Firearms
Firearms controls in the UK are among the strictest in the world, and as a result firearms offences make up a small proportion (less than 0.2%) of recorded crime21. The law regulating the possession and acquisition of firearms in England and Wales and Scotland is contained in the Firearms Act 1968 ("1968 Act").
	Section 5 of the 1968 Act prohibits especially dangerous weapons including handguns and automatic weapons. Firearms, shotguns and rifles are licensed and held on a firearm or shotgun certificate granted by a chief officer of police. Low powered air weapons are not licensed in England and Wales unless they are of a type declared specially dangerous22 by the Firearms (Dangerous Air Weapons) Rules 1969 (SI 1969/47) or are otherwise prohibited under section 5 but there are restrictions on their sale. In Scotland, the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 provides that any air weapon capable of discharging a missile with kinetic energy above one joule23 as measured at the muzzle of the weapon is subject to certification. (Similarly, any airgun capable of a discharge with kinetic energy in excess of one joule is subject to certification in Northern Ireland.)
	Permission to possess or to purchase or acquire a firearm will be granted to an individual who is assessed by the relevant licensing authority as not posing a threat to public safety and having good reason to own the firearm. Organisations such as target shooting clubs, museums and firearms dealers must also apply for licences if they wish to possess or use firearms. Persons who have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three years or more cannot possess a firearm or ammunition (including antique firearms) at any time.
	The police are the licensing authority for firearm and shotgun certificates as well as for firearms dealers. Weapons prohibited under section 5 of the 1968 Act are authorised, in England and Wales, by the Home Office on behalf of the Secretary of State and in Scotland, by the Justice Department on behalf of the Scottish Ministers.
	While the current licensing system is robust, the current legal framework has been the subject of a number of criticisms, including loopholes being exploited by those with criminal intent and the lack of definition of key terms within the legislation.
	To remedy these, and other, shortcomings, in July 2015, the Law Commission published a consultation paper, Firearms Law: A Scoping Consultation Paper, aimed at addressing five particular deficiencies in the current law, namely:
	the failure to define "lethal";
	the failure to define "component part";
	the failure to define "antique";
	the failure to impose a legal obligation that firearms be certified as being deactivated to an approved standard; and
	the failure of the law to keep pace with technological developments in relation to whether an imitation firearm is 'readily convertible' into a live firearm.
	Sections 125 to 128 address these deficiencies.
	The Law Commission published the response to the consultation on 16 December 2015.