Government not planning further lowering of age limits

Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg has made it clear that the government is not, for the moment, considering further reducing the age threshold for practice shooting beyond the limits imposed in the Arms Bill.

The Bill provides that firearms licences may be given to people aged over 18. However, minors aged between 16 and 18 would be able, under supervision, to practise target shooting with airguns, long firearms and smoothbore barrels and muzzle-loading firearms on licensed ranges. Children aged between 14 and 16 will be able to practise shooting at ranges using airguns only. In all cases, minors would need the consent of their parents or guardians.

During the debate on the Bill several MPs had argued that the age limits could be further reduced in order to enable shooters to start preparing from a young age for shooting competitions. There were also calls for children to be able to practise using other weapons as well as airguns.

Dr Borg, winding up the debate, congratulated Maltese shooter William Chetcuti for his bronze medal in the Mediterranean Games but said one had to be careful where to lean, if towards safety or more liberalisation.

It would be better to start walking slowly initially and then run at a later stage.

Turning to remarks made about antique weapons, he said that it was true that a draft Bill had been prepared by the opposition. According to that draft, a weapon could only be considered as being antique if it was 100 years old and no ammunition could be kept. Now, antique weapons were those dating pre- 1946 and ammunition was also being allowed.

The MLP draft had also envisaged reducing the shooting practice age to 14.

Referring to comments by Labour MP Adrian Vassallo, who had called for relaxation of the rules, Dr Borg said it was strange that while Dr Vassallo seemed to want a curfew on everything, on this issue he did not want any control at all. One had to be careful, he said, because there had been incidents in schools abroad involving firearms and there had been incidents involving hunting shotguns, in Malta. It was easy to increase opportunities during which one could have incidents.

Dr Borg said he appreciated the comments by Nationalist MP Mario de Marco which were aimed at removing loopholes.

One very good point made by Dr de Marco was when he proposed that a firearm licence should be suspended when the holder was accused of serious crime and not just when he was convicted. Although there was the presumption of innocence it made sense to take such a precaution. Indeed, this actually already took place but Dr de Marco's proposal was not to leave this at the discretion of the police commissioner.

The minister said he was against giving weapons to persons who were victims of crime or who felt threatened, as some had suggested. He pointed out that even the police did not regularly carry weapons.

And when the police were taught how to shoot, they were also taught when not to shoot.

Dr Borg concluded that he did not exclude, however, that there could be particular circumstances when the police commissioner could award firearm licences for particular circumstances.

Earlier in the debate, Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo insisted that legislation should be such as to establish an audit trail for weapons from their importation right up to their sale. In this context, shops selling weapons should be regulated by the police and permits should be issued by the commissioner, not Mepa.

Mr Vassallo said it should be possible to buy firearms only to be used for specific purposes.

He criticised opposition speakers who had suggested that old people should be able to carry a firearm for self-defence, saying such proposals went too far.

The parliamentary secretary said Mepa should have clear policies on the issue of licences for new shooting ranges so that permits could be issued efficiently and quickly.

Joseph Cuschieri (MLP) spoke on the history of gun control in Malta and abroad. He observed that in the US the right to gun ownership was enshrined in the Constitution. In recent times a law was passed in New Zealand to allow citizens to carry firearms for self-defence and protection of property. In Germany a law was passed in 2003 on the possession of firearms. It referred to certain tests that should be done before a person was granted a licence. Once a licence was granted, a German citizen could carry a weapon even at work and would be allowed to use it for self-defence purposes. The German law was very wide and very controversial.

In Spain the laws relating to arms were currently being modified to allow a person to use a firearm for self-defence.

Switzerland was the most liberal country in Europe with regard to arms legislation.

In Malta citizens should be granted the right to protect themselves when their life was threatened, as long as such threats were proved. mr Cuschieri insisted that the State should continuously regulate the possession of firearms. For it was well known that many firearms in circulation were not legally registered.

The State should protect honest citizens against criminals. It was well known that certain citizens were killed brutally because they did not have the means whereby they could protect themselves.

Criminals were put in at advantage when citizens are unarmed. Professionals, persons who have precious items in their possession and others who had certain professional information very often were threatened by criminals because they knew that such people were unarmed.

In the future, therefore, this law should be revised. Honest citizens should have a right to protect themselves against criminals. Malta should be in line with other countries who granted the right to self-defence to its citizens.