Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997
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| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act to extend the class of prohibited weapons under the Firearms Act 1968 to include small-calibre pistols. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1997 c. 64 |
| Introduced by | Jack Straw[1] (Commons) |
| Territorial extent | [b] |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 27 November 1997 |
| Commencement |
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| Other legislation | |
| Relates to | |
Status: Current legislation | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 (c. 64) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was the second of two acts from 1997 that amended the regulation of firearms within Great Britain. It was introduced by the newly elected Labour government of Tony Blair. The first act was the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997.
The act was created in response to the Snowdrop Petition following the Dunblane Massacre. The previous Conservative government had exceeded the recommendations of the Cullen Report and introduced the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 that banned "high calibre" handguns, greater than .22 calibre (5.6 mm). This new (No. 2) Act further prohibited the private possession of all cartridge handguns, regardless of calibre.
The only handguns still allowed following the ban were:
- Antique and muzzle-loading black-powder guns
- Firearms of historic interest whose ammunition is no longer available ("Section 7.1" firearms)
- Firearms of historic interest with current calibres ("Section 7.3" firearms)[note 1]
- Air pistols[note 2]
- Firearms which fall outside the Home Office definition of "small firearms".[note 3]
- Pistols used by hunters for humane dispatch
The Act does not extend to Northern Ireland, where firearms regulations differ in part due to the Troubles. Northern Ireland law still allows handguns to be owned for target shooting and/or as part of a collection, just as the law in Great Britain did prior to 1997. It also allows pistols for use as personal protection weapons, mainly by retired police or prison officers, but also prominent figures who were considered at risk, while self-defence ceased to be good reason for owning firearms in the rest of the UK in the 1960s. The Act also does not extend to Crown Dependencies such as the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, where handguns are still used in target sports.
