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  • UKARA: Advice needed

    Hi guys,
    I'm new to airsoft and I'm not sure about getting UKARA. Do I have to get a piece of paper and my site and parents have sign it or is it done online or what?
    Cheers.

  • #2
    Re: UKARA: Advice needed

    Once you have played three games in more than two months, you can go to the UKARA website and complete an online form, which your site will then validate. You have to be 18 or over to do this.

    Some sites might still be using paper forms at the moment. In this case, once you have completed the games, you complete the form, the site stamp it and give/send it to you and you then send or give it to your retailer of choice.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: UKARA: Advice needed

      Thanks, I'm under eighteen and my friend is currently in the process of getting his UKARA and he says that his parents have to sign said form

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: UKARA: Advice needed

        Originally posted by Banthony View Post
        Thanks, I'm under eighteen and my friend is currently in the process of getting his UKARA and he says that his parents have to sign said form
        UKARA is over 18s only. There is no Parents signature space even on the form.

        Even with UKARA being under 18 you wouldn't be able to purchase a RIF.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: UKARA: Advice needed

          Either you or your friend, or both, is seriously misinformed.

          You cannot register with UKARA until you are 18; there is no form that can be signed by parents.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: UKARA: Advice needed

            Colin and Drifter are both correct. To purchase an RIF (replica imitation firearm) from a retailer, you need to:

            *Be age 18, or above.
            *Have a valid defence to prove you're using said gun for intended purposes (i.e.: using an airsoft gun to play airsoft). This most commonly comes in the form of UKARA; a database/association created by retailers, airsoft site owners and players that is recognized by the government & police, and accepted as valid defence. This is how realistic imitation firearms are allowed to be sold without being two-toned. There are however other defences which can be used, but they're far less commonplace than UKARA.


            The above however only applies to retailers. At any age less than 18, you can only rent guns or be 'gifted' one by someone you know. Anyone who attempts to sell you one without checking that you're 18+ would be committing an offence themselves, one that could land them in serious shiznickel if you catch my drift.

            I personally would strongly suggest that you play until you come of age, or if you absolutely must buy one then be sensible about it. Have a family member get UKARA registered by airsofting with you a few times, then have them buy the gun and borrow it to you for games. There is no law against owning one at any age, but purchasing them is a different story.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: UKARA: Advice needed

              That's not exactly true.... But what with the law only being 10 years old why would people be familiar with it.

              The retailer part is wrong.

              The defence of the buyer / due diligence of the seller applies to ALL sales. In all instances you must be over 18 to purchase.

              It doesn't mater if purchased from a retailer or private seller, you must meet / check your buyer meets the criteria laid down in section 37 of the VCRA.

              You not need ever have a UKARA registration in your whole airsofting life. It is but one method of proving defence.
              Away from UK until June / July. Happy to still buy but sales will be harder due to not being home.

              Wanted:
              VFC 416c, 416d, 417 GBBR
              VFC 416c, 416d AEG
              HERA arms Glock chassis

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: UKARA: Advice needed

                Originally posted by Bryan Mills View Post
                That's not exactly true.... But what with the law only being 10 years old why would people be familiar with it.

                The retailer part is wrong.

                UKARA was formed as a response to the drafting of the Violent Crime Reduction Bill in 2006 which later became an Act of Parliament.

                UKARA is an association of UK Airsoft Retailers brought together to protect themselves from prosecution and enable a safe method of selling Realistic Imitation Firearms ( RiF's ) to the largest of the permitted purchaser groups in the UK, Airsoft Players.
                How is this wrong? I'm relating the official description of what UKARA is to buying RIF's, which is what the OP asked about.

                The defence of the buyer / due diligence of the seller applies to ALL sales. In all instances you must be over 18 to purchase.

                Indeed.

                It doesn't mater if purchased from a retailer or private seller, you must meet / check your buyer meets the criteria laid down in section 37 of the VCRA.
                36 - Manufacture, import and sale of realistic imitation firearms

                (1)A person is guilty of an offence if—

                (a)he manufactures a realistic imitation firearm;

                (b)he modifies an imitation firearm so that it becomes a realistic imitation firearm;

                (c)he sells a realistic imitation firearm; or

                (d)he brings a realistic imitation firearm into Great Britain or causes one to be brought into Great Britain.

                37 - Specific defences applying to the offence under s. 36

                (1)It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 36 in respect of any conduct to show that the conduct was for the purpose only of making the imitation firearm in question available for one or more of the purposes specified in subsection (2).
                Yes, as stated in this paragraph. Goes on to say the same things I mentioned in my previous post about specific defences in this section.

                You not need ever have a UKARA registration in your whole airsofting life. It is but one method of proving defence.
                Sorry buddy, don't mean to argue specifics with you but we're probably better off being detailed

                If you go ahead and read section 40, it details specifically about supplying minors. 'Supplying' gets a bit hazy here. Yes, giving one to someone under 18 for them to own is almost the same as selling it, but for a parent who owns and borrows it to their kid and supervises them at a game? That's what I meant 'rent guns or be gifted one'. I don't think that's really supplying per se, and as I suggested it would be best for the person to have someone 18+ with a defence borrow it to them for games.

