Prohibited Weapons and Ammunition
| Author | Laura Saunsbury/Nick Doherty |
| Pages | 23-37 |
Chapter 2
Prohibited Weapons and Ammunition
GENERAL OVERVIEW
2.01 Let us begin by saying we would be the first to concede this is the most difficult chapter in the book to digest. (Heaven knows it was certainly the most difficult to write!) The terms ‘prohibited weapon’ and ‘prohibited ammunition’ are fundamental in the Firearms Acts. They cover a very wide range of different things and whether or not a particular firearm, other weapon or ammunition is deemed prohibited can have serious implications.
2.02 In very broad terms, ‘prohibited weapons’ are handguns and automatic weapons, while ‘prohibited ammunition’ is ammunition which is designed to explode, expand or ignite on or immediately before impact. However, it should be said this is a considerable over-simplification of a very complex area of law which even the most experienced lawyers or police officers can struggle to get to grips with. As will be seen shortly at paras 2.05 et seq and 2.12 et seq, in a vain attempt to reduce violent gun crime, there have been a number of Acts of Parliament which have each in succession extended the scope of the terms ‘prohibited weapon’ and ‘prohibited ammunition’ to include further categories of item within their definitions. We are now left with a long and unwieldy list of categories of item, each of which requires defining.
2.03 As is also discussed later at paras 2.05 et seq and 2.12 et seq, possession of prohibited weapons or prohibited ammunition without proper lawful authority is a serious criminal offence for which there can be very grave consequences. We have represented enough people who have inadvertently fallen foul of this area of law to know that you cannot be too careful about checking whether an item in your possession might potentially be classified as a prohibited firearm or ammunition. Therefore, while this does not make for easy reading, we considered it our duty to fully explore in this work the finer details of what is included in the terms ‘prohibited weapons’ and ‘prohibited ammunition’.
24 The Firearms Law Handbook
DEFINITION OF PROHIBITED WEAPONS
2.04 ‘Prohibited weapons’ are those considered by the legislature to be so dangerous that the special authority of the Home Office is needed before their possession or use becomes lawful. In the FA 1968 as originally enacted, which remains the basis of modern firearms legislation, prohibited weapons included only automatic weapons and those discharging noxious liquids and other things. The violent incidents at Hungerford in 1987 and at Dunblane in 1996 have caused Parliament to add several other types of weapon to the list. In addition, European legislation
2.05 The following is the current list of prohibited weapons using the section numbers in the FA 1968 for ease of reference:
section 5(1)(a) Any firearm which is so designed or adapted that two or more missiles can be successively discharged without repeated pressure on the trigger.
section 5(1)(ab) Any self-loading
section 5(1)(aba) Any firearm which either has a barrel less than 30cm (about
11.8 inches) long or is less than 60cm (about 23.6 inches) in length overall, other than an air weapon, a muzzle-loading gun or a firearm designed as signalling apparatus.
section 5(1)(ac) Any self-loading or pump-action smooth-bore gun which is not an air weapon or chambered for .22 rim-fire cartridges and either has a barrel less than 24 inches long
F(A)A 1988, s 25(1)).
section 5(1)(ad) Any smooth-bore revolver gun
gun.
section 5(1)(ae) Any rocket launcher, or any mortar, for projecting a stabilised missile, other than a launcher or mortar designed for line-throwing
section 5(1)(af) Any air rifle, air gun or air pistol which uses, or is designed or adapted for use with, a self-contained gas cartridge system.
section 5(1)(b) Any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for
the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other thing.
section 5(1A)(a) Any firearm which is disguised as another object.
section 5(1A)(c) Any launcher or other projecting apparatus not falling within 5(1)(ae) above which is designed to be used with any rocket or ammunition falling within 5(1A)(b), or with ammunition which would fall within that subsection, but for it being ammunition falling within subsection 5(1)(c).
The Home Office may, within limitations, add other firearms, except air weapons, to the foregoing list.
2.06 As to section 5(1)(b) above, the words ‘weapon of whatever description’ show that the weapon need not be any sort of gun or in any way resemble a gun.
A dictionary definition of a weapon is ‘a material thing designed or used or usable as an instrument for inflicting bodily harm’.
26 The Firearms Law Handbook
2.07 The word ‘noxious’, meaning ‘harmful or unwholesome’, is thought to apply to the words ‘gas’ and ‘other thing’ as well as to ‘liquid’. The words ‘other thing’ should be interpreted, it is suggested, as meaning ‘any other thing of any kind’, i.e. their meaning is not restricted to a thing which is of the same kind as liquid or gas.
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