The UKAPU has sent out an update regarding the last raft of legislation that came and went, now a year on how do things look?
It has now been a year since the commencement of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 and thanks to the community, lobbying, retail and trade groups, airsoft ultimately came out on top. So here are a few words from the committee members here at UKAPU.
“Here we are then! A whole year has passed since the Policing and Crime Act 2017 came into effect; the Earth is still turning and we are all still happily enjoying our wonderful sport.
As a result of the PCA 2017 – and for the first time since airsoft arrived on our shores – it now has a proper definition in law. Airsoft has been referenced in primary legislation and is no longer loitering within secondary legislation. This is rather significant for us as it affords airsoft more protection and actually shows that parliament is happy for it to continue to exist.
UKAPU committee members worked tirelessly towards ensuring that skirmishers didn’t get a bum deal. Our primary goal was to ensure that skirmishers had a voice during the discussion and consultation stages, that we weren’t stuck with a 1 Joule maximum energy limit and that airsoft didn’t get shoehorned into or tacked onto some piece of existing firearms legislation.
It goes without saying that without all the support of our members we really would have struggled. Your donations contributed towards getting committee members to Home Office consultations and meetings, creating and distributing campaign materials and promoting the issue amongst the airsoft and firearms community and press.
Unfortunately after all this hard work we still have some unanswered questions. We are still dealing with a couple of grey areas with regard to the wording and players have been contacting us on a regular basis since the commencement of the PCA, all asking how they can stay legal. The present situation is that we can’t currently give any definitive advice. Trust us when we say this is as frustrating for us as it is for you and getting this situation rectified is still an ongoing priority.
So what can we take away from all of this? Though there are still some unknowns, airsoft is arguably in a much better place both politically and legally than it was before and strengthens our position lest we face challenges in the future”
So to celebrate the first anniversary of the PCA 2017, our chairman David has procured a cake! He said he would share it if he could but, as he can’t he will eat it on behalf of the committee and our members!
Jon Hill, (UKAPU)
