gizmo_2655 wrote on Oct 22
nd, 2014 at 9:23am:
Sure. Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden.
Austria - All firearms, except black powder are regulated and require licenses.
Czech Republic - "Gun ownership in the Czech Republic is regulated by gun laws adhering to the European Firearms Directive." In otherwords a license is required and types of firearm are regulated.
Finland - "The ownership and use of firearms in Finland is regulated by the country's Firearms Act of 1998. "
France - "In France, to buy a firearm, a hunting license or a shooting sport license is necessary. All semi-automatic rifles with a capacity greater than 3 rounds, all handguns and all rifles chambered in 'military' calibers, including bolt action, require permits. "
Germany - "Gun ownership in Germany is regulated by the Federal Weapons Act (German: Waffengesetz), 1972; it extends previous gun legislation. It is considered a restrictive law.[29]" In otherwords access to firearms is controlled and licenses are required.
Ireland - "Firearms generally require a firearms certificate" - access to firearms is restricted and licenses are required.
Italy - Licenses are required, the number and type of firearms which can be owned are restricted and regulated.
The Netherlands - "...gun ownership is restricted to law enforcement, hunters, and target shooters. Self-defense is not a valid reason to own guns. To obtain a hunting license one must pass a hunters safety course. To get one for target shooting, one must be a member of a shooting club for a year. People with felonies, drug addictions, and mental illnesses may not possess any firearms."
Slovakia - "Gun ownership in Slovakia is regulated principally by law 190/2003.[51] A gun license is necessary to purchase most firearms. Air guns with muzzle energy up to 15 J, gas pistols and non-repeating muzzle-loaded guns are available to anybody above 18 without permission. Fully automatic guns, sound supressors and hollow-point bullets (when used for self-defense) are forbidden."
Sweden - "Gun ownership requires license and is regulated by the weapon law (Vapenlagen 1996:67)[54] further regulations are found in weapon decree (Vapenförordningen 1996:70)[55] and FAP 551-3 - RPSFS 2009:13 "Rikspolisstyrelsens föreskrifter och allmänna råd om vapenlagstiftningen".[56]
The law doesn't ban any specific firearms or weapons, it merely states the requirements to own one. Everything from pepperspray to fully automatic machine guns are technically legal, and licenses to civilians can be given in "special" cases."
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I am unsure what definition of "unqualified" or "unregulated" you're using, Gizmo but it appears at odds to what are the actual conditions in those nations you have named.
Quote:And the US laws (or system) actually hasn't turned out all that bad. Despite all the misrepresentation used by the anti-gun lobbies.
As HB has pointed out, the US has a very high rate of gun deaths, Gizmo. Not sure what you mean by "hasn't turned out all that bad," but more Americans die from gun shots in peacetime than have died because of enemy action in both Iraq and Afghanistan combined. The total number that HB supplied - 32,163 is nearly equivalent to the number of US military wounded in Iraq in 10 years of fighting (32,223 wounded in action). No society can sustain that sort of death rate annually and there not be repercussions.
Well I should perhaps have removed 'unqualified' from your post before answering...
Because even the US doesn't have 'unqualified' gun ownership everywhere. State laws vary considerably.
However, my point remains the same. Most countries are quite ok with the concept of firearms possession for hunting and target shooting, so trying to change Olympic shooting competitions to a virtual reality system would probably be laughed at.