), Tory politician most noted for his ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', which became the best-k ...
's ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', were highly influential and were used as a reference and text book for English common law. In his ''Commentaries'', Blackstone described the right to arms:
Formerly, this same British common law applied to the UK and Australia, and until 1783 to the colonies in North America that became the United States. The right to keep and bear arms
The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for Self-defense#Armed, self ...
had originated in England during the reign of Henry II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
* Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
with the 1181 Assize of Arms, and developed as part of common law.
1715–1899
After the Jacobite rebellions of 1715
Events
For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire in ...
and 1745
Events
January–March
* January 7 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Austrian Army, under the command of Field Marshal Károly József Batthyány, makes a surprise attack at Amberg and the winter quarters of the Bav ...
, harsh laws providing, amongst other things, for disarming the Highlands of Scotland
The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlan ...
were enacted by the Parliament of Great Britain: the Disarming Act
The Highlands Services Act 1715, also known as the Disarming Act 1715 ( 1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 54), was an 18th-century Act of Parliament of Great Britain that was enacted to curtail Jacobitism among the Scottish clans in the Scottish Highlands afte ...
s of 1716 and 1725 and the Act of Proscription 1746
The Act of Proscription (19 Geo. 2. c. 39), also called the Act of Proscription 1746 or the Disarming the Highlands, etc. Act 1745, was an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which came into effect in Scotland on 1 Aug ...
. Some high-profile assassination attempts using firearms occurred in the 19th century, such as the assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in 1812 and Edward Oxford
Edward Oxford (19 April 1822 – 23 April 1900) was an English man who attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria in 1840. He was the first of seven unconnected people who tried to kill her between 1840 and 1882. Born and raised in Birmingham ...
's attack on Queen Victoria in 1840, but those events led to changes in treason legislation (Treason Act 1840) rather than firearm controls.
The first British firearm controls were introduced as part of the Vagrancy Act 1824
The Vagrancy Act 1824 ( 5 Geo. 4. c. 83) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes it an offence to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. The legislation was passed in Georgian England to combat the increasing number o ...
( 5 Geo. 4 c. 83), which was set up in a reaction against the large number of people roaming the country with weapons brought back from the Napoleonic wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. It allowed the police to arrest "any person with any gun, pistol, hanger light sword cutlass, bludgeon or other offensive weapon ... with intent to commit a felonious act". It was followed by the Night Poaching Acts 1828 and 1844, the Game Act 1831
The Game Act 1831 ( 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was passed to protect game birds by establishing a close season during which they could not be legally taken. The Act also established the need f ...
( 1 & 2 Will. 4 c. 32), and the Poaching Prevention Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict. c. 114), which made it an offence to shoot game illegally by using a firearm.
The Gun Licence Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 57) was created to raise revenue. It required a person to obtain a licence to carry a gun outside his own property for any reason. A licence was not required to buy a gun. The licences cost 10 shillings (), lasted one year and could be bought over the counter at post offices.
Pistols Act 1903
The Pistols Act 1903 (3 Edw. 7
This is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the year 1903.
Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of ...
c. 18) was the first to place restrictions on the sale of firearm
A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions).
The first firearms originate ...
s. Titled "An Act to regulate the sale and use of Pistols or other Firearms", it was short, with just nine sections, and applied solely to pistols. It defined a pistol as a firearm whose barrel did not exceed in length and made it illegal to sell or rent a pistol to anyone who could not produce a current gun licence or game licence, unless they were exempt from the Gun Licence Act 1870, could prove that they planned to use the pistol on their own property, or had a statement signed by a police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
officer of inspector
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
Australia
The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...
rank or above or a justice of the peace to the effect that they were about to go abroad for six months or more. The act was more or less ineffective, as anyone wishing to buy a pistol commercially merely had to purchase a licence on demand over the counter from a Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
before doing so. In addition, it did not regulate private sales of such firearms.
The legislators laid some emphasis on the dangers of pistols in the hands of children and drunkards and made specific provisions regarding sales to these two groups: persons under 18 could be fined 40 shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...
s (£2, ) if they bought, hired, or carried a pistol, while anyone who sold a pistol to such a person could be fined £5. Anyone who sold a pistol to someone who was "intoxicated or of unsound mind" was liable to a fine of £25 (equivalent to £) or 3 months' imprisonment
Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
with hard labour
Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...
. However, it was not an offence under the act to give or lend a pistol to anyone belonging to the two groups.
