EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

Article 2 of this Order amends section 21(6) of the Firearms Act 1968. Section 21 deals with the prohibition on possession of firearms by persons previously convicted of criminal offences. Section 21(6) provides for a statutory right to apply to a court for the removal of the prohibition.

The effect of the amendment is that a right to apply to a court for the removal of the statutory prohibition will be conferred in cases where the individual concerned has received a suspended sentence of a minimum of 3 months duration. This amendment is consequential upon the provision in section 110(1) of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which amends section 21 of the Firearms Act 1968 by inserting a new subsection (2C) to apply the prohibition to suspended sentences cases.