Arms Act on target

The piece carried by The Times (April 18) on the new gun law is dangerously misleading and alarming.

I have no intention of shooting the messenger - The Times appears to have been deceived by its "informed" sources - but I will shoot down the message and every false statement and half-truth these sources fed the newspaper:

1. "... in Malta it has become far easier to buy a powerful semi-automatic pistol like the ones used in America than a shotgun for hunting" - false!

The Arms Act does not regulate hunting or the acquisition of shotguns by hunters. However, the Arms Act introduced a three-tier (club - weapons board - police) vetting system for the granting of collector and/or target shooting licences without which a person cannot even apply to purchase a firearm. Moreover, semi-automatic pistols are available to target shooters across Europe, not just America!

2. "... a 'target shooter A' licence... can be obtained in about a month" - false!

The whole process can take between three and four months. The weapons board and the police are each allowed as much as 30 days within which to assess the applicant.

3. "A person can keep up to 5,000 rounds of ammunition and a gun shop can have only 12,000 rounds in the shop" - half truth!

The 12,000 round limit is set by the Explosives Ordinance whereas the 5,000 rounds are required for the practice of shooting disciplines like IPSC in which firearms of various types and calibres are used. Moreover, it is the norm for a professional target shooter to stock up from the same batch of ammunition which gives him the best accuracy and results with his firearm(s).

4. "... a target shooter can (carry) up to three (firearms)" - half truth!

Some shooting disciplines require the use of three different firearm types. These may only be carried to and from the range by the most expeditious route and locked separately from ammunition.

5. "... there are no ranges yet where these weapons can be used" - false!

The Armed Forces of Malta are providing both the ranges and the trained range conducting officers (RCOs) where licensed target shooters can practise their sport.

6. "(The Arms Act) has scrapped the notion that antique weapons no longer need a licence - false!

Firearms manufactured prior to 1900 now fall under Schedule III and are only subject to a declaration. Schedule I and Schedule II firearms manufactured prior to 1946 or considered to be rare, artistic or historical may be kept by licensed collectors.

7. "(The Arms Act) has placed all weapons in the same basket" - false!

Firearm categories now fall under three schedules in conformity with the EU Arms Directive. The various licences are each limited to particular firearms types.

8. "One needs the same licence to keep a high-powered pistol or a harmless air weapon" - false!

The first one requires a target shooter licence A while the other requires a target shooter licence B. Applications for these two distinct licences may only be filed after the applicant attends the appropriate safety course and obtains his club's letter of recommendation.

9. "A heavy .308 calibre rifle... can be bought locally, where there is no use for them (sic)" - false!

To start with .308 is not a "heavy" calibre. Secondly, rifles of this calibre are required for use on target shooting ranges in disciplines such as IMSSU.

10. "An antique collectible weapon is now considered just like a high-powered rifle used by military service" - false!

The licences required are different and each involves a distinct procedure. Moreover, modern weapons as used by military services are in Schedule I, that is, they prohibited for sporting shooters.

11. "What use is there for such (rifles) weapons locally?" - half truth!

In the majority of European countries there exist several sports shooting disciplines in which similar firearms are used.

12. "Importing AK-47 Kalashnikovs..." - false!

The AK-47 is a post-1945 automatic firearm, which may neither be kept as a collector's item nor as a rifle for target shooting purposes.

13. "... there is nowhere one can use them (field target airguns)!" - false!

One need only join the Malta Airgun Shooting Club (MASC) to find out where.

These above deliberately misleading statements betray the sources' identity and the axes they have to grind. The last paragraph proves my point:

"A gun dealer said the way the law has been changed has made it impossible for people to buy a shotgun to keep at home 'for peace of mind'. Some people used to buy a shotgun just to have a weapon at home and used to pay only a licence just to keep it.

"Now that's been changed and one has either to get a hunting licence, with the tough hurdles there are to obtain it, or a clay pigeon shooter's licence, even though whoever bought the gun wanted to have a weapon at home for peace of mind,' the dealer said."

These informed sources first fed the media with false information that firearms are easily accessible to licensed sportsmen and then concluded by criticising the new law because it does not allow anyone to easily acquire a shotgun.

Behind the obvious contradiction lies a vested interest: They are not concerned whether the new law offers better control (which it certainly does).

The article was prompted by the unfortunate massacre in Virginia. This is hardly surprising; some sections of the media have a tendency to capitalise on similar acts by deranged persons in order to promote their anti-gun ownership agenda.

However, it is ludicrous to attempt to draw parallels between the US, where gun ownership is a constitutionally-entrenched right, and an EU country like Malta, which has a new arms law that ensures that only qualified shooters and collectors may acquire firearms.

Mr Petroni is president of the Association of Maltese Arms Collectors & Shooters (Amacs) and chairman of the Foundation for European Societies of Arms Collectors (Fesac).