In a call to action by the United Kingdom Airsoft Players Union (UKAPU), the Airsoft Trade Body (ATB) and United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association (UKARA), airsoft players in the UK are enjoined to write to the House of Lords to preserve the Airsoft Exception in the Policing & Crime Bill 2016 (PCB). In a development that many are wondering about, the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is the president of the Gun Trade Association (GTA), has tabled an amendment removing the exception to Airsoft from the firearms laws.

In this case, he wants to limit the airsoft to 1 joule, and that means if any airsoft gun that has a muzzle energy of over 1 joule on full auto, the owner can be subject to 5 years imprisonment. Airsoft retailers and airsoft players doing imports will be affected as all airsoft guns are imported to the UK and are usually over 1 joule and will then be downgraded to meet local laws.  At the point of Customs, any airsoft seller or airsoft player importing will be potentially violating the law if the 1 joule limit passes.

The exception for airsoft is a maximum of 2.5 joules single shot airsoft guns such as airsoft sniper rifles and 1.3 joules for airsoft guns firing at full auto. These limits were agreed upon as based on the tests conducted  by the Association of Chief Police Officers (or ACPO, now replaced by the National Police Chiefs' Council) in determining the lethality of BB guns.

The UK airsoft community is hard at work to get the exception from the 1 joule limit. What is surprising is that the person who is pushing for the removal of the airsoft exception is a president of the GTA Association and former president of the British Shooting Sports Council (BSSC). Many airsoft traders are members of the GTA so why were not they consulted before the amendment got proposed in the House of Lords?

With the proposed amendment already tabled and will be subject to a vote on the 14th of September, there is a lot work to do for airsoft players. They can go to the UKAPU “Save the Airsoft Exception” page to get all the information that they need including how to write to a member of the House of Lords to state their objections to the amendment. They can check the list to contact by visiting by Lobbying for UK Airsoft Facebook Page.

Below is the full press release and infographic in the Airsoft Exception issue:

Save the Airsoft Exception
The Gun Trade Association is attacking our hard fought exception from 1J lethality

United Kingdom: The Policing and Crime Bill is now in the House of Lords. Part of the Bill will specify a 1 Joule threshold for barrelled weapon lethality. Through hard lobbying airsoft had secured an exemption, based on forensic lab testing, of 1.3J for full auto replicas and 2.5J for semi and single shot. The Law Commission and government recognised that this exception is essential for airsoft activities to continue. Shockingly, the head of the Gun Trade Association (a member of the House of Lords) has submitted an amendment to delete the airsoft exception.

Limiting airsoft to 1 Joule (330fps on a .20) will have many severe effects on the airsoft hobby including:

• An end to airsoft snipers- airsoft sniper rifles will be legally regarded as lethal air rifles
• Will become impossible for anyone to safely import AEGs- if found to be over 1J you could face 5 years imprisonment for possessing a section 5 firearm. It will not be legal to downgrade an AEG once it has become a section 5 firearm.
• Will become illegal to own fully auto GBB and HPA airsoft replicas- if they are tested they will be tested with maximum gas power and be found to exceed 1J. Again, they will be section 5 firearms.

Some registered firearms dealers (RFDs) aim to sell airsoft replicas as air rifles. Some have speculated that this is Lord Shrewsbury’s reason for submitting the amendment, to push airsoft sales to non-airsoft specialists that hold power in the GTA.

“There's about 800 Lords and we've got till the 14th September to win over enough of them to defeat Lord Shrewsbury's anti-airsoft amendment. Nothing else in UK airsoft matters right now compared to this.

Get the word out to absolutely everyone in the airsoft community. UKARA, ATB and UKAPU are doing all they can behind the scenes. However, if we lose this vote there is no coming back from the consequences, and we cannot win the vote without all of you writing in to a Lord. Together we beat the 2016 EU attack on airsoft, we beat the VCRA together in 2006, and we can win this too.

We are in the right and the evidence supports our position. We are up against people with vast wealth and power but if we can use the voice of every single one of the 60,000 UK airsoft players, we absolutely can win, so read the infographic, visit http://www.ukapu.org.uk/saveairsoft/ and get writing.

Matt Furey-King, Chair UK Airsoft Players Union”

About UKAPU:

UKAPU is an unincorporated non-profit association formed by a dedicated group of Airsoft skirmishers to help protect and strengthen our hobby. By providing a united and official organisation that represents players, we can far more effectively engage in discussion with the government, other organisations, and the press when skirmishing comes under threat.