Today it's far more difficult than it ever was to obtain a legal firearm. Some people are glad about this (as they believe it reduces the chance of violent crime, or injury and death due to negligence) and others believe that the government is out to undermine their ability to protect themselves.
Does your government restrict the ability to buy firearms, and if so, do you support this? (If you leave a comment, please indicate which country you're from, if you own a firearm, and try your best not to rant. This can be a fiery topic. ;) ).
Jules
Here in Germany government is quite strict about ownership of firearms – most people who one some are hunters or do shooting as a sports.
There has been a discussion about firearms after severe school shootings. All perpetrators could get the firearms from their fathers who kept them mostly legally (or they ordered it on the internet, then illegally).
Some people think the laws should be even stricter. In general I do think that a strict regulation of firearms is the safest thing. Of course one could say that you need to be able to defend yourself but I think there are other measures for this and this doesn’t outweigh the risks. Besides that, Germany is quite a safe country so the risk of being attacked/assaulted is not too high.
Paul
Post authorThanks for the feedback Jules. We don’t seem to have many school shootings, but we do have are where crime is rampant and easy access to firearms makes it so much easier for innocent people to get hurt. I do think regulation is a good thing, but at the same time realise that people who want illegal guns would probably still be able to get them. All that the regulation really does is reduce the chance of accidents and crimes of passion. Criminals will always find a way to get armed. Sadly.
Jules
Well, there aren’t many school shootings in Germany either (sounded a bit like that in my first post), but in the last 10 years there have been soom which became of course sadly prominent.
The strange thing here is: People (esp. conservatives and older politicians) discuss two things: the prohibtion or stricter regulation of firearms and the prohibition of violent computer games. It’s always the same and very frustrating for younger people who also like to play them without ever becoming violent…
Back to the original topic: You’re absolutely right, people who want to get a gun will get it somewhere – it’s the same with drugs and other illegal stuff.
It might also help if people who shoot as a sports (this has a very long tradition in Germany) lock away their guns and rifles safely so that especially children can’t reach them. Or you just leave them at the shooting range, this would be even safer.
In fact, all guys involved in shootings had fathers who did shooting sports. Should get us to think…
Paul
Post authorYeah, politicians, *sigh*.
I think the important thing is “lock away their guns and rifles safely”. This, I believe, is one of the things that legislation in South Africa mandates – firearms have to be locked away in a safe. Please (someone) correct me if I’m wrong, but I understand that if your firearm gets stolen, and if it wasn’t locked away in a safe, then you’re held liable. Not sure of the consequences, but there’s definitely an onus on citizens to lock away their firearms.