Skip Navigation
Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
Goldmage263 @sh.itjust.works

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.

160 comments

  • I'm from Australia, and we have strict gun controls. US gun culture is a complete and utter mystery to me. I have no desire to live like that...

  • 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

  • The UK has really strict laws on firearms AFAIK, you have to either apply for a certificate from the police or surrender them even if you're an antique collector. The government website ofc does into more detail. I'm not really involved in the firearms debate, so I can't say if I want more or less. I will say there's a lot of knife crime in the UK though, enough for it to be a common occurrence on local news and a meme in online circles.

    I'm not from here, but in Svalbard, a firearm is a legal requirement due to the bears in the area, but even then the use of it should be a last-resort if all the other bear deterrents have failed. Tom Scott's got a good video on it.

    • Theres far less knife crime in the UK than gun crime OR knife crime in USA

      https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/5/16/2098275/-The-Right-likes-to-compare-US-Gun-Violence-to-UK-Knife-Violence-They-are-NOT-the-same

      • That article doesn't make a fair comparison.

        It compares murders (intentional, not legally justified killings) in the UK, to homicides (any and all killings) in the US.

      • The differences between victim survey statistics and crime reporting statistics are not easy to explain. In the US, trends in victim reporting tend to lead law enforcement statistics by a year or two, which makes one wonder whether law enforcement is padding the numbers -- either to make themselves look good (when crime is increasing according to victim reports and it would reflect badly on them if LE statistics followed suit), or to make themselves look necessary (when victim-reported crime is going down and LE statistics might make LE look redundant).

    • I’m not really involved in the firearms debate, so I can’t say if I want more or less.

      There's not really a huge debate as I think most people are fine with the current status quo.

      From my own perspective guns were more available and used more casually by criminals before the 1997 legislation in the wake of the Dunblane massacre. Afterwards it was much less of an issue. If you really wanted one you could get one I'm sure but the cost (financial and risk) has gone up making it less of an option for petty criminals. Now you usually here of gun violence between gangs.

    • Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

      Tom Scott's got a good video on it

      Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

      I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.

  • In Belgium.

    Generally you can only easily buy hunting rifles here.

    But you can buy every kind of firearm if you get the proper licenses and have them registered.

    My uncle is a gun nut. He doesn't fire them other than the required qualification renewals. He's more into them to show off and simply have them.

    His most prized guns are a Barret M82-a1 and an antique "elephant gun" chambered in .577 Express.

    He has a load of various revolvers, handguns, a couple ARs and an AK, all bought legally.

    All but the "normal caliber" hunting rifles he owns are to be either disabled (firing pin removed) or stored at a shooting range.

    Most of them are disabled and in a display case at his home. The Barret, 2 ARs and some of the handguns are at the shooting range.

    EDIT: note, there are of course different regulations when you're in a profession that requires a gun, like security.

    My answer is how it is for your regular person that just wants guns for recreation or show.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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).

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

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

  • I've lived in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.

    Europe has gun laws which are of varying severity. AFAIK some places it's relatively easy to buy a gun, some ban handguns (because they're concealable), some ban larger stuff, some you'll need to store your gun at the ammo range, some you're not allowed to have ammo in the home, varying levels of background and mental health checks too. Some places you'd have a hard time finding a gun, visit Budapest and you'll come across ads for a day out in a tank + shooting stuff with an AK.

    The main thing is that self-defense isn't really a thing and gun culture is often very low key. Outside (perhaps but not always) the police, mainly hunting and shooting at a club. Most people don't even care enough about guns, to know what the laws are where they live. Eg. plenty of guns in the UK countryside, but most British people don't know that because they're not hunters/farmers/clay pigeon shooters, and often assume they'd be harder to get a hold of than they actually are. Netherlands, Belgium and Germany also have plenty of gun shops, but most people are oblivious, because they don't really care. Might as well be a fishing shop.

    IME gun control isn't really a political issue most places. Unless there's been a (exceptionally rare) mass shooting, I honestly don't think most people even have a fully formed opinion on gun control, so they'll likely just answer they're happy with the status quo.

  • 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.

  • Canadian, not a gun owner but here's the gist: To have guns you need a license and a clean criminal record which is automatically checked so long as you are registered to use them (the PAL). If you are convicted of violent or weapon related crime, you lose privileges. The license has a 28 day mandatory waiting period. Canadian gun owners are free to fact check or clarify this for me.

    Once registered can use most long guns, shotguns as they are non-restricted for hunting and typical activities like that (of course you'll need to be registered separately to publicly conduct that activity). Restricted and prohibited weapons like handguns, semiautomatic and automatic weapons can only be possessed or acquired for people who use it as specifically necessary for their occupation, someone who does target practice as part of a registered club (restricted only), collectors knowledgeable on the series of equipment and certain exemptions for old hand-me-downs. Any time you move these categories of firearms to another location, legally you need to fill out a form and notify authorities.

    Illegal firearms often show up here after being smuggled from across the border, where they seem to give them out like candy in comparison.

  • @Goldmage263@sh.itjust.works in Europe gun ownership is largely illegal. You can get a permit but it need to be approved by the police and the gun you can buy is of limited firepower, like a pistol or something like that. You can also get hunting licenses and that is about it.

  • 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.

160 comments