I’ve been thinking about something and want to check an assumption I have. I only hear directly from other people in the USA, and interract with the global community through memes. How are the gun regulations/laws different from yours in terms of strictness, and do you wish there was more or less where you live?
Not looking for a debate here, discuss cold drinks vs hot drinks instead. Appreciate either answer. ❤️
Edit: Thanks for the answers all. I’m super proud how productive eveyone kept this talk. I figured most of you had very different experiences than I. I’ll share my most recent experience. I don’t have a firearm, but have considered it after being trained enough. When sharing this with “normal” people around town, I had multiple people offer to sell or gift me a gun where the serial number was scratched off and non-traceable. I ofter heard, “oh man, yeah. You need a gun.” I have literally never needed one. The fact that people offer to give me one when I don’t have a liscence or training shows the mindset of the minority here and how much of a problem a few individuals can make to safety within the current system.
In Germany you need a certified reason for owning a gun (hunting license or participation in shooting competitions), a gun safety test, a certified gun safe and all firearms need to be registered.
Carrying a gun in public for self defense is generally not allowed.I’d say it’s a good amount of regulation. It doesn’t keep people from shooting as a hobby, I was able to fulfill all requirements even as a student, but it weeds out the extreme loners, wannabe cowboys and people looking to buy a gun spontaneously.
German here, I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a gun irl, except when used by the police or military. They are just not really a thing here. Nobody I’ve ever met owns one, nobody wants or needs one, nobody even talks about them.
There are legal ways to get a gun, but I never had to care about the details. That’s pretty amazing imo, if you consider how big of a topic and problem they are in the US.
Fellow German here, I can remember seeing a Hunter carrying a Rifle. And that was many years ago. I can rember cleary because i have never seen a rifle irl before and after that.
There are stories from a company I used to work for, where the CEO was walking through the office with a rifle. He apparently kept his hunting rifle in a gun safe in his office on days when he was planning on going hunting. And I have fired several guns at a shooting range in Hamburg. As I didn’t join the army this was my first time operating a firearm. Quite intense and interesting experience. Overall I agree with you, seeing firearms not carried by the police is such a rare experience here.
Well, we have the “no speedlimit on Autobahn” thing instead. But at least that is less harmful
I would gladly take my chances on the autobahn over the freeways in California. I feel that I’m much more likely to get killed in California by somebody texting while driving.
I feel like the nature of the autobahn makes it so drivers actually have to pay attention, but I could be wrong.
Also, the kind of cars that are popular in Europe actually drive and perform well. Our freeways are filled with pickup trucks and large SUVs, where the driver can’t see anything in a 10 foot radius around their truck, and if they have to perform a quick maneuver at top speed, it’s pretty much impossible.
Road safety here means to just be in a bigger vehicle, not to have a nimble well handling vehicle like most Europeans seem to prefer.
Apparently the number of deaths on the Autobahn is pretty average compared to other european countries, but it could still be much lower with speed limits.
In Canada you can buy hunting rifles at some Canadian Tires (think Target). You must get a PAL license and do some in-person firearms safety and training, store the rifle in a locked and certified gun locker, and can only carry it around to the range and for hunting.
It’s fairly strict on who gets a PAL (I can’t get one ever in my life because I was hospitalized for major depressive disorder when I was 18 and am 30 now).
Most people don’t care about guns here. They’re good for moose hunting and little air rifles are fun to shoot when one goes up to a cottage or something. There’s a small minority here that is very passionate about gun laws, but that same group also is usually very keen on the first and second amendment and often need to be reminded that those are American laws, not Canadian.
My dad has a gun licence (Canadian) and interestingly, he mentioned there was a place in the application where your spouse (and/or former spouse) must sign off on your application too. I can see how that might hinder a few violent exes.
I used to have a license, they called multiple friends and my employer. The RCMP does a background check and they keep doing it, if anything new pops up they can pay you a visit.
It all felt pretty reasonable to me tbh.
Another Canadian. I don’t know the gun laws well, nor do I shoot, so I judge mostly based on the consequences.
Yes, we have gun violence, but it doesn’t dominate the headlines daily. Homicides are still remarkable and mass shootings are still shocking. I suppose this means that we haven’t made guns too easy to acquire, at least relative to the wishes of our population at large.
I don’t think I need stricter controls, but I wouldn’t support looser controls. I support things as they are, largely speaking. I’m prepared to be schooled by a fellow Canadian more in the know.
What I dearly wish to avoid are the conspiracy fantasies of the government coming to take our guns as well as a retroactive insertion of the myth that our country was born in, by, and through guns. It wasn’t. As long as we avoid those two things well enough, we don’t seem to need urgent change regarding gun controls.
