The Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 was the second of two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1997 that amended the regulation of firearms within the United Kingdom. The other Act was the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. It was introduced by the newly elected Labour government of Tony Blair.
[edit] Background
The act was created in response to the Snowdrop Petition following the Dunblane Massacre. The previous Conservative government had followed the recommendations of the Cullen Report on the massacre and introduced the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 that banned "high calibre" handguns, greater than .22 calibre (5.6 mm). This new (No. 2) act further banned the private ownership of all cartridge ammunition handguns, regardless of calibre.
The only handguns still allowed following the ban were:
Antique and muzzle-loading black powder guns
Guns of historic interest whose ammunition is no longer available ("Section 7.1" weapons)
Guns of historic interest with current calibres ("Section 7.3" weapons)[note 1]
Air pistols
Guns which fall outside the Home Office definition of "handguns".[note 2]
Notes
1.^ Guns of historic interest, are ones that were typically manufactured before the year 1919. Since so-called "Section 7.3" historic weapons use currently available ammunition, they must be kept at a secure designated site such as the Bisley camp, in Surrey.
2.^ Weapons not treated as "handguns". This exception allows National Smallbore Rifle Association (NSRA) "long arms" and long-barreled handguns of both small- and full-bore. Larger firearms, whose barrel length or overall firearm length exceeds that of a handgun are treated as rifles for legal purposes.
