EFRA committee chair calls for close engagement with BASC and rural communities
Speaking at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton yesterday, Alistair Carmichael MP highlighted the importance of shooting to rural Britain.
100,000 signatures secured. What happens now?
Thanks to everyone who signed the petition to parliament opposing proposals to move shotguns into the more stringent firearms licensing rules used for rifles. A special word of thanks goes to Lisa Amers, who had the idea to start the petition on 11 December.
Securing 100,000 signatures is a real achievement. Some say this is only a small proportion of the roughly half a million people who own shotguns. But people do not take up shooting to ban things or to get involved in politics. We shoot because we enjoy the countryside, the company and the food. We are forced into political action because some politicians are poorly informed about the benefits of what we do and are pushing for changes that would damage our way of life.
There are also those who say that nothing we do will make any difference and that politicians will simply ignore us. That is a counsel of despair and it does not fit the facts. Time and again, political action by those who shoot has stopped damaging legislative proposals. That is why we are still shooting.
The petition forms part of a wider campaign against the proposal to treat shotguns in the same way as rifles for firearms licensing. Despite this being ruled out by the Law Commission in 2015 and by the last government in 2024, the new Labour government has announced it will reopen the issue through a public consultation. BASC expects this to be published in January. It is critically important that as many people as possible respond, and BASC will publish a guide on how to do so as soon as the consultation is launched.
What could moving Section 2 licensing to Section 1 mean for you?
Read our explanation of the differences if shotguns were treated as rifles for licensing purposes.
The consultation: the next critical stage
The petition will now be considered by the House of Commons Petitions Committee, which meets weekly when parliament is sitting. BASC has already spoken to members of the committee and we believe it is highly likely they will recommend holding a debate. They will also decide when that debate takes place. In the meantime, BASC will brief MPs who support shooting, along with those whose constituencies generated high numbers of signatures and encourage them to take part.
The Home Office policing minister, who is responsible for firearms licensing, will be required to respond to the debate. We aim to ensure that as many MPs as possible make clear to the minister that this policy would be a serious mistake. Colleagues’ views can have a real influence on ministers and government policy. Did you expect this Labour government to support grouse shooting? If not, look at the debate last July on a petition opposing a ban, where BASC and others ensured that MPs who support shooting won the argument.
As for the wider campaign, BASC has held three meetings with the responsible ministers to explain why merging shotgun and rifle licensing would do nothing to improve public safety and would seriously damage shooting. We have also raised the issue with senior police officers responsible for firearms licensing. BASC has organised a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Shooting and Conservation to agree a way forward in parliament, along with a drop-in session for Labour MPs to explain the issues. We have briefed MPs across the parties following constituent concerns and provided briefings for MPs attending Home Office meetings on the subject. Once parliament returns from the Christmas recess and the consultation is published, our focus will be on securing the strongest possible response from those who shoot. We will also continue discussions with senior government figures.
Within this campaign, the debate on the petition is likely to come at an ideal point, after the consultation has closed but before the government has taken any final decision. A strong debate could be a key factor in ensuring this damaging proposal is dropped again.
So, to everyone who signed the petition, thank you for giving us this important opportunity to help protect your shooting and your way of life.
Sign the petition
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