Quote:
Originally Posted by 1blankmind
I'm sorry. But you can't compare my country to yours. We're two very different countries with very different cultures. To say it works in Britain therefore it will work in America is denying the difference between countries.
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I'm not from Britain. And I am just saying that if you made it harder to get a gun then you make it a privileged right rather than a joke.
My example: To get a gun in my country, Sweden :
"To get a licence for a firearm in Sweden, if you are an ordinary person, you have to fulfil the following demands:
At least 6 months active membership in a pistol club. Getting a membership usually involved passing their training course. A good investment in my eyes to see if guns are something for you but can be tricky to find a spot and course costs tend to be between 100-300 USD.
You have to manage to score at least 46 points (with only 5 rounds) from 25 meters (27 yards) 3 times within a year on this target, one handed only.
You have to be able to hit a round target (30 centimeters in diameter) 6 times in 12 seconds. This has to be done three times within a year.
The the club certifies it and together with an application for a license for a cal .22 gun you have chosen it’s handed over to the police. It’ll take about 2-3 weeks until you have the license and the purchase can be made. We have also to state the make and model of the safe we keep them in. We have to reapply for new licences and redo the above every fifth year.Your first gun must be a cal.22. Six month after you purchased that one you may purchase another handgun of a calibre of your choice.
Now, the purpose for owning the guns is “target shooting” or Hunting. We are not allowed to carry them in public, only when we practise shooting, hunting and during competitions. So we can’t have our guns to defend ourselves with (but who wouldn’t if somebody broke in to your home). In a self defense situation I suppose the law would say that it’s not OK to use more violence than necessary.
To add to the fun, we have trouble getting our licences. The worst issue at the moment are our waiting periods that are anything from a few weeks to several months. I think the record I heard for a handgun was nine months when it is supposed to be handled in a few days with the law setting a month as the top limit for handling times. Oh, and of course we have to pay a fee for this.
Having to provide competition results have started to be common despite that there is no support for it in the law. Arbitrary declines are also not unheard of but more common with Hunters who may not have "military" firearms. What is a military firearm is purely up to the discretion of the licence handler. I have also heard rumours of them not being too fond of IPSC Rifle as a sport and routinely declining licenses for weapons suited for that."
Hunters here also have to take a test and be educated in animals and how to kill them.
The police have the right to take your guns if you are not to date on your licenses.
To get a license in the US, you fill out a questionnaire and they do a backround check. You have your gun the same day. Do you not see any advantage in making your system harder? Or making it harder for your police to bear a weapon? ( and they do bear them in Sweden but it takes two years or so to become a cop here rather than two months).
Can you not see any insanity in the US system?
And making a system more difficult is not a country comparison issue. We just don't want any idiot to have access to a gun so why make it easy?