Everything here is correct, except the part about needing a gun safe. As long as they are stored in an area considered to be locked away from the public (e.g. your home) you’re good.
Source: am a Canadian who owns guns and stores them in my house with no safe.
Czech Republic here. I know there’s a license involved but other than that I have no clue how it works. Why should I know anything about gun regulations? It’s such a niche and unimportant thing…
I wish I could have that viewpoint. Believe me.
You shouldn’t but you also shouldn’t post about it, because as you said, you know nothing.
This is an asklemmy thread, not an askgunnuts thread. Anyone from any country can answer whatever if they so please. The USA has a weird fascination with guns. This doesn’t translate to other countries at ALL. There’s enthusiasts everywhere, sure, but way less so than on murica.
Yes it is, a thread that asked what your laws are in comparison to the US and what your opinions are, you said you don’t know anything about it and why should you.
You didn’t answer the question.
I’m not from America so not sure what you’re on about with the US.
It’s informative regardless of how much they know about their local gun laws. Not all answers need to directly answer the question.
Norway - Similar to many European countries, owning a gun requires a certifiable reason to do so, which basically means hunting or target shooting. Loads of guns here, as there’s a lot of moose and deer. Obtaining and owning a hunting rifle requires skill tests and a theoretical exam, and you need to be part of a hunting group.
ARs are banned for obvious reasons. The only exception is for people who are army reservists who are (were?) allowed to store their service weapon at home, if they have proper secure storage options available. This may have changed since I was a reservist myself, but those were the rules in 2007 at least.
Pistols are legal for target shooting, but with strict background checks and so forth. Plus you have to be part of a target shooting club. Getting a pistol is generally harder than a rifle, as a means of preventing pistols from ending up on the streets. Gun voilence happens, but it is extremely rare, and mostly tied to gangs and/or organized crime. Except from this asshole in 2011.
Carrying permit for guns is pretty much none existent. To/from hunting or shooting range.
Self defense is not a valid reason for obtaining and carrying a gun. You don’t really need it either. The only exception is Svalbard where is is possible due to polar bears. And even then, you can’t be an idiot about it; a few years ago this dumbass got permanently banned from the Svalbard territory after intentionally provoking a polar bear, then shooting it, claiming self defense.
Sweden is pretty much the same as this.
As is Denmark, but with even fewer rifles, owing to a noticeable lack of big game.
I think it’s important to mention that, like with medical products, we don’t generally get adverts for firearms. I want to say it’s illegal, but I’m not actually sure. Regardless, the lack of advertising for weapons contributes to the absence of firearms and related items in the public consciousness. You don’t really get people over here standing around talking about guns the same way they’d talk about sports cars or tools. Guns are very much a serious topic reserved for law enforcement and military matters.
Man. What I would gove to have firearm violence so far away that I don’t know the gun laws in my own country. Ty for the response.
Yeah, Sweden has a lot of hunting rifles.
Sweden also has extremely strict rules when it comes to alcohol commercials. Medicine commercials is only allowed for stuff that doesn’t require a prescription.
New Zealand
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only ever had ONE school shooting in history and it was 100 years ago
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average level of gun ownership by OECD standards
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owning guns requires a firearms licence, licence system administered by Police, who visit your house
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guns not allowed for self defence/use on people
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guns can only be transported to place of use, sale, or repair and must be secured
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restrictions on semiautomatic weapons
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police only use guns if dermed necessary
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India. Very strict gun laws. This law is enforced in the part of India that I live in. The only gunshots that I’ve heard in my life are from movies and video games. However, I did hold a gun in my hand once hehe. One of my friends’ dads had a gun license for some reason (I think he was a top level policeman or something). It was an unloaded black revolver that he was showing off to us kids lol. I remember being surprised at how much heavier it was than I thought it to be.
HOWEVER, in northern India (especially Uttar Pradesh), illegal guns are a very real thing. The law is very poorly enforced there. So yeah… There’s that.
Switzerland.
The rifle given to active members of the armed forces (militia system means this is most men basically) can either be kept at home or stored in an army facility until needed for service. It must be stored disassembled, locked, out of reach, and without ammunition. (Ammunition isn’t given anyways.) It may not be used for anything outside of armed forces’ service.
