Amendment 107 voted in favour

[Robert James]

Breaking news-  

The IMCO committee of the European Parliament has just voted in favour of amendment 107 of proposal 2015/0269 to amend the European firearms directive. 107 is the outcome of the trilogue compromise, and includes text which specifically exempts airsoft from the firearms directive. So airsoft replicas will NOT be reclassified as firearms.

If the initial proposal had not been amended then all airsoft replicas and even blank fire grenades would have been reclassified as firearms. This would have functioned as an EU wide ban on airsoft, the same situation as Australia is in. By the way the UK is still in Europe and this directive still has to be implemented in UK law.

Big pat on the back to all the organisations that lobbied in favour of airsoft (notably UKAPUs parent body, EAA, and ASG/Cybergun) and the many thousands of airsoft players who wrote to their MEP.

There's not much call for celebration though. The new directive will mean additional needless regulations for UK firearms owners such as magazine capacity restriction. Please don't forget that many firearms owners helped fight this attack on airsoft. We also need to help them wherever we can, if either of our sports hope to survive. And the new regulation will do little to protect us from terrorism either, which was the supposed intention. 

If you aren't aware, this was the biggest legal crisis ever faced by airsoft in history, we nearly lost airsoft across the whole continent, and it's not hard to imagine the rest of the world would have followed Europe's example, as they often do. Yet very few people in the airsoft community took an interest. Many of you probably didn't even hear about what was going on. As a community, we need to ask ourselves why news of this crisis wasn't spread, why most people weren't talking about it or fighting back. Airsoft won't survive if we only give our attention to trivial matters.

European Airsoft Association will be in Brussels again, acting as your representatives, over the coming months to check there are no errors made when the firearms directive is redrafted.

Please don't get this mixed up with the Policing and Crime Act, which is an unrelated ongoing issue. 

But this EU proposal case is basically closed in regards to Airsoft. Phew! 

Matt Furey-King, Chair UKAPU

[Ghost.]

Forgive my ignorance, but where can one view such information.

 

Sources if you have some? I remember Gordon at Battlezone mention this many moons back and even he was being relayed information from someone else. Surely there's some central place of information the whole community can access and have their say, no?

[Tommikka]

25 minutes ago, Ghost. said:

Forgive my ignorance, but where can one view such information.

 

Sources if you have some? I remember Gordon at Battlezone mention this many moons back and even he was being relayed information from someone else. Surely there's some central place of information the whole community can access and have their say, no?

 

 

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/imco/home.html

 

When European directives are ratified into U.K. Legislation they will feature in:

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/

 

[Tommikka]

To have your say in legislation though you need to either have a representative body on your behalf or contact your MP for the U.K. or MEP for European matters

 

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/

 

http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/your-meps/uk_meps.html

[Robert James]

33 minutes ago, Ghost. said:

Forgive my ignorance, but where can one view such information.

 

Sources if you have some? I remember Gordon at Battlezone mention this many moons back and even he was being relayed information from someone else. Surely there's some central place of information the whole community can access and have their say, no?

Sure

I now follow UKAPU which you can also be a member of. There is a post on the forum somewhere. Worth following

 

 

https://m.facebook.com/UKAPU/?locale2=en_GB

[Ghost.]

Excellent, thanks to you both

[PopRocket123]

I hadn't heard anything about this at all. That was a bit of a close call. 

[Andyraven]

Great news. havn't heard a wink about this from anyone.

 

So will this give UKAPU some leeway on the out come of the Policing and Crime Act / UKARA in the future? 

[Robert James]

1 minute ago, Andyraven said:

Great news. havn't heard a wink about this from anyone.

 

So will this give UKAPU some leeway on the out come of the Policing and Crime Act / UKARA in the future? 

I dont know how much swing they have as I literally just started following them, as I became a member of them (for free).

 

However, if you follow them on Facebook/Social media I assume they will post things that you can have your say on? Not sure, but thought it may be worth posting this as I dont know that it would have been posted otherwise. 

[jcheeseright]

5 hours ago, Andyraven said:

Great news. havn't heard a wink about this from anyone.

 

So will this give UKAPU some leeway on the out come of the Policing and Crime Act / UKARA in the future? 

 

The Policing and Crime bill has been given Royal Assent, it's done.  Short of some amendments later on down the line there's nothing UKAPU can do to change it now. 

[Andyraven]

1 hour ago, jcheeseright said:

 

The Policing and Crime bill has been given Royal Assent, it's done.  Short of some amendments later on down the line there's nothing UKAPU can do to change it now. 

