Pump action shotguns and rifles could be banned from private homes under plans revealed today - seven months after a deadly shooting spree.
Five innocent people were shot dead in Keyham, Plymouth, last August when 22-year-old Jake Davison went on the rampage.
Police believe he used a legally-held, pump action firearm in the shooting. Davison had held a gun licence since 2018.
The local MP, Labour ’s Luke Pollard launched a bid to ban people from having pump-action shotguns in their homes.
Such weapons would be restricted to gun clubs and gun shops under his proposed legislation.
Farmers and pest controllers would be exempt.
Introducing his Firearms and Hate Crime Bill under Parliament’s Ten Minute Rule mechanism, frontbencher Mr Pollard told the Commons the incident “has devastated the proud and tight-knit communities of Keyham and Ford”, unleashing “a collective trauma”.
He said: “I never want this to happen to any other community ever again, and for that to happen we need to learn the lessons.”
The Commons heard there are 23,955 current certificates for pump action shotguns and 1,918 certificates for pump action rifles “on issue in England”.
Revealing more detail of what he dubbed “Keyham’s Law”, he told MPs “dangerous and unnecessary pump action weapons” should be stripped from owners’ homes.
“One certificate can allow you to hold many guns,” warned Mr Pollard.
“I don’t see any good reason why anyone in Britain should need a pump action weapon in their homes.”
The Bill would also mean greater mental health checks for holders of firearms certificates, extending “offences of stirring up hatred to cover hatred on the basis of sex or gender” and making misogyny an aggravating factor in sentencing for violent crimes.
In YouTube videos which were later removed, in the run-up to his murderous attack Davison claimed he had been “beaten down" and "defeated by life".
He made references to "incels" - the misogynistic online groups of "involuntary celibate" men who blame women for their sexual failings, and who have been linked to violent outbursts across the globe.
Davison’s deadly spree lasted just six minutes, during which he killed his mother Maxine Davison, 51; three-year-old Sophie Martyn and her father, Lee Martyn, 43; dog walker Stephen Washington, 59; and Kate Shepherd, 66.
Families of some of the victims were in Parliament to hear the Bill being introduced.
They later met Policing Minister Kit Malthouse in Westminster.
Keyham Neighbourhood Watch’s Laura Mervyn said: "Since August 12 our community has been left in shock.
“Guns are not toys - they should not be treated as something cool, or ordinary in any way.
"Gun laws have to move with the times.
“There should be real precautions in place to ensure people being given gun licences are properly vetted.
“Changes to gun law need to include a focus on mental wellbeing and it should be reviewed regularly.
"No other community should have to suffer because a gun slips into the wrong hands."
Mr Pollard’s Bill is due to be debated again at a later date, subject to parliamentary time being available.
He added: “I promised the community in Keyham that the law around guns must change and my Bill is the first step in our campaign to keep people safe.”
