Clause 26 - Age limits for purchase etc. of air weapons
Violent Crime Reduction Bill
4:00 pm
Jonathan Djanogly (Shadow Solicitor General (Also Assists Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs), (Assist the Home Affairs Team); Huntingdon, Conservative)
I must reverse the hon. Gentleman’s contention. The point is that the Government tabled the amendments about a week ago, but we have seen no evidence or statistics to support them. I am asking the Government to provide that evidence, and I am saying that we will not vote against the amendments now but will want to assess their impact. Those are valid points.
The small number of existing crimes that extend to foreigners overseas are all very serious crimes that are international in character, such as terrorism and hijacking, or which contravene international law, such as piracy and breaching the Geneva conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war. The offences in the new clause are not of a similar nature, and it would be inappropriate to extend them to include acts committed by foreigners overseas.
The National Small-bore Rifle Association represents more than 1,100 affiliated clubs across the UK. It has more than 100,000 direct members, including scouts, school-goers and cadets. Some members live in Inverness, others in Sussex. By enacting the clause, the 100,000 members who do not hold a firearms certificate—I imagine that is the majority—will not be able to trade their air weapons with each other by airmail. That is needless bureaucracy and red tape, and it represents an attack on their legitimate sport. I believe that mail order sales of air guns form a large percentage of the trade, and the prohibition of such sales is not proportionate and would not prevent the misuse of airguns.