The
VCRA Bill and Airsoft (Shamelessly reprinted
from a forum post by Sneak)
Under the laws set out in the new
V.C.R.A
(Violent.Crime.Reduction.Act.) it is illegal for anyone to import, sell
or manufacture an R.I.F (Realistic.Immitation.Firearm) or for anyone
under the age of 18 to buy an I.F. (Immitation.Firearm) So hopefully
this will help you understand how this new law works and how you can
make use of the specific defence we as skirmishers have been granted.
R.I.F.s are anything that could be easily mistaken for a
real gun
this needn’t necessarily be a real weapon it just has to look
like a
gun and be a general gun colour. For example a Pulse rifle from the
film Aliens would be considered an R.I.F. as would a Phaser, the gun
from Starship troopers etc…
I.F.s are anything that could not easily mistaken for a real
gun.
This is where the “two tone guns that some retailers sell
come in as
they are bright Green/Red/Blue/any bright colour that a real gun would
not be. Anyone can buy an I.F. as long as they are over 18 years of
age.
Importing is pretty straight
forward; you can’t import
R.I.F.’s into the country.
Selling you cannot sell on your R.I.F.’s to anyone who is not
able to prove they are a skirmisher and over 18.
Manufacture is a bit more complicated. You cannot buy all the parts
you would need to make an R.I.F. and then put it together as you are
then manufacturing an R.I.F. you also cannot buy a “two
tone” gun and
spray it black/camo or any other realistic colour as that is also
classed as manufacturing.
The specific defence allows retailers and skirmishers to import,
sell/purchase and manufacture R.I.F.’s. if they are over the
age of 18.
To make use of the defence you as the skirmisher must be able to prove
that you are in fact a “Skirmisher” and not in fact
a collector,
criminal or chave looking to cause trouble. There are two main ways you
can do this you can become registered on the UKARA (UK
Airsoft.Retailers. Association) database, (you’ll need to do
this if
you wish to purchase R.I.F.’s on the internet) or become a
registered
member of an Airsoft site.
UKARA REGISTRY
To become eligible for registry on the UKARA database you must have
played a minimum of three games at the same site over a period of not
less than two months and not more than one year. Which for example
means you must play a minimum of one game in May one game in June and
one game in July of the same year. Not one game every other week for
six weeks as that is less than two months. There is no maximum amount
of games you can play
Once you have met these criteria you can the print out a UKARA form
available here:
Fill it in and then ask Razor or Pete to stamp it for you. You can
then send it off with your order to the internet retailer of your
choice. Or buy direct from Andy.
As Andy has an onsite shop you don’t need to be UKARA
registered to
purchase from him but to do so you need to be able to make use of the
specific defence for us in the V.C.R.A. to do this you must be a member
of our site.
SITE MEMBERSHIP
Becoming eligible for site membership is the same process and criteria
as becoming UKARA registered i.e.
You must have played a minimum of three games at the same site over
a period of not less than two months and not more than one year. Which
for example means you must play a minimum of one game in May one game
in June and one game in July of the same year. Not one game every other
week for six weeks as that is less than two months. There is no maximum
amount of games you can play
Once you have done this you can then say to Razor or Pete
“I’d like
to purchase my years membership please kind sir” at which
point they
will then take some money off you and sign you up. You can then walk up
to Andy and say “I’d like to buy myself a shiny new
gun please” which
you can now legally do without registering on the UKARA database as it
is a face to face sale in an on site shop you are a member of.
You don’t need to be registered with the UKARA to become a
site member
and you don’t need to be a site member to register with the
UKARA.
It’s important to note that the police don’t have
access to these
records so if you’re waving you R.I.F. around in public/your
own
garden/front widow being a member of a site or UKARA registered will
not stop them knocking on your door and taking all your favourite toys
away from you until you can prove that you can use the specific defence
(which most Police don’t know about by the way ). So be careful with
them and treat them with respect.
The
VCRA Bill and Airsoft
). So be careful with
them and treat them with respect.