Firearms United to hold Firearms Directive conference in Brussels
On November 16th, 2016, the Firearms United network will hold a conference in Brussels to discuss and evaluate the negative impact of the proposed EU gun ban on the legitimate gun market and legal gun owners
On Wednesday, November 16th, the Firearms United network will hold a key conference on the proposed amendments to the European firearms directive
The firearms directive amendment procedure has been on for almost one year now, and the danger for law-abiding gun owners and the industry is still live
While the so-called "trialogue" about the proposed restrictive amendments to the European firearms directive continues in Brussels, the European Commission doesn't seem willing to give up on its plans to ban, among other things, all Category B7 firearms and several types of magazines – as confirmed by a FAQ of the European Commission's representance in Germany published on October 15th.
The Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee (IMCO) of the European Parliament, back in late June, struck down most of the Commission's plans for what is currently known as the "EU Gun Ban"; and yet, even in their draft, some critical points remain in terms of restrictions to law-abiding gun owners and to the legitimate trade of civilian-grade firearms – restrictions that would have no positive impact whatsoever on the internal safety of the European Union and its Member States.
Firearms United will hold its conference at the doorsteps of the European Parliament – at the Paul-Henri Spaak building in Brussels
Sources from behind the closed doors of the trialogue seem to suggest that there is no political agreement yet on the matter – and as a matter of fact the vote at the EP plenary on the draft, which had been originally planned to take place on November 22nd, has been canceled from the official timetables, which would suggest an indefinite delay.
And yet, still according to the same sources, representatives of the Council of the European Union (this means, representatives of the government of the Member States at the EU) and Members of the European Parliament for anti-gun parties such as the Socialist & Democrats, the Greens and the European Lefts would still be pushing for the European Parliament to accept again some of the restrictions that had been written off at IMCO.
To counter this all-out anti-gun onslaught, the Firearms United network – one of the most vocal opponents to the EU gun ban – announced that a conference on the European firearms directive will be held in Brussels on November 16th to discuss the negative impact of the proposed restrictions on law-abiding gun owners and on the legitimate trade – a negative impact that the European Commission has so far tried hard to keep well hidden from the eyes of the public opinion, the Members of the European Parliament and the governments of the Member States.
The conference will be chaired by members of the Firearms United board and by Members of the European Parliament
And there would indeed be a lot to talk about, from the lack of the mandatory impact assessment from the proposal – which the European Commission has so far tried to find any possible excuse to avoid – to the lack of transparency in the so-called "Trialogue". Those factors would have normally already killed any other proposal for legislation; the fact that restrictions are still on the table on legally-traded and legally-owned civilian grade firearms is a clear sign of how the entire matter is driven by a political desire of the European élites to disarm their citizens, whom they do not trust.
Organized with the collaboration of the ALDE and ECR groups at the European Parliament, the conference will be held in the PHS 1A002 hall of the Paul-Henri Spaak building, the European Parliament headquarters in brussels, starting 2.00 p.m. on November 16th. Translation of all speeches will be available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Czechs. Invitations to participate have been sent to key figures of the industry, to important gunwriters Europe-wide, as well as to European politicians including MEP Vicky Ford – the main rapporteur for the dossier at IMCO – and to the representatives of the European Commission.
Given the importance of the issue, all stakeholders are warmly invited to participate
The conference is open to the public, but given the heightened security in the Brussels metropolitan area and around the European institutions' buildings, those who wish to take part to it are requested to register before the deadline of November 9th, 2016; to provide some personal data during registration; and to reach the main entrance of the building at least 45 minutes before the beginning of the event.
We at GUNSWeek.com of course hope to see this conference turn into a huge success. A full 280+ seats hall and a good crowd of people outside of it, or even outside of the building, would make a great sign for the Members of the European Parliament, for the Commission of the European Union and for the European Commission: over 100.000.000 European citizens would suffer from any restrictive amendment to the European firearms directive, and a billion Euros industry that maintains over 580.000 jobs EU-wide, most notably in small and medium enterprises, would be killed by the fruit of an anti-gun fixation, while the black market that arms murderous criminals and terrorists all throughout Europe would continue to flourish undisturbed.
Hunters, leisure shooters, competitive sport shooters, collectors, gun owners at large, industry and distribution stakeholders are all invited to Brussels for the November 16th conference!