The 5 Countries That Support Gun Ownership

United States

The United States by far has the strongest tradition of firearm ownership in the world. A number of gun ownership advocates consider it a birthright and an essential part of the nation’s heritage. The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world’s population, has about 35-50 percent of the world’s civilian-owned guns. As of 2009, the United States had a population of 307 million people. Based on production data from firearm manufacturers, there are roughly 300 million firearms owned by civilians in the United States as of 2010. Of these, about 100 million are handguns.

The United States, while it does have the highest rate of civilian-owned guns, is fairly low on the overall world ranking when it comes to gun homicides. The three highest ranked countries in firearm homicides per 100,000 people are Honduras, El Salvador and Jamaica, respectively.

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Supreme Court rulings, citing this amendment, have upheld the right of states to regulate firearms.

There are 10 types of people who would be rejected from owning a firearm by a background check: felons, fugitives, drug addicts, the mentally ill, illegal immigrants, some legal immigrants, people who have renounced U.S. citizenship, people under restraining orders, people convicted of domestic violence and anyone charged with a crime that could bring more than a year in prison are ineligible. It is illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison to sell or transfer any firearm or ammunition to someone while “knowing” or having “reasonable cause to believe” this person falls into one of these categories.

Yemen

Yemen’s gun culture is that firearms are not only used for self-defense, but also used in celebratory fire. Guns also had a higher demand after the 2011 uprisings and other political insecurities throughout the country. Owning a firearm in Yemen is seen in a positive light, as society views it as a symbol of manhood and leadership. Tribesmen even carry their firearms to mediate disputes between other tribal leaders.

Guns first entered Yemen through colonial trade, dating back to the Ottoman entry into Yemen in the mid-16th century. British colonization of the South of the country, and later Egyptian and Russian attempts to control—in varying degrees—parts of the country meant that foreign powers brought with them their own interests, funding and weapons. In the large rural swaths of the country, local, tribal law oftentimes holds more weight than state power.

In 1992, a law was passed with the intention of regulating the carrying of fire arms and ammunition. This law allowed for weapons to be carried in major cities, including Sana’a, as long as they were registered.

“In Yemen, no matter if you’re rich or poor, you must have guns. Even if it’s just one piece,” insists Abdul Wahab al-Ammari, a tribal sheikh from Yemen’s Ibb province who resides in Sana’a, citing self-protection as the primary driver of gun ownership. “I have maybe 14 high powered weapons, and 3 handguns [at home].”

Weapons remain a central aspect of daily life in urban and rural areas alike. Weddings and other momentous occasions are invariably punctuated by joyous outbursts of gunfire. For example, during the Arab Spring uprisings in Yemen, supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh were infamous for filling the streets with a spray of bullets whenever they received good news. But, in the end, bullets have to land somewhere. In 2011 alone, hundreds were injured or killed by celebratory gunfire.

Serbia

The estimated rate of private gun ownership in Serbia is 37.821 3 firearms per 100 people. Serbia has some of the more relaxed gun laws in Europe. Applicants for a gun owner’s license in Serbia are required to establish a genuine reason to possess a firearm, for example self-defense, hunting, target shooting, collection, and certain employment-related reasons

Weapons are regulated by “Weapons and Ammunition Law”. Rifles, shotguns and handguns are all allowed to civilians. Handgun ownership is allowed, but the licensing is strict. Concealed carry permits are available to approved handgun owners, but are extremely hard to obtain – one has to prove to the police that his or her life is in imminent danger, and even then, a license is far from guaranteed.

In essence, people over 18 are allowed to own guns, but must be issued a permit. People with a criminal history, mental disorders, history of alcohol and illegal substance abuse, cannot be issued a permit. There is a thorough background check prior to license approval. Police have the last word on the matter, and there is no court appeal possible. When at home, the guns must be kept in a “safe place”, and owner irresponsibility could lead to gun confiscation by police.

Fully automatic weapons and non-lethal self-defense devices are prohibited. Number of guns that may be owned is not limited. Every gun transaction is recorded by police. There is no rifle caliber restriction (Must be smaller than .50BMG, however). Rifle and handgun ammunition is severely restricted; there is a 60 round limit per rifle, per year, except rounds shot at ranges. Shotgun ammo is unrestricted and shell reloading is allowed, but rifle and handgun ammo reloading is not. There is growing pressure, especially from sport shooters associations, to change the law in this regard.

Switzerland

Switzerland trails behind only the U.S, Yemen and Serbia in the number of guns per capita; between 2.3 million and 4.5 million military and private firearms are estimated to be in circulation in a country of only 8 million people.

The Swiss are very serious not only about their right to own weapons but also to carry them around in public. Because of this general acceptance and even pride in gun ownership, nobody bats an eye at the sight of a civilian riding a bus, bike or motorcycle to the shooting range, with a rifle slung across the shoulder.

In order to purchase most weapons, the purchaser must obtain a weapon acquisition permit. Swiss citizens and foreigners with a C permit over the age of 18 who are not psychiatrically disqualified nor identified as posing security problems, and who have a clean criminal record can request such a permit. Foreigners with the following citizenship are explicitly excluded from the right to possess weapons: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Algeria and Albania. The following information must be provided to the cantonal weapon bureau together with the weapon application form: valid official identification or passport copy, residence address, criminal record copy not older than 3 months.

To carry a loaded firearm in public or outdoors (and for an individual who is a member of the military carrying a firearm other than his Army-issue personal weapons off-duty), a person must have a gun carrying permit, which in most cases is issued only to private citizens working in occupations such as security. It is, however, quite common to see a person serving military service to be en route with his rifle, albeit unloaded. The issue of such exceptional permits are extremely selective.

There are three conditions in Switzerland for carrying a firearm. These conditions include the following: fulfilling the conditions for a buying permit, stating plausibly the need to carry firearms to protect oneself, other people, or real property from a specified danger, passing an examination proving both weapon handling skills and knowledge regarding lawful use of the weapon.

Finland

Finns have the fourth most firearms in the world per capita totaling 1.62 million registered privately owned firearms and 10,000–20,000 unregistered firearms. Gun related homicides are rare, comprising 14% of the total number of homicides, which is comparatively low. Guns and other weapons are tightly regulated. One must separately apply for a gun license, which cannot be issued for “self-defense reasons”. Even other weapons, such as pepper sprays, are regulated.

According to the Finnish government, the country has 1.6 million registered weapons and 650,000 people with firearm permits. That means about 12 percent of the population owns a weapon of some kind. More than half the permits are for hunting, which is usually done with rifles and shotguns. The rest of the permits are for target practice, which can involve handguns.

When applying for a license to purchase a firearm, the applicant must fill in a form with information such as the type and mode of operation of firearm, and the intended purpose of use (although one can use any firearm for any legal purpose regardless of the original application, e.g. a range gun for hunting or vice versa). According to the law, the firearm must be appropriate for the stated purpose, but evaluating this is largely left to the discretion of the police. Valid reasons for obtaining a firearms license include hunting, sports and hobby, work, film and theater, museum or collection, memento, signaling, and proxy ownership.

The application process includes a check of criminal records, the police interviewing the applicant and in some cases a computer-based personality test or a medical health certificate. Any significant history with violence or other crime, substance abuse or mental health issues will cause the application to be rejected. Membership in a hunting or shooting club or other appropriate organization is considered a positive, though membership cannot be legally required as the Constitution of Finland guarantees freedom of association.

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