Blackstuff wrote:
Do you have any documentation/videos of discussion of that?
Do you mean the part about them trying to circumvent the existing law?
This is from the original consultation document:
"We are also proposing to prohibit ownership of rapid firing rifles, such as the VZ 58
Manually Actuated Release System (MARS) rifle, which can currently be purchased by
anyone who has a firearms certificate authorising them to possess a centre-fire rifle in one
of the relevant calibres. While a rifle of this nature is capable of a rapid rate of fire, there is
uncertainty about whether they can or should be defined as a self-loading rifle of a kind
already prohibited under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 because a second pull of the
trigger is required to discharge a round. Nevertheless, the rate of fire is significantly
greater than a conventional bolt-action rifle and recognising the intention of the Firearms
Act to prohibit civilian ownership of semi-automatic firearms and the risk that they would
pose if they were to get into the wrong hands, we consider it appropriate to subject rifles of
this type to the controls of section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968."
But as to where the initiative originated to look at them, that was very obviously from outside the Home Office.
