(This newsletter is brought to you by intrusive thoughts during a recent trip to Europe. There’s something about seeing all the cops carrying UMPs and FAMASes.)
Culturally, the US carries the fire for the world on gun rights. But most of the world’s gun owners live outside the US. What’s that like?
The answer is surprisingly mixed. Residents of gun-friendly American states have more gun rights than Europeans (with some exceptions — such as the fact that there’s a process to acquire full auto rifles in Switzerland and the Czech Republic). But if you’re a resident of a state with an assault weapons ban, in some ways you’d have more gun access in, say, France.
We can break down European gun laws by category. Let’s take them one at a time.
Permit to purchase
Every country in Europe has two things in common here:
They create a classification system that groups weapons into categories from least restricted to most restricted.
They require a permit to purchase anything that qualifies as a gun.
Re #2, items that don’t require a permit to purchase vary by country but are typically things like air rifles or antique black powder guns. Switzerland is relatively permissive on this front and says that the following items, while they must be declared to police after purchase, don’t require a permit to purchase: “manual repetition rifles for hunting, rabbit slayers, airsoft guns, blank cartridge guns, paintball guns, etc.”
The requirements to get the permit always include training and a test. Most countries also have multiple permit categories. The Czech Republic’s system of permit types is representative:
A – Firearm collection
B – Sport shooting
C – Hunting
D – Exercise of a profession
E – Self-defense
Each category requires the applicant to demonstrate that they qualify. Most countries require a sport shooting applicant to belong to a shooting club, a hunter to demonstrate some actual intent to hunt, etc. The specifics vary widely, but the application process is usually extensive, similar to New York City. Permits for the lower categories of weapons are shall-issue, though, so it’s just a matter of being willing to go through the process.
