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Re: NRA and the Ofebsive weapons Bill

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 9:10 am
by dromia
Pinguino wrote:The government has tabled an amendment to the Bill withdrawing the ban of high muzzle energy rifles (.50” calibre); there is however no progress on MARS / lever release.

NRA members have been instrumental in encouraging 74 MPs to sign the original amendment to stop the prohibition of .50 calibre; your support was a critical factor in persuading the government to reconsider their position.

This is not the end of the threats to law abiding shooters posed by the Bill, and we will need to keep a careful eye on proceedings as it progresses through parliament. Rallying support in the Lords to secure high muzzle energy rifles, press the case to save lever release, and ensure no new damaging amendments creep into the proposed legislation is essential.

So to all NRA members and colleagues in the shooting community – thank you! When we speak with one clear voice even our detractors are forced to listen.



Andrew Mercer

Group Chief Executive & Secretary Genera
What page in their comic is that on?

Other than reference to "rapid firing rifles" in the context of the NCA position in Mercers "Welcome" column, the only other reference I can find is a brief column in the News Reports entitled "Fifty Cals: the fight goes on" no reference to MARS/LR.

No attempt in their main communication organ to get more support for MARS/LR plight.

Re: NRA and the Ofensive weapons Bill

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 9:15 am
by IainWR
Blackstuff wrote:
The UKPSA has been working on IPSC to get the LR rifles recognised as a Division, but that process takes time and the rulebook can only be re-written annually (they have been included as a division in the forthcoming 2019 rulebook), how much sway, if any, that will have only time will tell.
Does that rule development incude MARS within its definition, do you know? One of the difficulties has been the moving goalposts as regards "rapid firing rifles"; another is that the argument is technical and requires some knowledge of the law as is to understand. As we have seen, the great majority of MPs have little or no such technical or legal knowledge (which isn't necessarily their fault - it's a very small and specialised area in the very big world that they may have to deal with). An argument based on "this is a subdivision of a competitive discipline with thousands of participants, who are law abiding citizens and whose legitimate property is no more dangerous than many hundreds of thousands of firearms of other types or millions of articles of other types and has never been used in criminal violence" is comparitively straightforward. Having a quotable ruleset from a National Governing Body makes such an argument more supportable.

Re: NRA and the Ofensive weapons Bill

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 9:34 am
by dromia
Is there such a rules set for .50 cal/high energy shooting Iain?

Re: NRA and the Ofensive weapons Bill

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:06 am
by Blackstuff
IainWR wrote:
Blackstuff wrote:
The UKPSA has been working on IPSC to get the LR rifles recognised as a Division, but that process takes time and the rulebook can only be re-written annually (they have been included as a division in the forthcoming 2019 rulebook), how much sway, if any, that will have only time will tell.
Does that rule development incude MARS within its definition, do you know? One of the difficulties has been the moving goalposts as regards "rapid firing rifles"; another is that the argument is technical and requires some knowledge of the law as is to understand. As we have seen, the great majority of MPs have little or no such technical or legal knowledge (which isn't necessarily their fault - it's a very small and specialised area in the very big world that they may have to deal with). An argument based on "this is a subdivision of a competitive discipline with thousands of participants, who are law abiding citizens and whose legitimate property is no more dangerous than many hundreds of thousands of firearms of other types or millions of articles of other types and has never been used in criminal violence" is comparitively straightforward. Having a quotable ruleset from a National Governing Body makes such an argument more supportable.
Sadly it's my understanding that IPSC have decided they 'don't like' the MARS action (trigger doing anything other than discharging the firearm) and the division will specifically exclude them (As a former LR owner and current MARS owner i'm less than impressed). The UKPSA have had a bit of a struggle to get the LR division added to be honest, IPSC still thinks of itself as primarily an institution of the handgun, and rifle and shotgun elements very much 'second-fiddle'. The LR is then a tiny division within that and almost exclusive to the UK out of the hundred or so of countries IPSC rulebooks cater for :cry:

Re: NRA and the Ofensive weapons Bill

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2018 11:20 am
by Pinguino
Dromia, It's on their website.

I know the NRA invited some MPs down to Bisley to shoot and gave them an SGC LR to try out. Also MARS manufacturer provided a letter to the committee to debunc the 'as fast as a semi-automatic' rubbish being touted. It seems though, like all other time, that the govt want to be 'seen to be doing something' and it looks like the LR and MARS will be their scalp. It also doesn't help that the opposition party are hell bent on banning everything, and let us not forget in these time of Brexit/EU uncertainty, that a montion is already tabled in the EU to ban ALL semi-automatic firearms in ALL calibers for ALL civilians. Our sport is shrinking fast. I don't own, nor want a .50Cal, but I did all I could in terms of petitions and letters to my MP to uphold the right to have one as well as the LR and MARS (I own a SGC LR in .223). So looks like I lose out this time and probably will do each time a future soddigng piece of s*** based legislation comes to pass.

Re: NRA and the Ofensive weapons Bill

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2018 11:56 am
by dromia
Thank you, I was just wondering if I'd missed something in their current comic, it is a hard read so very likely. It is not as hard a read as their web site mind.

So no reference to the MARS/lever release proposals in their current issue, this could be interpreted that they have little relish for fighting this corner.

To my mind as the .50 cal case seems to be getting some traction then they should be pulling out the stops for the MARS/Lever release proposals to get them the same levels of political support.