Licensing

Firearms

A thorough and rigorous system of licensing is necessary and those who own firearms find themselves subject to strict safety and security conditions. If your licence is under threat, our professional firearms licensing barristers can advise on the best course of action to take to protect your licence.

Those who wish to own or acquire firearms are subject to strict checks to ensure that they are a sensible, law-abiding person who can be trusted to use guns responsibly and for only legitimate purposes. The Police must be satisfied that no danger is posed to the public, and this must be backed up by the word of two referees. Once a license is obtained, strict conditions such as observing the proper hunting seasons must be abided by and adequate steps must be taken to ensure weapons are secure and cannot fall into the possession of anybody less responsible without a great deal of difficulty.

Due to the importance of ensuring that only safe pairs of hands have access to firearms, these conditions are enforced rigorously. There are regular checks to ensure that guns are being kept in an adequately secure manner, and checks into a licensee’s suitability may be repeated when applying for renewal.

It is easy to fall foul of firearms legislation even if it’s only the result of a minor one-off slip-up, and because of the strict way the license is enforced it is also easy to get caught. The consequences can be serious and can result in heavy fines or even a prison sentence.

If you are facing allegations of firearms offences or failing to properly abide by the terms of your gun license, our firearms licensing barristers can help, whether the charges are small or large. Our licensing barristers have experience in all aspects including applications, variations and changes to existing licences and hearings and appeals.

Recent cases have included:-

• Representing a defendant with extensive criminal convictions in his application for a firearms license which was granted despite appeal from the local police force.
• Representing a former police officer acquitted of serious violence and sexual offences but whose firearms licence was still taken from him.

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