 

Well in amendment 107 they state that Airsoft RIF will not be classed a firearm. And dont most EU laws overrule national laws? so how can the UK still class an airsoft RIF as a firearm. im just saying it might help out UKAPU in the Future of easing up the laws.

[jcheeseright]

EU Laws definitely do NOT overrule national laws, stop getting your legal advice from the daily mail. 

 

Amendment 107 was absolutely nothing to do with the policing and crime bill, which is a British law entirely independent of any EU legislation. 

[Andyraven]

13 minutes ago, jcheeseright said:

EU Laws definitely do NOT overrule national laws, stop getting your legal advice from the daily mail. 

 

Amendment 107 was absolutely nothing to do with the policing and crime bill, which is a British law entirely independent of any EU legislation. 

 

I dont read the daily mail.

The Primacy of European Union law (sometimes referred to as "supremacy") is anEU law principle that when there is conflict between European law and the law of Member States, European law prevails; the norms of national law have to be set aside.  

 

thats why i ask the question. sorry if i was wrong.

 

but if this Amendment 107 failed how could they ban Airsoft guns in the UK? if we dont abide by that law. 

[Tommikka]

1 hour ago, Andyraven said:

 

I dont read the daily mail.

The Primacy of European Union law (sometimes referred to as "supremacy") is anEU law principle that when there is conflict between European law and the law of Member States, European law prevails; the norms of national law have to be set aside.  

 

thats why i ask the question. sorry if i was wrong.

 

but if this Amendment 107 failed how could they ban Airsoft guns in the UK? if we dont abide by that law. 

There is the principle that EU laws should overrule conflicting national laws, but this is not accepted by all and is not necessarily the case

 

The majority of EU legislation is not put into place until it is ratified by the legislation of the member states, and there are differences between EU directives and EU regualations

 

Regulations are considered EU wide, directives should be put into place but it's up to the member state as to how they are implemented 

[Robert James]

MORE NEWS

 

http://www.euroairsoft.org/eu_vote_success/

[AshOnSnow]

On 14/03/2017 at 7:19 PM, Robert James said:

Breaking news-  

The IMCO committee of the European Parliament has just voted in favour of amendment 107 of proposal 2015/0269 to amend the European firearms directive. 107 is the outcome of the trilogue compromise, and includes text which specifically exempts airsoft from the firearms directive. So airsoft replicas will NOT be reclassified as firearms.

If the initial proposal had not been amended then all airsoft replicas and even blank fire grenades would have been reclassified as firearms. This would have functioned as an EU wide ban on airsoft, the same situation as Australia is in. By the way the UK is still in Europe and this directive still has to be implemented in UK law.

Big pat on the back to all the organisations that lobbied in favour of airsoft (notably UKAPUs parent body, EAA, and ASG/Cybergun) and the many thousands of airsoft players who wrote to their MEP.

There's not much call for celebration though. The new directive will mean additional needless regulations for UK firearms owners such as magazine capacity restriction. Please don't forget that many firearms owners helped fight this attack on airsoft. We also need to help them wherever we can, if either of our sports hope to survive. And the new regulation will do little to protect us from terrorism either, which was the supposed intention. 

If you aren't aware, this was the biggest legal crisis ever faced by airsoft in history, we nearly lost airsoft across the whole continent, and it's not hard to imagine the rest of the world would have followed Europe's example, as they often do. Yet very few people in the airsoft community took an interest. Many of you probably didn't even hear about what was going on. As a community, we need to ask ourselves why news of this crisis wasn't spread, why most people weren't talking about it or fighting back. Airsoft won't survive if we only give our attention to trivial matters.

European Airsoft Association will be in Brussels again, acting as your representatives, over the coming months to check there are no errors made when the firearms directive is redrafted.

Please don't get this mixed up with the Policing and Crime Act, which is an unrelated ongoing issue. 

But this EU proposal case is basically closed in regards to Airsoft. Phew! 

Matt Furey-King, Chair UKAPU

 

I've got no issue with there being magazine restrictions on firearms in the UK, providing they don't fall short of 20 rounds for a semi automatic .22LR. If anything, I think that's a good thing. Not to mention other shortcomings in UK firearms legislation - for example, not being allowed a .22 target pistol at Bisley, but perfectly acceptable to own a .50cal bolt action sniper less than a mile from Downing st.

[Fumps]

God-dam Brussels telling us what to do again....bloody foreigners  

 

 

***Insert sarcasm font***

[James1989]

Also EU directives are not the same as EU laws. The working time directive for example dictates that the UK has to factor in a maximum working week into law but tue UK caviat is that the employee can "opt out" which most employers slip into contracts... the firearm directive would have had an impact on UK law not over ruled it.