Obvious Omission?

I was in an outdoor pursuits shop yesterday buying some air rifle pellets. The shop sells bows, crossbows, non-FAC air rifles and pistols. A sign states they may require evidence of ID from anyone buying weapons and gives a list of examples of acceptable evidence - e.g. Passport, Driving Licence, etc. A notable omission from the list is Firearms Licence. :)

Edited because it seem a lot of poeople (probably in the US) totally missed my point.

I'm in the UK. No firearms licence is needed for air rifles with a muzzle energy less than12 ft lbf and air pistols with a muzzle energy less than 6 ft lbf. The requirement for ID is the shop's policy, it's not really a legal requirement, although anyone purchasing an air weapon must be 18 or over. I just found it amusing that they didn't think of a firearms' licence as an example of acceptable ID. They did confirm that they would accept it as proof of ID when I asked.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

ArishMell · 70-79, M

Is the clue in the name, Firearms?

Probably, the Licence was made when controls were needed only of those weapons which are fire-arms, i.e. whose propellants are the combustion gases of fast-burning fuels. So would not have covered compressed-air guns (despite the physics similarity), let alone mechanical propellants (elastic, springs, gravity).

That these other weapons need be similarly tightly controlled is another matter. I think they should be. For they are non-military weapons, not even otherwise-innocent items that might be mis-used as weapons; so have no conceivable lawful purpose outside of genuine sports-shooting on a private or club's properly-controlled range using artificial targets, as in archery.

+++

A fellow-British friend recounted to me an odd experience when visiting America with a friend some years ago, for a cavers' convention; nothing war-like at all. One of the locals invited the two men to his parents' farm, where they were shown a private arsenal of some twenty guns ("Some have lots more!", they were assured), and given a session on the farm range.

Next day my friend went to buy replacement ammunition, and some beer, in a local supermarket.

The beer? No. He could not prove his age. he'd left his passport at his hosts' home, and the sales-assistant would not accept his UK driving-licence with which he'd hired a car, because she could not understand how it shows the holder's slightly-disguised date-of-birth.

The ammunition? No problem - no ID or proof of age needed. Yet he was a foreigner, not even an American from another State!

GerOttman · 70-79, M

@ArishMell bet he could have voted too...