Eu goes further in gun control to makes sure europeans can't defend themselves against the invaders

[NewsFeed]

At the same time Europeans are exhibiting a renewed interest in exercising their right to self-defense, the European Parliament and European Council have come to an agreement to place new restrictions on civilian access to firearms. On December 20, the European Commission and European Council confirmed that a compromise on significant changes to the European Firearms Directive was reached. The new agreement pares down the European Commission’s initial proposal to severely restrict civilian ownership of semi-automatic firearms, however, other oppressive measures remain.

As we’ve reported previously, following the November 13, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, the EU expedited plans for new gun restrictions when on November 18, 2015 the European Commission adopted plans to change the European Firearms Directive. The changes would set a new minimum gun control threshold that EU member states would be required to meet by enacting domestic legislation. Among the worst changes, the wide-ranging initial draft of the new directive threatened a broad ban semi-automatic firearms and included onerous new licensing requirements.

The initial proposal, particularly the provisions restricting civilian ownership of semi-automatic rifles, was met with significant hostility from several EU Member States. States such as Finland and Switzerland (not an EU member, but subject to certain EU legislation), that have a strong tradition of citizen participation in their national defense strategies, expressed concern about the implications that restrictions would have for their defense capabilities, or in the case of Switzerland, that the new measures could disarm veterans of their service rifles. Other member states with vibrant shooting cultures and robust firearms manufacturing, such as Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Poland, also resisted the proposed legislation’s most onerous provisions.

The most significant change between the European Parliament and European Council agreement and the initial European Commission proposal is how the directive treats semi-automatic firearms. Initially, the European Commission proposed to reclassify Category B7 firearms, which are “Semi-automatic firearms for civilian use which resemble' weapons with automatic mechanisms,” as Category A firearms, which would have made them subject to the same controls as fully-automatic firearms and prohibited them from civilian ownership. The European Commission also expressed a desire to ban magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds.

While the exact language of the European Parliament and European Council compromise has not been made public, the European Commission has released a summary of the agreement’s provisions on semi-automatic firearms. Rather than placing all Category B7 firearms into Category A, the directive will now ban the following types of semi-automatic firearms for civilian ownership:

In a press release that accompanied announcement of the agreement, the Europea

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read full article at source: http://www.nraila.org/articles/20161...arms-directive