Hi Nigel, and welcome.
adaman04 said:
Yeah, no dice on the sword. In some areas, you can't even carry a pocket knife unless it is required for work, and you can only carry it when you are to and from work and while working. Is it this way in your area? Also, I would like a quick run down of the laws. Nothing too in depth, that would waste your time, just the basics.
Regarding knife laws: as far as I am aware, they are the same everywhere (although Scotland may have different ones). Basicly, you can carry a knife with you for any legal purpose provided that the blade is no more than three inches long, and it is a folding (non-locking) blade. Anything else needs a "good reason" for you to have it on you (e.g. taking it to/from work where you need it), otherwise it will/may be considered an "offensive weapon".
Details of British[1] firearms laws can be found here:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/powers/firearms/?version=1
and here:
http://www.met.police.uk/firearms-enquiries/index.htm
The quick summary:
Legaly, there are four basic catagories of firearms: "unregulated", "shotguns", "firearms", and "prohibited firearms". Laws regarding ownership depend on the catagory, and the definitions of some catagories bear no relation to "real" definitions (e.g. Pepper spray and CS gas are also classed as "prohibited firearms").
"Unregulated Firearms": Air guns (except air rifles with a power over 12ft/lb and air pistols over 6ft/lb, which are classed as "firearms", and certain types of air pistol that are "prohibited"), flare guns, etc. Antique firearms (defined as being older than ****, and using ammunition that is no longer easily available and that you do not have any of) also fall into this catagory.
You do not need any sort of licence to own one of these, and they are not registered. (There are minimum age limits though).
"Shotguns" (the definition of which includes e.g. muskets, but not pump-action and self-loading shotguns) require a licence ("shotgun certificate" to own. This licence allows you to own "shotguns" - you can buy, sell, swap, etc as many as you like, for whatever reason you like (although you have to register them).
"prohibited firearms". This includes all automatic firearms, all self-loading firearms with the exception of shotguns and .22 rimfire rifles[1], "small guns" (i.e. handguns[2]), and other military type weapons (e.g. bazookas). Air pistols that fire bullets from rechargable air cartridges are also banned (the most recent ban, a result of criminals converting them to fire live ammo)[3]. "Prohibited firearms" can only be posessed with permision from the Secretary of State (i.e. the police, military, etc can have them).
"Firearms". Just about everything not covered in the above catagories. You need a licence to own one, which is "may issue" (costs £50 ~$80), and requires a background check, having a secure place to store it, and a "good reason" to own it, typically either:
* hunting, in which case you have to specify a place where you have permission to hunt, although you are not restricted to hunting there
* being a member of a shooting club, which must own or have access to a place suitible to use the gun in question (e.g. if they only have a 25 yard indoor range, you probably won't be allowed a .50BMG rifle).
* you need it for your work (e.g. you are a farmer or gamekeeper).
Self defence is specifically
not counted as a good reason.
This is stricter than for a shotgun certificate, for which you don't have to specify what you want it for, and it is up to the police to prove that you shouldn't get it.
Also, if you want to own more than one gun, you need to be licence for each and every gun, and have to have a "good reason" for each one. (Although "my gun club has a range I can use it it" should be good enough for all of them).
Ammunition is also restricted: you can only buy/own ammo for the guns on your firearm certificate[4], which specifies how much of each type you may have in total at any one time. Expanding ammunition is more heavily restricted: you can only use it for hunting (and it is mandatory for hunting deer), and so you must have "This rifle is for hunting" as your "good reason" for owning that particular rifle.
Ammunition components (bullets, primers, cases) are not restricted, except for expanding bullets, which are classified as "ammunition". (I don't know if there is any restriction on propelent).
As you can see, the laws are very restrictive, and also contain various regulations that are plain stupid regardless of RKBA arguments (e.g. self-loading rifles in calibres below .22, e.g .17HMR, are also banned, because they did not exist when the law was passed), although if you jump through enough hoops you can still get to own/use (some) guns.
In a (very) few aspects, British firearms laws may be a little better than US ones:
* Silencers (generally refered to as "moderators") are treated as ordinary "firearms", so if you have a reason to own one (e.g. you use your gun in situations where ear protection is impractical), you can get one quite easily.
* Laws are much more consistent thoughout the country - there are no cities where it is illegal to have one in your car, for instance (although you could only legally have a gun in your car if you were taking it to/from somewhere where you could legally use it).
* From what I have read at least, it appears to be easier to (legally) own a gun in the UK than in DC.
* You are only banned for life from possessing a firearm if you have been jailed for 3 years or more, not for any felony conviction (although whether that is better or not may be debatable).
The government is trying to get some even more restrictive laws made: see here:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-controls-on-firearms-310804?version=1 for some of their proposals, and
here for the
British Shooting Sports Council counter. Hopefully they will stop them, and maybe even get some of the current ones overturned, but the firearms lobby in the UK is so low profile that while I had know about the US NRA for years, I didn't even know we had
our own one until about a year ago when I took up shooting myself.
[1] This is the law in England and Wales. I think Scotland has the same laws regarding firearms, but I'm not sure. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but has different firearms laws (e.g. handguns are legal, and shotguns are not distinguished from other firearms). The Isle of Man is technically not part of the UK, and handguns are legal there (or were last time I heard). The Channel Isles are not part of the UK either, but I don't know what their arms laws are (other than that the inhabitants cannot be conscripted into the British army except to retake the country from invaders or rescue the monarch from captivity).
[2]Unless they have a barrel at least 30cm and a total length of at least 60cm. There are also exemptions for handguns used to put down animals, which I think are actually exempt from the normal firearms restrictions as well.
[3]Despite being "prohibited", these are actually legal to possess. (If you owned one before the ban, and got a firearms licence for it. They cannot now be sold, aquired, or given to anyone, even if both parties possess a suitable licence).
[4]Members of shooting clubs can buy and own ammo for use at the club without having a licence, as long as it stays at the club.
