A little thick??

newby.204

Sorry but can the more legally savvy please answer this question in light of the new legislation?

Can you or can you not import a firearm as an individual into this country?

rrpc

newby.204 wrote: »

Sorry but can the more legally savvy please answer this question in light of the new legislation?

Can you or can you not import a firearm as an individual into this country?

If by import you mean purchase and ship in a firearm from another country then the new law as enacted says you can't.

However we don't know what sections of the new act are commenced yet, so the answer for the moment is maybe.

We should know by the end of next week for definite. Probably before then.

meathstevie

Which would make me think the new law could be dodgy because it creates a defacto monopoly for some distributors. What Ireland defacto is doing is what the EU has allowed for a long time for car manufactorers and their distribution network. It exempted the car industry from normal competion rules on an EU-wide basis.

The big difference was that this was an agreed decission between all member states. What Ireland is doing is imposing such an exemption on it's own for it's territory.

The government will argue that it's a security issue and it's intended to legislate for the illegal importation of weapons. And there we are again at square one : if you don't have a licence it's an illegal weapon and whether it's an airrifle or a rocketlauncher is immaterial. No licence = crime and has been since 1925. So why the need for this new legislation ?

What do you think would happen if tomorrow a bill was voted saying that all groceries to be consumed in the RoI have to be bought within the jurisdiction ? Sainsbury's legal team would be in Straatsburg the day after tomorrow getting the government to eat humblepie in the European courts.

rrpc

meathstevie wrote: »

The big difference was that this was an agreed decission between all member states. What Ireland is doing is imposing such an exemption on it's own for it's territory.

There's an amendment to the EU weapons directive coming down the line that effectively bans 'distance' transactions involving firearms. What this means is that you can't buy firearms over the internet. Now because we're an island, the alternatives aren't as handy as for someone in say Switzerland who can drive into any of five different countries and back again in a day. We've fudged a bit more in that we've banned all personal imports, but by the time we've been told that it's not quite in keeping with the spirit of the directive :rolleyes: (if ever), it'll be too late.

There's a lot more regulation coming into this area in Europe anyway. The shipping of firearms is being specialised and so the costs of importing are going to get a lot higher. Probably too high to make it worth your while any more.

meathshooter

In the process of importing a rifle at the moment I had to go trough a rfd to do it as super will not issue article 7 so I had to get an rfd to get the import from doj on my behalf for a small fee of course. no imports on cat B firearms at the moment

Sparks

rrpc wrote: »

There's an amendment to the EU weapons directive coming down the line that effectively bans 'distance' transactions involving firearms. What this means is that you can't buy firearms over the internet.

What it was supposed to mean however, is that you can't buy illegally manufactured military firearms and ship them around the place to get around end-user licences and UN embargos and so forth. We've gone over this on the Misc.Bill thread - the EU directive wasn't in any way intended for the average ordinary shooter, it was aimed at chaps who get Nicholas Cage movies made about them.

As to our importation legislation, I'm still not convinced we don't have a problem here. If I buy something from egun.de or frankonia and go out there and fly home with it, it's supposed to be importing? But legally, in terms of what licences and so forth that I have, it is precisely the same thing as coming home from bisley with my rifle after a match. There's no way for the guy on the customs desk in Dublin Airport to know which of the two I'm doing.

And unlike with the original section 17, I now can't even apply to the DoJ for an import licence, because they're explicitly for firearms dealers only (both the continuing and occasional licences) and they've already upped the standard for firearms dealership licences to eliminate the "hobbyist dealer" (the lad who gets a dealers licence to ship in a crate of shotgun shells rather than a few boxes), so I can't even comply with the new section 17 through a back door.

The whole thing is a mess, and I really don't want to be the one standing there when it all hits the fan.


And sites like eGun.de are going to be worth our while, even if the couriering fees rise; because the second-hand market in Ireland has no clearing house and is tiny to begin with anyway, so if you want a second-hand firearm for (for example) an entry-level target pistol, then you're going to have to go to places like eGun.

meathstevie

Folks, I don't want to be dropping boards.ie in hot water. Sparks if you think the temperature is a bit too high for sensitive toes please delete.

As far as I can see the biggest indirect benefactor of the non-importation aspect of the amandements to the relevant legislation in my opinion is a company smack bang in the minister's constituency.