National Implementation: Norway Banning Semi-automatics!

According to rumours, now confirmed by an article [1], the Norwegian Government wants to ban semi-automatics from civilian use as a national implementation of the firearms directive. At the moment, the proposal concerns “semi-automatic rifles of the kind used by the police and the Armed Forces”, not describing whether it is all semiautomatics, or semiautomatic weapons which have been converted from automatic weapons.

(Note from the editor: We know. Semi-automatic is semi-automatic, and it does not make it more dangerous if it has once been an automatic – except in the eyes of the EU-commission.)

“The prohibition will also apply to those who have already been granted permission to own such weapons”, if true, means that the Norwegian government is flying solo here – thanks to hard lobbying done by the firearms owners and activists, the EU directive explicitly states that member states can continue the existing permits – should they choose to do so.

According to VG the bill was presented by Justice Minister Per Willy Amundsen (Frp) on Friday. Prime Minister Erna Solberg tells VG that there are weapons with large magazines and big firepower that is now going out of civilian hands. With her quote “As a hunter, you do not need more than five shots. Then there will be a small group that is allowed to acquire such weapons, and there will be elite shooters at the international level using such weapons in competition” Solberg demonstrates both lack of understanding how things work in this other reality which we all others share: you can not become “international elite shooter” unless you practice. This is not cross-country-skiing where little push from sports medicine can get you to the top.

It seems that Norway plans extending some exceptions to active athletes and collectors, but judging by several references to “22nd of July” reveal her real idealistic motives even before she blurts it out “We saw July 22 how fast you can shoot many and how difficult it is to get away when someone can shoot with 25 shots. To me, it’s an argument for why this type should not be allowed” she says.

All in all, the article does not have all the facts, at least with the accuracy anyone understanding anything about firearms would like to see, so we suggest following this topic closely.

In worst case, this spells end of IPSC in Norway, because as stated earlier, only perfect practice makes perfect.

If you are part of the firearms community in Norway and hear more, please contact Firearms United and let us know exactly what you know. Because when you put tiny shards of intel from several sources together full picture often emerges.

[1] http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/solberg-regjeringen/regjeringen-vil-forby-halvautomatiske-haandvaapen/a/24131389/

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