Question to those not in the USA, and who have lived outside the USA.

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.

PerogiBoi,
@PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca avatar

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.

jbrains,

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.

XbSuper,

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.

engityra,

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.

Shadow,
@Shadow@lemmy.ca avatar

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.

Pea666,

Dutch here. Gun laws are strict. Generally, only the police and military carry guns in public. To legally own a firearm without being in either the police or the military you need to be a member of a firing range/club type of deal iirc. And even then only senior members get to take their guns home with them.

There is gun related violence but it’s less of a problem because there’s few guns and they’re harder to come by. It does seem like gun violence might be increasing but I’m unsure if that is due to a few high profile cases and extra media attention or that it’s actually getting worse.

I like it this way. I personally have never felt the need to arm myself and I’m glad it’s mostly professionals that get to carry weapons. It’s not a perfect system and weapons do end up in the hands of the wrong people but it’s the exception more than the rule really.

kennismigrant,

Several Dutch people told me that firearms are common on ships under the Dutch flag. Given the number of people owning sea-worthy vessels this might be interesting. Do you know anything about this?

Pea666,

Haven’t heard about that but I think ships sailing under a Dutch flag would be treated as Dutch territory for law purposes. Harder to enforce when you’re on the high seas though. And I’m not sure percentage-wise there’s a disproportiona number of Dutch people that own seafaring ships. Most merchant ships would be owned by companies anyway and they’d probably frown upon that stuff.

Dutch merchant ships sailing through pirate infested waters might have armed guards (navy troops, mercenaries) I guess?

I think they may be telling you tall tales.

sndrtj,

Gun-related violence is going up because all violent crime is going up. Most Dutchies still underestimate how much of an influence organized crime has become, almost all of it narcotics related.

That said, due to strict gun laws most violent crime happens with knifes, and worryingly increasingly with explosives.

Pea666,

Apparently a 6% increase in crime in 2022 it seems. I suppose violent crime would have increased as well.

As for knives and explosives, that’s bad enough for me an I’m quite content to not add more firearms to that mix as.

Sir_Fridge,

You are correct as far as I can recall what has been told to me by my friend who shoots for sport. Besides that I’d like to add that you can’t hunt wildlife unless it’s your job. And it’s only for population control of various wildlife.

Also gun owners need to keep their guns and ammo in two different safes. The police can check if you’re complying to that anytime.

To get a permit they will do a background check on you. My friend got questions about him looking up 3d models of guns online. But he was only looking for fantasy weapon replicas for cosplay reasons.

Furthermore, bullets are as illegal without a gun permit as the guns themselves.

You can only take your gun with you when you are on your way to a range or back home from a range. And not within easy reach.

Owning airsoft weapons requires a club membership to the national airsoft league.

Lastly it’s national news anytime a police officer fires their gun. It’s that rare.

6h0st_in_the_machin3,
6h0st_in_the_machin3 avatar

Portuguese here:

  • There was compulsory male military service, that would be the only place where you could "handle" military grade hardware, aka assault rifles.
  • Currently IIRC, guns are accessible if: you're a military or law enforcement agent, a hunter (rifle or shotgun) or go through a process for a fire arm license due to professional or business reasons (e.g. a goldsmith) for self-defense.
    As well hand guns are limited to "non-military" calibers... for instance 9mm is for government agents solely.

Of course there's black market and use by shady actors...

As for people's personal relationship with guns, most people doesn't care to have one as there's not much violent crime to justify said behavior.

V17,

Czechia: To get a gun for self-defense, you need to get a permit, which includes mandatory training, tests and a psychological evaluation (which, from what I've heard, is not hard to get). You need to have a clean criminal record and they check your misdemeanors too (you may not be allowed to get a permit if you've had issues with public drunkenness for example). However, after that you can not only buy a gun but also are automatically allowed to concealed carry.

There are several types of permits and getting a permit for sports or hunting is slightly easier. You need to be 21 years old to get a self-defense permit, you can get a hunting or sports permit when you're 18 or in special situations (used under supervision) when you're 15. The permits last 10 years, but you can lose them if you get a criminal record. The gun permit registry is managed by the state police, so it's easy for them to check the validity of your license if they need to do so.

Gun violence is very rare, so I'm happy with this and see no reason to change it. The people that I know who have a permit (it's quite uncommon) are very responsible with it.

There are restrictions on which weapons a civilian can buy. No automatic weapons for sure, but I think you can get some semi-automatic guns with a suppressor (cause I've heard a guy recommending one such gun with sub-sonic ammo for potential home-defense, stating "if I really have to use it, there's no reason why my family should go deaf in the process", heh).

zxqwas,

Sweden: you can apply for a licence from the police for target shooting if you’re an active member of a club, or a hunter if you have passed a hunters exam (like drivers license basically). You’ll have your criminal record checked.

