very confused about sale of RIF's in a shop in cambridge?

[Mr Monkey Nuts]

Nowhere, although if you are a legitimate retailer, there is no reason you shouldn't be.

 

[CaptainSwoop]

Depends on how you read the law and how it is interpreted and any test cases that exist.

That said, the VCRA is very clear on what constitutes an imitation firearm and what constitutes a realistic imitation firearm;

VCRA 2006, Sec 38(1) defines a "realistic imitation firearm" as:

( a ) has an appearance that is so realistic as to make it indistinguishable, for all practical purposes, from a real firearm; and

( b ) is neither a de-activated firearm nor itself an antique

"Imitation firearm" is discussed in Sec38(2) and (3) as below:

(2)For the purposes of this section, an imitation firearm is not (except by virtue of subsection (3)( b ) to be regarded as distinguishable from a real firearm for any practical purpose if it could be so distinguished only—

(a)by an expert;
(b)on a close examination; or
©as a result of an attempt to load or to fire it.

(3)In determining for the purposes of this section whether an imitation firearm is distinguishable from a real firearm—
(a)the matters that must be taken into account include any differences between the size, shape and principal colour of the imitation firearm and the size, shape and colour in which the real firearm is manufactured; and
(b)the imitation is to be regarded as distinguishable if its size, shape or principal colour is unrealistic for a real firearm.
Air pistols may be covered under different legislation but if it can be proved that an air pistol falls under the above criteria it could be argued that it is, by definition, a realistic imitation firearm. For example, the air pistols on this page ( http://www.wonderlandmodels.com/bb-air-guns/air-guns/pistols/umarex/walther/ ) do they fit the definition of a RIF under the VCRA Sec 38(1) (a) and ( b )? I would argue yes they do, as they has an appearance that is so realistic as to make it indistinguishable, for all practical purposes, from a real firearm and they are neither a de-activated firearm nor antiques.

The law has many areas that overlap and at times appear to contradict each other, and it is all down to interpretation and knowledge of all the relevant aspects of the law.

A retailer like the one discussed might view airsoft weapons as 'toys' and may not be aware of the VCRA or even the Firearms Act (although not having knowledge of the law is no defence if an offence has been committed)

(PS - I am not an expert on the law... just find the twists and turns quite interesting )

Air Pistols are not Realistic Imitation Firearms. They re covered by the Firearms Act and are considered to be Firearms. They cannot be imitations.

 

[ikarma70]

I'm wondering what the financial costs are to be UkARA registered ?

 

[Deek]

From how I read it an air weapon isn't classed as a firearm under the Firearms Act 1968;

The CPS have an interesting document regarding definitions: http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/firearms/ - according to the CPS an air weapon is not a firearm.

Again, I think it is down to the interpretation of the various parts of the law.

For instance, Thames Valley Police have issued a document through the multi-agency group StayWise ( www.staywise.co.uk ) called "Worlds Collide" ( http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/worlds-collide-pack.pdf ) where on the last page they consider anything that falls under the definition of an RIF will be classed as an RIF;

[quoteThe Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 introduces the term 'a realistic imitation firearm'. It defines this as

'an imitation firearm whose appearance is so realistic as to make it indistinguishable, for all practical
purposes, from a firearm of an existing make or model...’ This means that if you can only tell it is a replica
firearm by examining it closely, attempting to load or fire it or asking an expert then it is a realistic imitation
firearm.
So, anything that looks like a real firearm will no longer be legally sold, imported or manufactured. It does
not matter whether the gun fires a pellet, a capsule of paint, a ball bearing or nothing at all. If a court finds
that a BB gun or air pistol looks like a realistic firearm then it may not be manufactured, bought or sold.

This is the problem airsofters, paintballers, and air weapons shooters face with the law with the items we use for our hobby / sport, and would probably only really be settled by a Judge in a Court of Law, which would be dark day for any hobby / sport.