The shadow home secretary, David Davis, today said government plans to ban deactivated guns by the end of the year would "do little more than paper over the cracks".
Davis said deactivated weapons accounted for a tiny proportion of gun crime.
"While we welcome any action, however overdue it may be, to tackle the scourge of gun crime, the government's own figures show that, in 2005-06, there were only eight incidents where deactivated or reactivated weapons were used - just 0.04% of gun offences," he added.
Davis said "sustained action" was needed to tackle the other 99.6% of gun crime, which he said had increased fourfold over the past decade, including a "sustained drive" to tackle serious drug abuse in Britain. He also called for a dedicated UK border police force "to stem the tide of drugs and guns" entering the country as well as less red tape for police and more prison places.
The Association of Chief Police Officers' firearms spokeswoman, Sue Fish, welcomed the proposals to outlaw deactivated guns, saying they "account for around 10% of all criminally used firearms submitted to the forensic science service".
She added that although recently deactivated guns were difficult to reactivate, they were often used to "threaten and instill fear in the public".
A Home Office spokeswoman confirmed that new restrictions would affect all firearms adapted before more stringent standards for deactivating guns were introduced in 1995, including antiques.
The move could therefore affect collectors and exhibitors of historic weapons such as flintlock pistols.
"Pre-1995 means exactly that. We are aware that that might affect museums and collectors so any legislation would take that into account and would be proportionate," the spokeswoman said.
Firearms collectors have spoke out strongly against the new measures. Julian Tacon, a collector for 25 years, said they could have a major impact on collectors but predicted that they would be ignored by criminals.
"This could make life more awkward for legitimate people and collectors," he added. "A ban on antique firearms would be very worrying."
**A shame that Labour are unable to tackle to supply of arms coming into this nation from abroad, whilst a steady toll of mostly young people end up dead due to gun crime. Still a token ban will make it look like they are tackling the subject even if all it ends up doing is upsetting collectors of antique firearms.
6 people have spoken:
I sometimes wonder if there is any will amongst the political classes to deal with the drug problem. After all, if they cannot keep drugs out of a prison, what hope is there of keeping them out of the country.
Urban11
I think guns should be made compulsory. After all the terrorists and drug dealers are not going to give up their guns so the public should be allowed to defend themselves.
The news reports on this are very confused, or perhaps it is the Home Office that is confused. Antique firearms are by and large not deactivated and may legally be owned in a live and fully functioning state. This is because of section 58(2) in the 1968 Firearms Act which says that the 'provisions of this act shall not apply to any antique firearm kept as a curio or ornament'. Therefore any flintlock pistols held by collectors will be fully working. Some very rich people collect antique firearms - a set of Manton duelling psitols might set you back £60K - so if this government thinks it can destroy our investments just like that then it had better prepare for the mother of all court cases.
Its just another show piece fluff law that does nothing except create more bloody paperwork and red tape.
Typical New Labour in fact.
The government said it would solve gun crime by taking away from law abiding owners their legitamitly owned and registered handguns used for sport in 1997. Have they?
Now they want to solve it again by targeting the innocent collectors.
Did the criminals hand their guns in then. Will they now? I think not.
The government is not dealing with the real problems but attacking the law abiding easy targets again to look as though something is being done.
wow, we here in america were under the impression that guns was illegal in you country and that since you all had turned your guns in that you do not have gun crime. I own some many guns that I cant even keep count. I just bought 4 new ones today. I am going to give them away. One of them is a wonderful british enfield. Believe it or not the more guns you have the less gun crime you have. honestly
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