Roycelandia
07-12-2003, 12:37
One of the things our Nation has noticed is that most Gun Control Acts seem to be aimed at banning guns or severely restricting their availability- which is understandable when referring to an AK-47 or a .50AE Desert Eagle.
However, advances in both armaments and Ballistic Protection have meant that many older firearms are not as lethal or as dangerous as they once were, yet are still banned or treated as if they were capable of causing considerably more harm than is the case.
The Empire Of Roycelandia has put forth a proposal to the effect that any Firearm manufactured prior to 1918 or not capable of firing commerically available cartridge ammunition should be classified as an antique and therefore exempt from all licensing, ownership, control, and trade restricitons.
This includes modern replicas of muzzle-loading firearms, on the simple theory that a muzzle-loading rifle can fire maybe two rounds per minute if you're really lucky, and is therefore unlikely to be the weapon of choice for either Unstable Psychopaths or Professional Hitmen, regardless of whether it was made in 1815 or 2003.
Whilst it is true that there were Machine Guns manufactured prior to 1917 (The Gatling Gun being the best known example), they aren't exactly common (When was the last time anyone robbed a bank with a Gatling Gun?), and any weapon types made prior to 1918 that are still in production or available today (ie the Winchester Model 94, SMLE, 98K, Springfield '03) are worth far more for a pre-1918 model than a modern one.
For example, a genuine 1894 vintage Winchester 94 Lever-Action Rifle is worth so much that anyone who owns one is unlikely to be firing it, and if they are, it won't be at other people/police officers/passing cars etc.
It goes without saying that if you can't get ammuntion for a gun, it can't be fired, hence the commercially available ammunition clause. A 1922 vintage Lebel might look like a modern handgun, but since they stopped making 8mm Lebel ammunition in the late 1950s it's little more than an expensive paperweight or a collector's item.
It is our opinion that most pre-1918 vintage firearms are generally held as heirlooms or collectables anyway, and they risk they pose to society is so minimal that their classification as Antique Arms and exemption from licensing, control, and trade restrictions is not only justified, but long overdue.
We urge all our fellow UN Members and Delegates to approve this proposal with the greatest haste...
However, advances in both armaments and Ballistic Protection have meant that many older firearms are not as lethal or as dangerous as they once were, yet are still banned or treated as if they were capable of causing considerably more harm than is the case.
The Empire Of Roycelandia has put forth a proposal to the effect that any Firearm manufactured prior to 1918 or not capable of firing commerically available cartridge ammunition should be classified as an antique and therefore exempt from all licensing, ownership, control, and trade restricitons.
This includes modern replicas of muzzle-loading firearms, on the simple theory that a muzzle-loading rifle can fire maybe two rounds per minute if you're really lucky, and is therefore unlikely to be the weapon of choice for either Unstable Psychopaths or Professional Hitmen, regardless of whether it was made in 1815 or 2003.
Whilst it is true that there were Machine Guns manufactured prior to 1917 (The Gatling Gun being the best known example), they aren't exactly common (When was the last time anyone robbed a bank with a Gatling Gun?), and any weapon types made prior to 1918 that are still in production or available today (ie the Winchester Model 94, SMLE, 98K, Springfield '03) are worth far more for a pre-1918 model than a modern one.
For example, a genuine 1894 vintage Winchester 94 Lever-Action Rifle is worth so much that anyone who owns one is unlikely to be firing it, and if they are, it won't be at other people/police officers/passing cars etc.
It goes without saying that if you can't get ammuntion for a gun, it can't be fired, hence the commercially available ammunition clause. A 1922 vintage Lebel might look like a modern handgun, but since they stopped making 8mm Lebel ammunition in the late 1950s it's little more than an expensive paperweight or a collector's item.
It is our opinion that most pre-1918 vintage firearms are generally held as heirlooms or collectables anyway, and they risk they pose to society is so minimal that their classification as Antique Arms and exemption from licensing, control, and trade restrictions is not only justified, but long overdue.
We urge all our fellow UN Members and Delegates to approve this proposal with the greatest haste...