European Union Attack on Shooting Sports

02 December 2015

The following was an email received by a couple of our members who are also members of Worcester Norton Shooting Club. Since this is an important issue, I hope they don't mind me copying the content wholesale.

Please read and sign the petitions to help save our sport, not just in the UK, but across the whole of Europe. If a reckless uninsured driver in a stolen, or otherwise illegal vehicle takes a life, you don't see the government go after the law abiding drivers, why are guns any different?

In recent days the club has been made aware of two petitions that members should consider signing.

Proposal to Ban Lead in Ammunition

First, a UK Government e-petition regarding proposals to ban lead shot in shotguns and certain other firearms and air rifles in the UK. The petition states:

"Lead ammunition has been used for hunting and shooting since the first guns were manufactured over three centuries ago. Never has there been a recorded death through lead ingestion. Lead ammunition is the most widely used due to its ballistic superiority compared with other none toxic types and doesn't damage shotgun barrels. Norway has already reversed its lead ammunition ban due to the lack of scientific evidence proving harm to human health."

This is an important issue, if the proponents of the lead ban have their way we will no longer have ammunition with lead in it. This will mean the loss of muzzleloading shotguns and vintage breechloaders both black powder and nitro. For rifle users it will mean the loss of classic 'odd ball' calibres, early breechloaders and muzzleloaders. Copper and similar solids would undoubtedly mean restrictions on rifle ranges due to enhanced ricochet characteristics.

Please use this link to sign the UK Government petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/112165

Proposal to Ban Semi-Automatic Firearms

The second petition concerns a new proposal by the EU to ban semi-automatic firearms.

On the morning of 7 January 2015 terrorists attacked the offices of the 'Charlie Hebdo' magazine with fully automatic, unregistered and illegal firearms. Since then the EU has been preparing new legislation to ban semi-automatic firearms in the hands of law-abiding EU citizens. Despite the fact that these weapons were not used by terrorists and are not even typically used by criminals.

They use unregistered, untraceable black market fully automatic Kalashnikovs.

The new legislation has been on the back-burner since April 2015, only to surface now on 18 November, barely 5 days after a second attack in Paris. The victims of this tragedy have not been buried yet, the criminals are still on the loose, the police have not even finished the investigation and yet the EU is announcing measures to prevent something like that from happening again.

Unfortunately, nothing in the draft would have prevented these two attacks since neither were committed with weapons that are now legal and would be banned with this new law. Nothing. It is not logical and above all it is extremely unfair. It is unfair to the victims, it is unfair to the law abiding citizens whose hobby and property will be taken away.

The complete EU directive can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/13965/attachments/1/translations/en/renditions/native

For many this may have no immediate consequences and to some it makes perfect sense. But be under no illusions, this is the EU, and this will be just another step down the road towards a total ban. The directive above aims to ban category 'B7' firearms. (B7 = Semi-automatic firearms for civilian use which resemble weapons with automatic mechanisms).

So it's a ban on .22LR semi-auto's which look like the various HK's, M16's etc.

However, knowing the way EU directives are zealously deployed in the UK it would not be surprising to see full-bore straight-pull AR-types included.

This could be just the first step as the EU seeks to ban all firearms, category by category, especially if they don't get their way with the lead ammunition ban.

Say NO to the draft EU proposal announced on 18 November 2015. Do not restrict semi-automatic firearms "because they look like a automatic firearms."

Please use this link to sign the EU petition hosted by change.org: https://www.change.org/p/council-of-the-european-union-eu-you-cannot-stop-terrorism-by-restricting-legal-gun-ownership

Source: Dudley Rifle Club

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