Scottish Ministers ‘committed to eradicating gun crime’

Scotland now has some of the most robust gun licensing legislation in the world, with tougher controls to follow later in the year, according to the Scottish Government.

A spokesperson said: “Most firearms legislation is reserved and Scottish Ministers have no power to introduce mandatory insurance requirements for gun owners. We believe that current firearms legislation is complex, difficult to understand and overdue for reform and we have been pressing for full devolution of firearms powers to Scotland.

“Excellent progress has been made to tackle the scourge of crime involving firearms in Scotland, with the most recent figures showing offences in 2013-14 at the second lowest level since records began.

“There is no doubt that our police have played a significant part in getting guns off our streets, through excellent detection, education and prevention work and continuing to make Scotland’s communities safer places.

“We have also recently passed legislation which means for the first time that, as of December 31 this year, people will require a firearms certificate to own or use an air gun.”

According to Damien Green, UK Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice, there are just over 170,000 firearms licences and around 620,000 shotgun licences in Britain.

The majority are held responsibly, he said. However ownership is a privilege and public safety must be paramount.

Most firearms legislation is reserved