Finnish volunteer militias on the Russian frontier, boar and elk hunters and the Swiss army’s pensioner reserve won reprieve on Thursday from tighter European gun control following last year’s Islamist attacks on Paris.
At a meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels, officials accepted an array of objections and agreed to review draft plans that could have barred minors from owning firearms, restricted online weapons sales and, notably, banned private use of most semi-automatic rifles, like the Kalashnikovs used by Islamic State militants in the French capital in November.
EU and French officials, who have pushed to block loopholes, stressed that after the return to the drafting table the new regulations were still on schedule to be agreed by governments in June before sending to EU lawmakers. Diplomats and officials said the review should secure exemptions for special interests.
Source: Militias, hunters reprieved from post-Paris EU gun control | Reuters
Pro Gun groups in Europe have been battling the immense monster that is the European Union and seem to have managed a temporary victory which I hope it becomes permanent.
They are not organized or have the level of grassroot support we have over here so their work is a thing of legend. Earlier this week, a member of the European Congress/Whatever tried to introduce basically a watered-down copy of Dianne Feinstein’s 2013 AWB after promising gun groups she was all for them and their rights. So basically they lie the same over there, just in a different language and with more body hair.
To make matters worse, EU legislators are very much insulated form the voters. Here, legislators are voted into or confirmed in office by their constituents on a pretty regular basis. The Massacre of ’94 put the fear of the NRA into the Republican Party and from then until just recently one of the very few things you could count on from the Republican Party was that they wouldn’t actively support gun control bills. If I’m understanding the EU correctly, representatives are appointed to the EU by the various national assemblies; this makes it almost impossible to replace them if they offend their constituents. Sorta like impeaching and replacing a Supreme Court Justice here in America.
Actually, we had elections for members of European parliament. We could vote for a certain party, and they in turn elect people, or for a specific person to be elected. But I’m not aware of options to recall them. Basically, only repercussion for them is not getting elected next time.
If I recall correctly, I posted here a link for an online petition. I hope you signed it.
Of course I did… I am following the goings on in Facebook via the Spanish Gun Rights group.
A lot of stuff in Europe (be it at EU level or at State/Country level) is not defined by law but by regulations from unelected officials in administrative bodies.
We’re never been that much into the “let the People decide” thing here. This came from the idea that the law should set the framework and general ideal, while having experts fine tune through regulations.
Anybody with a brain could have seen where that stuff would go: having a huge bureaucracy that can roam free.
There’s still some leverage through elected representatives though but they don’t drive anything. And while in the US you can assume attitudes towards gun rights ranging from neutrality to support from Republicans, in France there’s no clear party line. Guns are mostly regarded as bad, with target shooting and hunting being the only reason one might (be allowed to) own a gun. Some “”””conservative”””” reps will try and whisper in the ears of hunters but that’s about it.
Picture the ATF drafting new laws (which are frameworks that then give them a lot of leeway) with the House and Senate rubberstamping almost everything.
It’s far from over. Talks at the European Parliament will go on with the next committee (IMCO / Internal Markets) meeting on the 15th. This will be a hearing of various stakeholders (LE, anti-gunners, hunters/gun owners).
These articles look like a way of soothing gun owners so that we let our guards down.
The European Commission (who’s pushing the changes) hasn’t backed down and France is playing the victim card (“never let a crisis go to waste!”).
Most MEPs in committees have been either skeptic or even hostile to the proposal. They were surprised by the amount of emails, phonecalls, and letters they got from constituents. Something quite unusual according to MEPs.
There’s even an assole Geen (I repeat myself) MEP who complained in committee that constituents “spammed him”. MFer.
The push is not a watered down DiFI AWB but a DiFi AWD on steroids. No more semi-auto conversions from automatic guns, no semi-auto “that resemble full auto firearms” whatever that means (there isn’t even a definition or list of evil features).
This battle is far from over and I think that in the end we’ll get some additional restrictions shoved down our throats no matter what.
Just like in the US, the fact that we can easily communicate and keep up to date over the Internet makes us a little be less helpless than in the 90s. But here in Europe we’re still only reacting to new restrictions being proposed.
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