Firearms
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on legally-held firearms. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs. Information on weapons held by the armed forces can be found under defence equipment and procurement; for illegally-held firearms see offensive weapons.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 30.01.2012 | Firearm Crime Statistics |
| This Standard Note summarises statistics relating to crimes recorded by the police in England, Wales and Scotland in which firearms were reportedly used. | |
| 22.12.2010 | Air Guns |
| 16.12.2010 | Statutory Controls on Firearms |
| 09.12.2010 | Air guns in Scotland |
| Firearms law is currently a reserved matter. However, arguing that Scotland has a significantly bigger problem with airgun-inflicted injury and death than the rest of Great Britain, the Scottish Parliament has called for the right to make its own laws on air weapons. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 22.12.2009 | Crime and Security Bill. Bill 3 2009-10. |
| The Bill would amend the law governing the taking, retention and destruction of fingerprints and DNA data from persons arrested for, charged with or convicted of criminal offences. It would reduce the requirements on the police to record information following a stop and search. It would introduce new 'go' orders for suspected perpetrators of domestic violence, which could mean excluding them from their homes in order to protect the victim. The Bill would also, in effect, extend new injunctions for gang-related violence to 14-18 year olds, and require courts to issue a Parenting Order where a child under 16 had breached an Anti-social Behaviour Order. It would require wheel clamping companies to be licensed, and create a new offence of possessing an authorised mobile phone in a prison. It also creates a new offence of preventing a person under 18 from gaining unauthorised access to air weapons. |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 29.09.2011 | Firearms controls. |
| Government response. Home Affairs Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 14.12.2010 | Firearms controls. |
| Home Affairs Select Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 15.07.2010 | FIREARMS FOR UNDER-18 YEAR OLDS |
| That this House notes with concern that children under the age of 18 years are able to hold licences for shotguns and other firearms; further notes that a child as young as 10 years ... | |
| 13.07.2010 | GUN LICENCES FOR JUVENILES |
| That this House is alarmed that children as young as 10 years old in the east of England have been given shotgun licences; notes that figures released by the BBC show that in Bedfordshire ... | |
| 01.03.2010 | LICENSING OF AIR GUNS |
| That this House believes that the interests of public safety demand a reduction in the availability and attractiveness of guns of all kinds; notes that air guns are still available ... | |
| 27.03.2009 | AIRGUNS |
| That this House welcomes the Scottish government's campaign highlighting the dangers of airguns and replica weapons; regrets that the UK Government has failed to take decisive action ... | |
| 07.07.2008 | USE OF AIR GUNS |
| That this House expresses sympathy for all those who have been injured or killed by air guns; welcomes the improved safeguards introduced by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 for ... |