Firearms Act 1920
The Firearms Act 1920 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. 43) was partly spurred by fears of a possible surge in crime from the large number of firearms available following World War I and also fears of working-class unrest in this period. "An Act to amend the law relating to firearms and other weapons and ammunition", its main stated aim was to enable the government to control the overseas arms trade and so fulfill its commitment to the 1919 Paris Arms Convention. The ongoing Anglo-Irish War
The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along wi ...
may also have been a factor, as Britain and Ireland were at that time still in union with each other, and the act also applied to Ireland. It required anyone wanting to purchase or possess a firearm or ammunition to obtain a firearm certificate. The certificate, which lasted for three years, specified not only the firearm but also the amount of ammunition the holder could buy or possess. Local chief constables decided who could obtain a certificate and had the power to exclude anyone of "intemperate habits" or "unsound mind", or anyone considered "for any reason unfitted to be trusted with firearms". Applicants for certificates also had to convince the police that they had a good reason for needing a certificate. The law did not affect smooth-bore guns, which were available for purchase without any form of paperwork. The penalty for violating the act was a fine of up to £50 (equivalent to £) or "imprisonment with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding three months", or both.[Malcolm, pp. 148–149]
The right of individuals to bear arms had previously been, in the words of the 1689 Bill of Rights, "as allowed by law". The Firearms Act 1920 made this right conditional upon the Home Secretary and the police. A series of classified Home Office directives defined for the benefit of chief constables what constituted good reason to grant a certificate. They originally included self-defence.[
As the Firearms Act 1920 did not prevent criminals from obtaining firearms illegally, the Firearms and Imitation Firearms (Criminal Use) Act 1933 ( 23 & 24 Geo. 5 c. 50) was passed by Parliament. It increased the punishment for the use of a gun in the commission of a crime and made it an offence punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment for anyone to "attempt to make use" of any firearm or imitation firearm to resist arrest. Possession of a real or imitation firearm was also made an offence unless the possessor could show he had it for "a lawful object".
]
Firearms Act 1937
The Firearms Act 1937 ( 1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6 c. 12) incorporated various modifications to the Firearms Act 1920 based on the recommendations of a 1934 committee chaired by Sir Archibald Bodkin
Sir Archibald Henry Bodkin Order of the Bath, KCB (1 April 1862''London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812'' – 31 December 1957) was an English lawyer and the Director of Public Prosecutions (England and W ...
. The resulting legislation raised the minimum age for buying a firearm or airgun from 14 to 17, extended controls to shotguns and other smooth-bore weapons with barrels shorter than (later raised by the Firearms Act 1968
The Firearms Act 1968 (c. 27) is a UK act of Parliament, controlling use and possession of firearms.
Overview
The Act brought together all existing firearms legislation in a single statute. For the first time, it introduced controls for long ...
to ), transferred certificates for machine guns to military oversight, regulated gun dealers, and granted chief constables the power to add conditions to individual firearms certificates.
In the same year, the Home Secretary declared that self-defence was no longer a suitable reason for applying for a firearm certificate and directed police to refuse such applications on the grounds that "firearms cannot be regarded as a suitable means of protection and may be a source of danger".
Firearms Act 1968
The Firearms Act 1968
The Firearms Act 1968 (c. 27) is a UK act of Parliament, controlling use and possession of firearms.
Overview
The Act brought together all existing firearms legislation in a single statute. For the first time, it introduced controls for long ...
(c. 27) brought together all existing firearms legislation in a single statute. Disregarding minor changes, it formed the legal basis for British firearms control policy until the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 (c. 45) was put through Parliament in the aftermath of the 1987 Hungerford massacre. For the first time, it introduced controls for long-barrelled shotguns, in the form of shotgun certificates that, like firearm certificates, were issued by an area's chief constable in England, Scotland, and Wales. While applicants for firearms certificates had to show a good reason for possessing the firearm or ammunition, it did not apply to shotgun certificates. Firearms and ammunition had to be kept locked up in a secure place approved by the local police firearms officer.
The act also prohibited the possession of firearms or ammunition by criminals who had been sentenced to imprisonment; those sentenced to three months to three years imprisonment were banned from possessing firearms or ammunition for five years, while those sentenced to longer terms were banned for life. However, an application could be made to have the prohibition removed.
The act was accompanied by an amnesty
Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...
; many older weapons were handed in to the police. It has remained a feature of British policing that from time to time a brief firearms amnesty is declared.
Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988
In the aftermath of the Hungerford massacre, Parliament passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 (c. 45). This confined semi-automatic and pump-action centre-fire rifles, military weapons firing explosive ammunition, short shotguns that had magazines, and elevated both pump-action and self-loading rifles to the Prohibited category. Registration and secure storage of shotguns held on shotgun certificates became required, and shotguns with more than a 2+1 capacity came to need a firearm certificate. The law also introduced new restrictions on shotguns. Rifles in .22 rimfire and semi-automatic pistol
A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...
s were unaffected.
Firearms (Amendment) Acts 1997
Following the Dunblane massacre
The Dunblane massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, near Stirling, Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton killed 16 pupils and one teacher and injured 15 others before killing himself. It remains the d ...
, Parliament passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997
The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 (c. 5) was introduced in the United Kingdom by the Conservative government of John Major, in response to the Dunblane school massacre and the recommendations of the Cullen Report that followed it.
It effectivel ...
(c. 5) and the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 (c. 64), defining "short firearms" as Section 5 prohibited weapons, which effectively banned private possession of handguns almost completely in Great Britain. Exceptions to the ban include muzzle-loading guns, pistols of historic interest (such as pistols used in notable crimes, rare prototypes, unusual serial numbers, guns forming part of a collection), guns used for starting sporting events, signal pistols, pistols that are of particular aesthetic interest (such as engraved or jewelled guns), and shot pistols for pest control. Even the UK's Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
shooters fell under this ban; shooters could only train in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
(where the ban did not apply), or outside of the UK, be that in the Crown Dependencies
The Crown Dependencies are three dependent territory, offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the The Crown, British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, both lo ...
(made up of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
and Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
), or in foreign nations (in Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, in practice). Prior to the 2012 London Olympics, British Shooting negotiated an agreement with the Home Office to issue Section 5 permits to a limited number of nominated elite athletes, allowing them to keep pistols and train on the UK mainland at nominated "Section 5 Ranges". This agreement was renewed following the Olympics and Section 5 permits remain on issue for eligible members of the GB squad.
162,000 pistols and of ammunition and related equipment were handed in by an estimated 57,000 people – 0.1% of the population, or one in every 960 persons. At the time, the renewal cycle for FACs was five years, meaning that it would take six years for the full reduction of valid certificates for both large-calibre and .22 handguns bans (because certificates remained valid even if the holder had disposed of all their firearms). On 31 December 1996, prior to the large-calibre handgun ban, there were 133,600 FACs on issue in England and Wales; by 31 December 1997 it had fallen to 131,900. On 31 December 2001, five years after the large calibre ban, the number had fallen to 119,600 and 117,700 the following year. This represents a net drop of 24,200 certificates. Comparable figures for Scotland show a net drop of 5,841 from 32,053 to 26,212 certificates, making a GB total net drop of 30,041. However, while the number of certificates in England and Wales rose each year after 2002 to stand at 126,400 at 31 March 2005 (due to a change in reporting period), those in Scotland remained relatively static, standing at 26,538 at 31 December 2005.
Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006
The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006
The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Origin
The United Kingdom Government published a paper "Drinking Responsibly - The Government's Proposals" in 2005 setting out their proposals for ...
(c. 38) mainly impacted upon firearms legislation by creating minimum sentences for some firearms offences, regulating the sale of primers and provisions relating to imitation firearms. From 6 April 2007 the sale and transfer of new " air weapons" by mail order ("by way of trade or business") became an offence (they may still be purchased in person), as well as the sale of primers, and realistic imitation firearms (RIFs). The only exceptions are for the purposes of military and historical reenactment, media and theatre production, paintballing, and Airsoft
Airsoft, also known as survival game () in Japan where it was popular, is a team sport, team-based shooting sport, shooting game in which participants eliminate opposing players out of play by shooting them with airsoft pellets, spherical plast ...
as a sport. This has affected Airsoft in the UK by restricting the sale, import and purchase of airsoft replicas to individuals entitled to a specific defence, e.g. members of an organised airsoft site holding permitted activities with third-party liability insurance cover or re-enactors.
Offensive Weapons Act 2019
At the bill stage, the Offensive Weapons Act 2019
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (c. 17) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act addresses crimes related to acid attacks (including the sale and possession in public places of corrosive substances); knife crime prevention orders ...
(c. 17) proposed to amend Section 5 (Prohibited Weapons) of the 1968 act with three new classes:
* Bump stock
Bump stocks or bump fire stocks are gun stocks that can be used to assist in bump firing, the act of using the recoil of a semi-automatic firearm to fire cartridges in rapid succession.
