ANPAM: The draft Legislative Decree has been published which supplements that of October 26, 2010 on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons. ANPAM satisfied with the general scheme but worried about the rule on the limitation of hits. "Of dubious legitimacy and impossible to enforce".
On 21 October, the legislative decree n. 121 containing supplementary and corrective provisions of the legislative decree 26 October 2010, n. 204, approved by the Council of Ministers on 27 September 2013. TheANPAM file in recent months it has participated, with the valid support of the representatives of Assoarmieri, ANPP, Conarmi, the Paintball Sports Authority and FITAV, in the various meetings that took place with institutions and parliamentarians to make substantial changes to the original proposal of the Ministry of the Interior. In fact, many prescriptions of dubious legitimacy and particularly restrictive for the sector have been avoided, while a contribution has been made to prepare simpler and more equitable rules.
In particular:
1. The reduction of the arms export license to one year was avoided: this would have imposed on exporters an increase that was not compatible with the timing of export operations.
2. License for the management of private polygons: the discipline has been delegated to the regulation already provided for by the last paragraph of Article 57 currently in force, which will be issued within 90 days of the approval of the decree, guaranteeing freedom of access to the market and equal rights of private law subjects already operating in the sector.
3. Paintball: the sports tools and the marker balls used have been defined and regulated, clarifying that below a certain threshold of kinetic energy these tools cannot be considered weapons.
4. Methods of custody of weapons: by removing the initial restrictive provision, the provision has been brought back to the formulation that provides for the rapid adoption of a ministerial regulation that clearly establishes the methods of detention and custody, also in consideration of the fact that the omitted custody of weapons is already criminally sanctioned.
5. Sporting weapons: the recognition of sporting weapons has been attributed to the National Test Bench, and must take place in compliance with the procedural rules established by law no. 7. In addition, the sports federations associated with CONI, as well as those affiliated, were also allowed to provide the relative opinion, guaranteeing equal rights also to associations that practice sports with weapons other than those used in the Olympic disciplines.
6. Medical certificate for detention: the prescription has been reformulated so that all gun owners who are not holders of a valid firearms permit submit a one-off, within one year from the entry into force of the provision, the certificate doctor of suitability to possess weapons, providing however that, following a warning from the administration, non-compliant persons can produce the certificate in a timely manner without negative consequences.
7. Arms broker: the need has been excluded for agents and representatives of companies to be licensed as an intermediary when they have a mandate notified to the competent police headquarters. Furthermore, the need for these subjects and the principal companies to present a report on the activities carried out was excluded.
8. Attribution to public security officers of the power to seize weapons: the nature of the power to temporarily steal weapons from those capable of abusing them has been specified and, above all, the times and procedures have been defined, to guarantee citizens interested.
9. Limitation of the number of shots: sporting weapons, antique weapons and replicas (up to 10 shots) have been excluded, but a formulation remains that will certainly create considerable difficulties for users and operators who will have to carry out the checks, and it will negatively affect the domestic market. On the subject it will be necessary to verify the legitimacy of the provision in relation to the community rules and the delegation law.
10. Certification of suitability for firearms handling: the provision was removed which provided for the need to repeat firearms handling certification every 10 years for all those who request or renew the port license, with the declared intention to regulate it later.
THEANPAM file he wishes to thank the managers of the Interior Ministry, who, following numerous meetings, have shown willingness to understand most of the observations provided by the experts in the sector and the parliamentarians involved. Special thanks also go to the Presidents of the Constitutional Affairs Commissions of the Chamber and the Senate, Hon. Sisto and Sen. Finocchiaro, who are responsible for issuing the parliamentary opinion on the draft decree, as well as the respective rapporteurs of the provision Hon. Ravetto and Sen. Migliavacca.
Finally, a heartfelt thanks goes to Sen. Cinzia Bonfrisco, who personally committed herself to create the conditions for making the necessary changes to the original text and to other parliamentarians who, on several occasions, participated in the business meetings, such as: Sen. L. Rossi, Sen. Divina, Sen. Calderoli, Sen. Candiani, Hon. Bragantini. Unfortunately, despite the considerable effort made in a very short period of time, the Interior Ministry has not fully implemented the indications of the sector and parliamentary opinions, approving an article on the limitation of blows of dubious legitimacy and impossible to enforce, due to the fact that magazines for the European discipline are excluded from weapon parts. In this way, a situation of difficulty arises for the operators of the sector and the end users, but also for the same PS bodies which are entrusted with the task of implementing it.
Furthermore, the unclear diction of article 6, probably due to the overlapping of different texts, requires the need for an urgent further regulatory intervention that definitively clarifies the transitional rules to be applied, in order to guarantee the legitimacy and certainty of the behavior of the holders, traders and producers over time. We believe that this legislative intervention should be an opportunity to adapt the decree to parliamentary opinions, and to reflect on the legitimacy of certain rules in relation to the Constitution and European law.
23.10.2013
ANPAM - National Association of Sports and Civil Weapons and Ammunition Manufacturers