Please sign and share a petition calling on the government to amend the Firearms Acts to allow the ownership and use of .22 calibre rimfire pistols for competitive sporting purposes in England, Wales and Scotland.
This campaign is led by Firearms UK and its petition is hosted on the government’s e-petition website. The petition exceeded 10,000 signatures on 28th March, triggering a Home Office response that was emailed to all petition signatories on 12th April. If the petition exceeds 100,000 signatures it becomes eligible for formal debate in Parliament.
Even if you have no personal interest in “.22 pistol shooting”, by signing the petition you can show your support for shooting in general and contribute to an act of solidarity which will set the scene for future challenges.
Click here to sign the petition
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Prior to the pistol ban in 1997 competitors could legally purchase, own and use .22 calibre pistols for target shooting competitions at approved clubs to Olympic level.
The petition asks that the sport of target pistol shooting be once more permitted under the existing licensing scheme, allowing a much-loved sporting discipline to flourish again.
A special dispensation has been arranged for our Commonwealth and Olympic pistol shooting teams to train in the UK and participate in the 2014 Commonwealth games in Glasgow. But this offers no avenue for new people coming into the sport. It also places serious limitations on our ability to compete at a high level in the future.
Target shooting is an all-inclusive sport, with less-able bodied, deaf and visually impaired people competing with the able bodied on an equal basis at all levels and within all disciplines.
Shooting is a major international competitive sport in which the UK has a long history of success. It is time that legislation encouraged British athletes to participate on a level field with other international teams.
