The EU Gun Ban by Juncker's Quislings against Freedom

[Pasted: 13th December 2016]

Dear Colleagues,

I thought it would be helpful to provide a detailed update on the Firearms
Directive.

European laws on firearms have been in place since 1991. Certain weaknesses and
failings of the existing Directive came to light in the aftermath of recent
terrorist attacks. Last November the Commission proposed a revision, however the
reforms were not balanced or workable for the legitimate gun holder. There was
no majority in the Parliament committee to reject outright the Commission
proposals.  Therefore the Parliament has been going through an amendment process
which I have been leading as rapporteur.  There is now an agreement in principle
on key elements.

Background The Directive sets out the conditions under which private persons may
lawfully acquire and possess guns or transfer them to another EU country.  The
Directive also sets requirements for marking and keeping and sharing of
registers.

Firearm types are defined as Category A,B or C.  Category A firearms are
prohibited except for certain types of individuals, Category B firearms need an
“authorisation”, and owners of Category C firearms need to declare their
ownership but do not need authorisation.

Salute and Acoustic Firearms The previous treatment of so called “salute and
acoustic firearms” raised security concerns. These are working firearms
converted to fire blanks.  Under the existing Directive in certain countries
these could be sold without authorisations and some were easily re-converted to
live firearms. This type of firearm was used in Paris terrorist attacks. A cache
of over 30 were discovered in the UK in 2015.

The rules covering these firearms will now be tightened. Going forward any
firearm which has been converted to fire blanks must remain licensed under the
same rules as its original live-firing version.

Deactivated Firearms In order to strengthen deactivation regimes, the European
Commission introduced a new Deactivation Regulation which came into force in
April 2016.  This sets a single standard for deactivation of firearms.  However
technical implementation issues have arisen and some countries are concerned
that the new standard is less secure than their previous national regime.
Following pressure from the Parliament, the European Commission has now
re-convened a Working Group of Experts from the European Member States to review
the Regulation. The Commission has committed that a revision will be completed
by early 2017.

Introduction of the Deac-Reg caused problems for legitimate holders of
deactivated firearms such as historical re-enactors and those involved in film
making etc, as it prohibits them from selling or transferring across borders any
items deactivated prior to April 2016 unless the items are re-deactivated to the
new standard, which is not technically possible in many cases.  Following
pressure from the Parliament there will now be a process to assess national
standards in use prior to April 2016.  If the standards are accepted by the
Working Group and Commission as “equivalent” then items deactivated to that
previous regime will be able to be bought, sold and transferred without
requiring further modification.

The Commission proposed that all deactivated firearms would become subject to
the same  registration and authorisation procedures as firearms.  This was
rejected. Instead the negotiations agreed that newly deactivated firearms should
be categorised in Category C and need to be declared to national authorities
while this would not apply to existing deactivated firearms.

Category A The Commission’s original proposal added: Category A6  “Automatic
firearms which have been converted into semi-automatic firearms“ and Category A7
“Semi-automatic firearms for civilian use which resemble weapons with automatic
mechanisms”

These were both rejected by the Parliament. There is experience that
categorising items based on the subjectivity of “resemblance” creates legal
uncertainty.

Category A6

The Parliament’s initial committee approach was that “Automatic firearms which
have been converted into semi-automatic firearms” should remain in Category B if
the conversion was irreversible and be in Category A only if the conversion was
reversible. The Parliament  proposed that the Commission should develop new
technical standards to define which conversions were irreversible. However, the
Commission was not prepared to accept responsibility for preparing technical
specifications on these conversions.

To reach agreement negotiators representing the majority of the Parliament
conceded that automatic firearms converted into semi-automatic firearms should
be Category A but added new authorisation procedures so that, at the discretion
of the Member State, reservists, target shooters and others with special
licences would be permitted to hold these. In addition a grandfathering clause
is added so that existing owners can continue to own, transfer, inherit or sell
these firearms to others who have appropriate authorisation. Again this is at
the discretion of the Member State.

Category A7 Instead of using  “resemblance” criteria both Parliament and Council
proposed to add to Category A semi-automatic centre-fire firearms when a
high-capacity loading device is fitted.   Firearms have been categorised
depending upon loading capacity already in the current Directive, and the new
rules extend this approach.  This only affects firearms which use centre-fire
and not rimfire percussion ammunition.

The categorisation applies when the firearm and magazine is in combination
together, and does not depend merely on whether the firearms is capable of
having a higher capacity magazine inserted.  This has been made explicit in the
text for adoption.

Following lengthy negotiations, it was agreed that for long firearms exceeding
60 cm a magazine with a capacity greater than 10 rounds would be restricted,
while for a short firearm the limit would be at 20 rounds.

Member States will be able to give authorisations for reservists, target
shooters and others with special licences for these firearms.  As for those
firearms that now fall under Category A6, there is a grandfathering clause.