The legality of bump stocks in the United States came u ...
s
* "Rapid firing" MARS and lever-release rifles (not to be confused with lever action
The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms
Picture showing a Volcanic Pistol
A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated coc ...
rifles, which remain legal)
* "High muzzle energy" firearms generating more than muzzle energy
The prohibition on bump stocks was a reaction to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting
On October 1, 2017, a mass shooting occurred when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in from his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay hotel. He fired m ...
. This had no effect on the UK legal market as most semi-automatic firearms are already prohibited and bump stocks were not commonly available. It was intended to prevent the import of such items for use with illicit firearms.
The second prohibition is for firearms which use the propellant gas to operate a mechanism for extracting the spent casing. This encompasses gas-operated firearms
Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...
which were already banned as semi-automatic or automatic, but also includes those that lock the action before reloading, to be released manually. The mechanism of most weapons affected by this ban was either MARS (Manually-Activated Release System, such as a vz. 58 modified by Caledonian Arms in Kilbirnie), where the action is released with a trigger pull (a second trigger pull being needed to fire the loaded cartridge); or lever release (such as weapons made by the Southern Gun Company in Bodmin), where the action is released by operating a lever separate from the trigger. These were moved to s. 5 due to a perception that they represented a "loophole" around the prohibition on semi-automatic rifles and could "fire rapidly". A scheme to compensate owners opened in December 2020, ahead of the prohibition coming into force in March 2021.
The final item for consideration was high muzzle energy firearms. This was intended to target rifles in .50 BMG calibre that are "capable of 10,000 foot pounds [] of muzzle energy". However, this criterion would also apply to some British hunting calibres. This proposal never made the final act. There were several proposed amendments to include further restrictions on all firearms and the licensing of airguns in England and Wales, none of which were adopted. Air weapons and high muzzle energy firearms were also part of a public consultation in December 2020. The outcome of the consultation was published in July 2022.
Gun crime
The United Kingdom has one of the lowest rates of gun homicides in the world and mass shootings are extremely rare. There were 0.05 recorded intentional homicides committed with a firearm per 100,000 inhabitants in the five years to 2011 (15 to 38 people per year). Gun homicides accounted for 2.4% of all homicides in the year 2011. Office for National Statistics figures show 7,866 offences in which firearms were involved in the year ending March 2015, 2% up on the previous year and the first increase in 10 years. Of these, 19 were fatalities, 10 fewer than the previous year and the lowest since records began in 1969.
Spree killings and mass shootings
The United Kingdom has had few spree killings or mass shooting
A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...
s. The most well known are the Hungerford massacre of 1987, the Dunblane school massacre
The Dunblane massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, near Stirling, Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton killed 16 pupils and one teacher and injured 15 others before killing himself. It remains the ...
of 1996, and the Cumbria shootings
The Cumbria shootings was a shooting spree that occurred on 2 June 2010 when a lone gunman, taxi driver Derrick Bird, killed twelve people and injured eleven others in Cumbria, England. Along with the 1987 Hungerford massacre and the 1996 D ...
of 2010. After Hungerford and Dunblane, firearms legislation was amended, tightening firearms restrictions in the United Kingdom. UK gun legislation has been described by ''The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' as "one of the toughest regimes in the world". After Hungerford, the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 criminalised most semi-automatic long-barrelled weapons; it was generally supported by the Labour opposition although some Labour backbenchers thought it inadequate. After the second incident, the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997
The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 (c. 5) was introduced in the United Kingdom by the Conservative government of John Major, in response to the Dunblane school massacre and the recommendations of the Cullen Report that followed it.
It effectivel ...
criminalised private possession of most handguns having a calibre over .22; the Snowdrop Campaign continued to press for a wider ban, and in 1997 the incoming Labour government passed the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997. This extended the ban to most handguns with a calibre of .22, excepting antique handguns and black-powder revolvers.
Hungerford massacre
On 19 August 1987, 27-year-old Michael Ryan, armed with two semi-automatic rifles (a Type 56
The Type 56 (; literally; "Assault Rifle, Model of 1956") is a Chinese 7.62×39mm assault rifle. It is a licensed derivative of the Soviet-designed AK-47 (specifically the Type 3 variant).
The Type 56 rifle was adopted by the People's Liber ...
sporter and an M1 carbine
The M1 carbine (formally the United States carbine, caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine chambered in the .30 carbine (7.62×33mm) cartridge that was issued to the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War, and t ...
