Shooting community sends message to Westminster

A petition against Labour’s proposals to merge shotgun and rifle licensing smashed through 100,000 signatures in just 10 days, making it the fastest-growing shooting petition on record.

What is the petition?

Started on 11 December by Lisa Amers of GunTrader UK, the petition calls on Parliament to debate the Home Office’s proposal to align Section 2 (shotgun) with Section 1 (rifle) licensing. It reached the 100,000-signature threshold on 21 December, forcing the House of Commons Petitions Committee to consider a debate.

The petition runs separately from the Home Office’s consultation on the same proposals, which was promised by the end of last year but is now expected this month. Its aim is to demonstrate opposition before the consultation even opens.

The petition states: “Keep Section 1 firearm and Section 2 shotgun licensing separate. I think this would help to protect law-abiding owners, the shooting industry and rural communities. Policies should focus on real public safety issues without burdening responsible citizens or damaging heritage and livelihoods.”

What does the industry say?

Christopher Graffius, BASC’s public affairs director, said the response has been unprecedented. “I cannot recall, in all my years, another shooting petition that’s got anywhere close to this,” he told Gun Mart. “It demonstrates how much our community cares about the issue.”

BASC backed the petition, emailing members to encourage signatures and highlighting it to MPs. A parliamentary debate could prove crucial, likely falling after the consultation closes but before ministers make their final decision.

What is the Government’s stance?

The Government has already responded to the petition, reaffirming its commitment to consult on strengthening shotgun controls. The Home Office cited public safety as justification, pointing to the Keyham tragedy and recommendations from the coroner, the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the Scottish Affairs Committee.

However, BASC has challenged this response, arguing it demonstrates a misunderstanding of how firearms licensing operates. The organisation pointed out that the test for public safety is identical for both shotgun and rifle certificate holders.

Addressing the Government’s citation of Keyham, BASC noted that the killings occurred because the local police licensing department was a “dangerous shambles” with staff expected to learn on the job. None of the department’s failures would have been prevented by changing shotgun licensing rules, BASC said.

The association added that it remains committed to working constructively with the Government to ensure public safety, but that proposals must be evidence-led, proportionate and targeted at genuine risk. It will oppose any change that “seeks to solve the wrong problem, harms the rural economy and is not based on evidence”.