Status of magazines/ loading devices Law enforcement authorities in certain
countries pressed hard for restrictions on higher capacity magazines.  The
Council approach was to prohibit their possession but this was rejected by the
Parliament as it was considered impractical to enforce.  Instead it was agreed
that future acquisitions of loading devices will depend upon showing a valid and
appropriate license, as is already the case for ammunition, so only those with
authorisation to hold category A firearms will be permitted to acquire high
capacity magazines.

People who are found in possession of a high capacity magazine after a
transition period and who do not have a category A authorisation will risk
having their authorisation to hold firearms removed.

Special provisions for ownership Member states will be able to give Category A
authorisations to individuals for the protection of the security of critical
infrastructure, commercial shipping, high-value convoys and sensitive premises,
as well as for national defence, educational, cultural, research and historical
purposes

Museums and collectors: Member states will be able to give Category A
authorisations to recognised museums and in exceptional and duly reasoned cases
to collectors, subject to strict security measures. The collection of ammunition
is permitted.

Target shooters:   Member states will be able to give Category A authorisations
to target shooters provided the individual is actively practising for or
participating in shooting competitions. We have worked closely with the
International Practical Shooting Confederation to ensure that the authorisation
covers those entering the sport as well as those already competing. The current
freedom of choice of equipment used by competitors in their shooting disciplines
is not restricted. To facilitate continued participation in international
competitions the rules governing the European Firearms Pass will be updated to
cover firearms, including Category A firearms, held by such target shooters.

Reservists:  Armed forces, the police and the public authorities are outside the
scope. The provisions for authorisation for national defence also enables Member
States to issue reservists with firearms.

Switzerland: Language is introduced to cover the Swiss system based on general
conscription which enables the transfer of military firearms to persons leaving
the army.

Film industry: Many film productions in Europe use firearms including
deactivated firearms, purpose-built blank firing firearms as well as live
firearms, usually firing blanks, all depending on the nature of the production.
The Commission initial proposals would have jeopardised this but the Parliament
text has re-instated the ability for special authorisations for the film
industry under strict controls.

Re-enactors: The European Firearms Pass enables legitimate owners to move
firearms across borders. This  has been updated to assist historical re-enators.

Private modifications: Hand-loading and reloading of ammunition will remain
permitted. Modifications of firearms for private use are also still permitted by
private owners and not restricted only to dealers or brokers.

Medical systems The existing law states that authorisations are only permitted
for those who “are not likely to be a danger to themselves or others”.  The
Commission suggested that medical tests should been needed for each
authorisation and these should be reviewed every five years.  However
point-in-time medical tests are not necessarily effective.  Instead it was
agreed that each Member State must have a monitoring system to assess relevant
medical and psychological information which they may operate on a continuous or
non-continuous basis.  Authorisation will be withdrawn if any of the conditions
on which it was granted are no longer met, or may be renewed or prolonged if the
conditions are still fulfilled. Member States can decide whether or not the
assessment involves a prior medical or psychological test.  This does not change
national approaches or introduce new EU-wide requirements for medical testing.

Marking, Registers and Information Sharing The current law requires firearms to
be marked and registered so that each firearm can be linked to its owner. Law
enforcement and Europol noted the risk of sales of parts. Going forward the
essential components of a firearm also need to be marked and registered. To
avoid risk of confusion the main identifier will be the  mark affixed to the
frame or receiver. The new marking requirements will not apply to existing
firearms. Firearms of historical importance may not need markings depending on
national law.

To improve information sharing, dealers and brokers will need to inform national
authorities of transfers through electronic means and Member States will share
information on firearms held in their country.

Next steps The provisional deal still needs to be confirmed by the EU member
states’ permanent representatives (Coreper) and by Parliament’s Internal Market
Committee. This is to happen towards the end of January 2017. The draft
directive would then be put to a vote by the full Parliament in a plenary
session in 2017 and formally approved by the EU Council of Ministers.

It was proposed that Member States would have 15 months to transpose the new
rules into national legislation and 30 months to introduce new systems for
sharing of information. Members States may decide to suspend the requirement for
declaring deactivated weapons and prior category D firearms for 30 months from
the entry into force of the Directive.

Thanks

I would like to thank the many organisations who have assisted with technical
advice including International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), The
European Federation of Associations for Hunting & Conservation (FACE), The
Nordic Hunters’ Alliance, Federation of European Societies of Arms Collectors
(FESAC), The Association of European Manufactures of Sporting Firearms, The
British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Deactivated Weapons
Association, Historical Breechloading Smallarms Association, The Royal
Armouries, the Imperial War Museums and the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and
Military History.

With many thanks,

Vicky Ford
Vicky Ford MEP Chairman of Internal Market Committee