Private firearms can be bought after obtaining a permit with a background check. It can only be used on firing ranges which are almost always run by an association (syndicate? not sure about the translation, basically a shooting for fun and sports club) which provides some level of social control (no shooting alone whenever you feel like it). The firearm can only be transported from or to the firing range and otherwise not be carried. When transported it should be in a locked box in the boot of the car, not in the owners trousers or something crazy like that. Ammunition is typically provided by the organisation so no need to own any (but firearm owners can buy it.) For carrying it in general a much more difficult to get permit is needed. Conceal carry doesn’t exist afaik.
Pro-gun Americans love to use Switzerland as an example of how firearms should not be restricted in any way and mental health is the one and only culprit of mass shootings. I hope a lot of them read this.
They’re not uninformed, they’re lying.
They are fully aware that if a politician tried to introduce gun laws that were an exact copy of Switzerland’s, they would be staunchly opposed by the pro-gun community, Republicans and the gun lobby that owns them.
They just want to muddy the waters and drag out the conversation forever. The Switzerland excuse is just as bad-faith as when they blamed video games, music or too many doors.
Can you buy semiautomatic or automatic weapons there?
The service rifles have different settings, single shot, double shot, and full auto.
Other than that I think semi-automatic is allowed but not fully automatic.
I live in Oregon but grew up in Australia, where you can’t get guns. There’s a process for farmers to apply for a gun to shoot roos and whatnot, but that’s it. Other than that only police and military get guns.
Having lived in countries with no guns and all the guns, I would vote for almost anyone who promised to criminalize gun ownership here in the US. There’s no benefit to a gun flooded society and infinite misery.
I’m pretty sure Aussies can also get recreational/competition permits. I’ve seen a few Aussies on YouTube who shoot PRS.
Edit: PRS stands for Precision Rifle Shooting. Basically trying to get really tight group on far away targets mostly done with bolt action rifles with high magnification scopes.
You can, but you need to have a sensible reason to own one. “self defense” isn’t a reason, it is a fantasy.
Plenty of people have target guns and other stuff for club and sport shooting, all carefully locked up when not in use, as is the law, so accidents don’t happen.
Incidentally, we did have a school shooting in the last thirty years. In SA, I believe. No one died and they tightened the restrictions. It worked.
I’m in the UK it’s nearly impossible to get a fire arm so many back ground checks and when you do it’s only shotguns
Yeah in the UK we had a school shooting in the 90’s, then they really cracked down on gun ownership and there hasn’t been another one since.
There are still other types of shootings sometimes of course, but it’s pretty rare comparatively.
Guns are licensed strictly for hunting only and our kids come home from school without being shot.
In my country its not allowed for civilians to murder people with guns, even if they come to your house or look like another ethnicity. Cops still do it sometimes tho, but they usually use cars/boots
Switzerland: Lot of guns here, but there are background checks and every gun is accounted for as you have to send a copy of the receipt to the government. There are also other laws surrounding the whole topic like how to properly store them, how to transport guns etc.
But there are a lot of guns and basically no incidents. However the overall respect toward guns as well as strong social security probably go a long way.
Side note: I only ever once shot a gun. Went to a shooting range (friend of mine had to go there anyway for mandatory military shooting exercises), they had a range to shoot handguns. Applied, got one, did my 10 rounds and left. But there was strong supervision, one wrong move and they would take the gun away.
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India has 5.3 civilian firearms per 100 people.
That’s higher than I expected. I haven’t seen a gun outside of CISF or armed police. Is it UP skewing the numbers?
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Oh yes, I forgot about the insurgencies. That’s probably the bulk of the guns.
Live in a third world country sort of famous for its gang violence and migrant caravans, and we have strict gun laws. Used to be you could buy semi auto rifles, now unless you got a good reason (like hunting), pistols are your best hope.
Honestly, at this point I wish we had an easier time getting a hold of them. It might be the help people in some areas need to drive gangs out their neighborhoods, cus I sure as hell ain’t trusting a pig not to take a bribe.
Edit: also, might make the government think twice about fucking with democracy or stepping over the common man.
Edit: also, might make the government think twice about fucking with democracy or stepping over the common man.
That’s just a marketing campaign from gun manufacturers. If it actually worked, it would have worked in America.
Instead, they get to choose between a neoliberal and a fascist every few years (if they haven’t been disenfranchised or gerrymandered into irrelevance), which decides whose rich friends and donors get to pocket the most public funds.
I agree, in the case of america. My country doesn’t have howitzers, interceptors, or anything close to combat ready hardware. Most jarheads I see walk around with old hardware, galil, fal, m16A1 and M4, that kinda stuff, but most everything is on the older side.
An armed population here probably wouldn’t be immediately decimated by a drone strike, because we don’t have drones.
South Africa?
Nah, Honduras.