) and a Beretta 92
The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy.
History
Carlo Beretta, Giuseppe Mazzetti and Vittorio Valle, all experienced firearms designers, contributed to ...
pistol, dressed in combat fatigues and proceeded around the town of Hungerford
Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The population of the parish at the 2021 census was 5,869.
The Kennet and Avon Can ...
killing 16 people, wounding 15 and shooting himself, in what became known as the Hungerford massacre. Ryan's collection of weapons had been legally licensed, according to the Hungerford Report.
Dunblane massacre
On 13 March 1996, Thomas Hamilton, a 43-year-old former Scout leader who had been ousted by The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the largest organisation in the Scout Movement in the Scouting in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom. Following the rapid development of the Scouting, Scout Movement from 1907, The Scout Association was formed in 1910 ...
in 1974, shot dead 16 young children and their teacher, Gweneth Mayor, in Dunblane Primary School's gymnasium with two Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. ...
pistols and two Smith & Wesson Model 19
The Smith & Wesson Model 19 is a revolver produced by Smith & Wesson that was introduced in 1957 on its K-frame. The Model 19 is chambered for .357 Magnum. The K-frame is somewhat smaller and lighter than the original N-frame .357, usually known a ...
revolvers. He then shot himself.["The Public Inquiry into the Shootings at Dunblane Primary School on 13 March 1996"](_blank)
16 October 1996. . Retrieved 14 March 2014. Personnel of the Police Firearms Licensing Office were not aware of Hamilton's expulsion by the Scout Association, nor were they aware of allegations made against him regarding unsavoury behaviour at boys' summer camps he had organised: allegations that would have exposed his poor character. The incident led to improvements in inter-departmental sharing of police intelligence and deeper background checks of firearm certificate applicants.
After the incident, in 1997, legislation was introduced to prohibit, with some extremely specialised exemptions, "small firearms" with a barrel length of less than or an overall length of less than .
Cumbria shootings
On 2 June 2010, Derrick Bird, a 52-year-old taxi driver, shot and killed 12 people and injured 11 others while driving through Cumbria. He then shot himself. Bird was a licensed firearms holder; his weapons were a 12-gauge double-barrelled shotgun and CZ 452-2E ZKM .22-calibre bolt-action rifle.
Plymouth shootings
On 12 August 2021, 22-year-old Jake Davison, an apprentice crane operator and bodybuilding enthusiast, shot seven people, killing five including his own mother, around a residential area in the Keyham area of Plymouth in Devon. He then shot and killed himself. Davison's motives were related to his declining mental health and quality of life. Davison considered himself to be a part of the incel
Incel ( ; a portmanteau of "involuntary celibate") is a term associated with an online subculture of mostly male and heterosexual people who define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. They ofte ...
movement, blaming others for his issues and hardships and would regularly vent his frustrations online. Prior to carrying out the attack, Davison posted a video rant, saying how he was "beaten down".
Davison was armed with a legally held shotgun. An investigation into the events that transpired during this incident quickly revealed that Davison had previously lost his shotgun certificate after admitting to assaulting two youths at a park. He then had his firearm and firearm licence reinstated after participating in a Pathfinder programme The Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder Programme was a co-operative programme in England between residents and stakeholders such as the local authority, businesses etc., aimed at improving specific deprived neighbourhoods.
The programme was spon ...
. The coroner's inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...
heard that firearms enquiry officers (FEO) at Devon and Cornwall Police had received no training for twenty years, and that a "dangerously unsafe culture" had prevailed within the Firearms Licensing Office, which was described as "a dangerous shambles". On 6 October 2021, the Independent Office for Police Conduct
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales, responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. It replaced the Independent ...
issued disciplinary notices to two members of Devon and Cornwall Police over their handling of Davison's shotgun certificate.
The incident prompted the Home Office to review how firearms certificates and shotgun certificates were issued. In June 2023, it was announced that a national training programme for FEOs would be introduced by 2024. Provision of appropriate role training had originally been recommended by the Cullen Inquiry into the 1996 Dunblane massacre
The Dunblane massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, near Stirling, Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton killed 16 pupils and one teacher and injured 15 others before killing himself. It remains the d ...
, but had not been implemented by police or the Home Office.
See also
* Firearms enquiry officer
Citations
General and cited references
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External links
''Guide on Firearms Licensing Law''
from the Home Office
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{{Policies of the United Kingdom
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United_Kingdom
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Law of the United Kingdom