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Firearm curbs come into place
01/10/2007
From today any retailer selling air weapons as part of their business must be a registered firearms dealer.
The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, passed by MPs at Westminster, also requires dealers to conduct face-to-face sales and to record the name and address of the buyer and details of the air weapon sold.
The minimum legal purchase age for air weapons also rises to 18 from today - as does the age for crossbows, though under the Custodial Sentences and Weapons Act 2007 passed by the Scottish Parliament.
During the summer First Minister Alex Salmond and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill raised with the UK Secretary of State for Justice and Home Secretary their wish for responsibility for firearms to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
The Justice Secretary has since written to the Home Secretary proposing that work should begin to remove Westminster's reservation on firearms.
Mr MacAskill said:
"Scottish communities have been crying out for action to rid their streets of weapons. And we are determined to do just that, alongside action to tackle underlying factors fuelling violence, including alcohol abuse.
"The Scottish Parliament has rightly taken legislative action in recent years to tackle the blades menace - providing the courts with tougher sentencing options, improving police powers of arrest and paving the way to license the sale of non-domestic knives.
"The new curbs on firearms, which come into force today following the passage of the Violent Crime Reduction Act, are very welcome. "In Scotland we know only too well how dangerous, indeed how lethal air weapons can be. We recognise that there are many responsible and legitimate users of air weapons but, by restricting retail sales, we hope that fewer weapons fall into the wrong hands.
"Of course, the Scottish Government believes there is more to do to tackle the violence seen on too many of our streets - including taking non-legislative measures.
"In terms of firearms, we believe the time is right to look afresh at the existing legislation, which has been amended considerably over the last 20 years. We have been discussing the issue with the UK Government and hope to be able to move things forward soon.
"We want to lay a framework for a consolidated Firearms Act designed for Scottish needs and Scottish circumstances.
"We intend to build on today's measures, working with ACPOS and other interested bodies, including legitimate firearms users, to develop and implement workable practical options to deal with this problem.
"That work includes not just examining what new laws might be required, but also what measures we can take to educate youngsters and adults alike that there is no place for air weapons on our streets"
Chief Constable John Vine, who leads on firearms for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), added:
"We welcome these new measures. We believe that they are enforceable and we look forward to working with the Scottish Government to monitor their effectiveness and to consider what other steps could be taken to reduce the harm caused by dangerous weapons."
NOTES TO NEWS EDITORS:
1. The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 provisions brought into force today have the following effects:
- Make it an offence for anyone to sell or transfer air weapons by way of trade or business unless they are registered with the police as a firearms dealer
- Raise the age for owning an air weapon from 17 to 18 years
- All air weapon sales must be made face to face
- Make it an offence for anyone to fire an air weapon beyond the boundary of premises
- Introduce a new offence of manufacturing, importing or selling realistic imitation firearms. It is also an offence to modify an imitation firearm to make it realistic
- Make it an offence to sell an imitation gun to a person under 18
- Doubling the maximum sentence for carrying an imitation weapon in public without reasonable excuse or lawful authority from 6 to 12 months