Zaostritev EU zakonodaje o orožju

[mr.T]

Kako skrpucalo je šlo naprej v EU parlamentarno obravnavo

• Authorised collectors are now within the scope of the Directive but may be permitted to acquire and possess Cat. A firearms in full working order;
  
• Museums are also within the scope of the Directive but they will not have to deactivate their Cat. A firearms;
  
• B7 semi-automatic firearms are NOT banned.
  
• B7 Firearms which can internally hold more than 20 rounds or if one attaches a magazine with a capacity exceeding 20 rounds move to Cat. A and is prohibited unless the owner is a member of the military reserve or is a sport shooter who belongs to a club or organization and actively competes in disciplines requiring such firearms – this violates the rule of “freedom of association” which is present in the constitution of several MS;
  
• Such Cat. A firearms may be included in the EU Firearms Pass;
  
• One has to present a valid firearms permit in order to purchase a magazine which takes more than 20 rounds;
  
• The reloading of ammunition will still be permitted – no changes here.
  
• Minor modifications to firearms which do not alter their categorization and may be performed by the licensee;
  
• Permits will be issued for 5 years maximum unless MS have a “system of continuous monitoring”. This greatly increases red tape, diverts resources away from the fight on terrorism and therefore decreases overall security within the EU area.
  

the issue with B7 Firearms that move to A7
The current wording as approved in last Wednesday’s vote is as follows:
7 a. Semi-automatic firearms with centrefire percussion, and loading devices, with one or more of the following characteristics:

1. a) long firearms (i.e. firearms that are originally intended to be fired from the shoulder) that can be reduced to a length of less than 60cm without losing functionality by means of a folding or telescoping stock;
   
2. b) firearms which allow the firing of more than 21 rounds without reloading, if a loading device with a capacity exceeding 20 rounds is part of the firearm or is inserted into it;
   
3. c) in order to acquire a loading device a correspondent firearm authorization must be presented at the time of acquisition.
   

If any one of the characteristics listed above is applies to your firearm then your firearm moves from B7 to A7. This is of course an utterly ridiculous consideration: Magazine out: B7, Magazine in: A7! One can just image court cases where the prosecution has to prove that the magazine was in. However, as stated earlier, if you are a member of the military reserve or if you are a sport shooter and a member of an organization and you actively compete in disciplines requiring such firearms then you may still acquire and possess such firearms.

The Exemptions
Army reservist are clearly exempt from previously-stated restrictions:
This Directive shall not apply to the acquisition or possession of weapons and ammunition, in accordance with national law, by the national defence forces, the police and other public authorities. The national defence forces encompasses all units, reservists and voluntary defence forces within the framework of the national defence systems under the command of the national defence forces, including the military and systems of internal public security. Nor shall it apply to commercial transfers of weapons and ammunition of war. The national defence forces of a Member State as defined under national law may, in addition to the military, include units such as a home guard as well as reservists and other persons taking part in national defence systems under the command of the national defence forces.
So are collectors provided they fall within the following definition:
For the purposes of this Directive, “collector” means any legal or natural person dedicated to the gathering and conservation of firearms or ammunition for historical, cultural, scientific, technical, educational, aesthetic or heritage purposes, and recognised as such by a Member State.
Sport shooters are also exempt subject to the following conditions. The obvious problem with this text is that this is wide open to interpretation in MS and some of the less benevolent ones will surely pick on this proviso to bar persons from owning a semi-auto firearm. What about sport shooters who do not compete or do not belong to any shooting club? Would some MS take the opportunity not to issue a permit or not renew it?  The EU ignores the existence of recreational sport shooters. It is akin to stating that no one may play football unless one plays in a national league match…
Member States may authorise target shooters to acquire and possess semi-automatic firearms classified in categories A.6 or A.7, subject to the following conditions:

1. a) the target shooter participates in shooting competitions organised by an official shooting sport organisation recognised by a Member State or by an internationally established and officially recognised shooting sport federation; and
   
2. b) the target shooter is a member of a recognised shooting club, regularly practises target shooting and has been doing so for at least twelve months.