Either way the gun must be suitable for the purpose. Shotguns and hunting rifles are not very hard to get. If your criminal record is clean and you’ve got the hunters exam you’ll probably be granted a licence for up to 4 hunting rifles/shotguns with the only question being if you have a large enough gun safe. You’ll get to keep them forever unless you’re convicted of a crime. (There is a debate right now if doctors should tell the police if someone is unsuitable, the argument against is that people would not go to the doctor if they suspected they could lose their guns)

Hand guns are harder to get and the license needs to be renewed every few years and you’ve got to prove that you are actively hunting/target shooting.

Magazine size for semi automatic is limited. Length of rifles and shotguns are regulated as to not be easily concealable. All firearms must be stored in a heavy safe when not used. You’re not allowed to carry it around town.

As for my opinion as a hunter it’s not excessively burdensome to get your license. The time delay has been due to under staffing rather than the laws itself. I do take issue with the “suitable for purpose” as they can arbitrarily deny you a licence because it “looks” like a military rifle.

MrAlternateTape,

Netherlands here. You can get a permit for sport shooting or hunting. Guns for self defense are not allowed.

Any violence used to catch a burglary or somebody breaking in has to be a reasonable response. So if they have no weapon and you hit them with a baseball bat you are actually in trouble. This can be very frustrating but there is a point to it. Minimal violence is the name of the game here.

Even the police are trained to talk first and only resort to violence when absolutely necessary. Drawing a weapon as a cop means filling out paperwork and there will be a review to make sure it was the right move.

However, for sport shooting you have to join a shooting club and shoot competition. The first year you can only shoot with air guns.

If you get a gun for sport shooting, you have to have a safe for the weapon, grounded to the wall and the floor. It will be inspected and police can check on you at random times.

Ammo and weapon should be separated at all times, transport can only be done in cases.

You are not allowed to load the gun until you are basically ready to shoot. If you have to shoot five times, you are not allowed to load six shots. You can have a maximum of 5 guns. Assault rifles are not legal I think. There are no competitions with them, so you have no reason to buy them.

The rules are strict. We only had one big “recent” shooting and I think it is at least 10 years ago. I like it.

Of course criminals stil have guns, but for a random guy who lost his job and want to take revenge it is neigh impossible to just buy an AK47 and shoot all his colleagues. Quite a safe feeling actually.

harlatan,

Austria: relativly strict: you have to have a reason (hunting, self defense or sport). depending on the category of weapon a mental assessment could be necessary (not in case of hunting rifles only). automatic weapons, explosives and some other weapons are not legal to own privately. you have to securely store the weapon and need an extra permission for carrying - which is nigh unobtainable, even for active police. Transportation in a locked container and unloaded.

ExLisper,

Spain/Poland: you can get a gun for sport shooting but you absolutely not allowed to carry it loaded. You can only take it to and from the shooting range but you have to unload it. You can get a gun for selfe defence but there’s police review and psychology tests. If you get it it’s mandatory to store it in a safe at home, you can’t drink when you’re carrying it, you have to carry it hidden. There are no stand your grand laws. If you shoot someone you will have to prove it was in response to direct threat to your life. Super happy with those laws.

Ruscal,

Clarification regarding carrying weapon on sport license in Poland. You are allowed to transport it loaded, but the regulation says you should not expose it, not to bring attention to it. Currently sport license is the most common license in Poland because it is the simplest to make of them all (not meaning it’s easy per se).

Cryan24,

Guns are licensed strictly for hunting only and our kids come home from school without being shot.

spez,

Very strict. Even if you HAVE connections, most of the time you’re gonna get a pistol at best. It’s easier to hire security agencies with AK47s than to get even say a shotgun. Very happy with this.

hubobes, (edited )

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.

banana_tree,
@banana_tree@lemmy.ml avatar

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

mukt,
@mukt@lemmy.ml avatar

India : guns are licensed, and licenses aren’t easy to get. Huge black market of low standard gins though.

Obi,
@Obi@sopuli.xyz avatar

Urgh I hate low standard gins, I need at least a tanqueray or a monkey 37.

Mr_nutter_butter,
@Mr_nutter_butter@lemmy.world avatar

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

CrabAndBroom,

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.

jjlinux,

In Dominican Republic the laws don’t allow anyone to carry, however, if you have enough money, you can pay your way through owning a gun and carrying legally. It’s messed up. I wish the law about guns here was like in Australia. No guns. End of story.

Woht24,

I’m Australian, live in the suburbs and have multiple firearms in my safe. There’s not many guns but there are certainly guns.

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