American Rifleman by Orson O. Buck - Thursday, April 1, 2021
Shooters of the U.S. beware. Give way an inch to the anti-gun lobby, and you'll end up like the poor folk here in Great Britain. And it's not just handguns I'm talking about.
Regulations which have recently come into force have made all semi-auto rifles larger than .22 Long Rifle illegal. If you’ve got one (and each is individually licensed), you have to hand it in. After much hassle in parliament it’s been agreed you get paid for it—at the time of writing (February) just £150 ($260). It’s legalized robbery!
And now even shotguns have to be individually registered as well, although as yet, there’s no limit on the number you can have.
There’s always been a sneaky bit in United Kingdom firearms legislation, too. It forms Section 5 of the 1968 Act, and it allows the police chief of each area discretion to refuse a license. What happens if you’re getting on in years and a bit frail?
The other day, I witnessed a heartbreaking scene. The owner of a superb firearm, a sniper rifle from World War II, was virtually in tears as he hammered a bullet into the rifling at the breech end and then proceeded to fill the chamber with weld metal.
Why? His three-year license was due for renewal, and the police said he was too feeble to go hunting or paper-punching anymore. So, logically, he couldn’t have any use for it, he had to sell it if he could or surrender it to the authorities—with no compensation—and it would be destroyed. The thought of this was intolerable to the old chap, hence the welding exercise. At least that way he could hang it on the wall and dream of days gone by.
What days, too! As a Scotsman, he'd hoped to be drafted into a Scottish regÂiment, but it was not to be. Men from the draft were disÂtributed among regiments that bore no connection to their home localities. Our man, then, found himself in a light infantry unit.
More:
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2021/4/1/an-enfield-destroyed-the-impact-of-british-gun-laws/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=insider&utm_campaign=0421