                Say perhaps before the VCRA, someone younger owned an RIF. At that time I wasn't very specific about knowledgeable on guns in general, but I don't really remember there being a law stating you had to be 18 to buy them. Like you remember back when cheap springers used to be sold on market stalls? Now let's say that they still had that gun when the VCRA came into effect. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see any specific statement about owning one, only the act of giving one/selling. And that's exactly the point I wanna make in my posts; it's a bit of a loophole. We could sit here and go on about technicalities but I think we're both right, so I guess we should consider the OP's question answered

                Sources: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38, http://www.ukara.org.uk/aboutus.php
                Last edited by Kodiak; 19 July, 2016, 01:51.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: UKARA: Advice needed

                  Originally posted by Kodiak View Post
                  Sorry buddy, don't mean to argue specifics with you but we're probably better off being detailed
                  As should you...

                  You state "Be age 18, or above."

                  and then say "The above however only applies to retailers"

                  We both know you need to be over 18 to purchase whether from a retailer or not, so I can see where someone would get confused, which is why, I believe, Bryan corrected you.
                  Originally posted by Nun-Chuck
                  I'm down every games day at EAG buddy just give me a shout and I'll whip it out, can have a squeeze too if you like.
                  Originally posted by deanfirst
                  why not use zeroone's escort service?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: UKARA: Advice needed

                    Aye, indeed, though I never specifically said "this doesn't apply to private sales" Either way like I said, no point in arguing technicalities/formalities; I'm sure everyone understood and that's the only important bit Maybe a little poor wording on my part, I admit. Pain in the arse trying to type blocky paragraphs on a phone and keep zooming out to remember what you just typed lol.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: UKARA: Advice needed

                      Lol.......

                      The description of UKARA is not the law.

                      The law, as you correctly pointed out, is the VCRA and all defences are defined in section 37.

                      Please, I urge you, show me where under Section 37 it mentions UKARA.

                      You need to check for a valid defence in ALL sales of RIFs. It is not retailer specific. It is an offence to supply to to somebody without the appropriate defence. Nowhere does it say that retailers only need check defence.

                      If UKARA stopped existing tomorrow, we could all carry on playing Airsoft. We could all carry on buying RIFS (assuming we are over 18 and can prove to the seller that the RIF is intended for one of the defences as detailed in section 37, such as "permitted activities" which is where Airsoft falls.

                      Airsoft does not actually have its own defence like re-enactors do. Airsoft comes under the blanked of permitted activities as decided by the Home Secretary. The Home Secretary can remove Airsoft from that list of permitted activities on a whim. Now if the defence of Airsoft is not legally sound I can assure you a data base set up to make retailers lives that little bit easier has absolutely no legal standing whatsoever other than proving somebody shows due diligence in making checks prior to a sale.

                      I can also show the same due diligence by checking your Facebook page, seeing if we have mutual friends in the game, calling your local site or getting somebody we both know to vouch for you. The defence is its intended purpose will be for airsofting. All UKARA is is a big vouching system on the computer. Nothing more, nothing less.

                      Now the specifics are you state that the defences you mentioned are when buying purely from a retailer. You even went so far as to bold the word retailer.

                      You are wrong.

                      Those very same checks are for ALL sales. Me to you, you to me. Retailer to customer. Customer to retailer...... In ANY instance where a RIF changes hands for money those checks for defence need to be made.

                      Now if I walk into my local shop, they don't ask for my UKARA. I have used the same retailer for far longer than some of the people on this forum have even been alive. They know I play. They know the intended use. Their due diligence is seeing me gaming week in, week out.

                      You as the seller need to be satisfied the defence is met......... Not just retailers.
                      Away from UK until June / July. Happy to still buy but sales will be harder due to not being home.

                      Wanted:
                      VFC 416c, 416d, 417 GBBR
                      VFC 416c, 416d AEG
                      HERA arms Glock chassis

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: UKARA: Advice needed

                        Never assume anything, especially when it comes to airsofters!
                        Originally posted by Nun-Chuck
                        I'm down every games day at EAG buddy just give me a shout and I'll whip it out, can have a squeeze too if you like.
                        Originally posted by deanfirst
                        why not use zeroone's escort service?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: UKARA: Advice needed

                          Section 37 doesn't mention UKARA, and the quote I posted was an official description of what it is (which you said I was wrong about for some reason). UKARA is a defence for skirmishers, that's all. Not legally binding as such. I said nothing about the UKARA scheme being 'law', I simply took an extract off their page to show you their official description of themselves, seeing as you claimed my description of UKARA was wrong.

                          Never said you shouldn't check who you're selling to, but the OP asked about RETAILERS. I was talking about retailers, and then afterwards I was talking how things blur when it comes to "gifting/borrowing" guns.

                          The rest of your post is founded off your misunderstanding of mine, so lets not carry on

                          Comment

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