Why? Why should owning a firearm be a right and not a privelege?
It's a privelege here. To own a firearm, you need to be able to explain why you need it, and you need to be able to show you have somewhere to shoot it safely. Vermin control, hunting and sports are all legitimate reasons. Self defense is specifically excluded as a reason. You need to be 'of good character' - so, not a criminal. And finally, you need to have somewhere to store it, like a gun safe or similar so if your house does get broken into, the thief can't rob it or your ammunition.
What this means is, to purchase a firearm you need the following:
You need to own land, or have two people willing to sign a form saying it's OK to shoot on their land.
OR you need to be a member of a gun club.
You have to apply for a license and go through a couple of hoops.
In practice, what this does is restrict firearms to people who either have a genuine need, or a genuine interest. The fact that you normally need permission from two people to shoot, or club membership, acts as a sort of community policing. The "Mall-Ninja" sorts tend to find themselves without individuals willing to sign on the dotted line, while if you are any form of enthusiast you'll usually get support from other firearm owners.
Also. Just because you are not allowed to own a firearm exclusively for self defense, does not prohibit you from from using it in self defense. If there's a burglar in your home, you're well within your rights to paint your walls with his face. You can shoot 'em if they're on your land and Running Away if they've been harassing you (Yes, this actually happened and was a major case). The storage requirements mean it takes time to get the weapon ready. It must be loaded. Even a few minutes taken to assemble and load is the difference between a tragedy and a second though.
The net effect, therefore, is that anyone who needs or has a genuine interest in firearms can get one. It doesn't stop criminals.
It does filter out the toxic ones.
It's a privelege here. To own a firearm, you need to be able to explain why you need it, and you need to be able to show you have somewhere to shoot it safely. Vermin control, hunting and sports are all legitimate reasons. Self defense is specifically excluded as a reason. You need to be 'of good character' - so, not a criminal. And finally, you need to have somewhere to store it, like a gun safe or similar so if your house does get broken into, the thief can't rob it or your ammunition.
What this means is, to purchase a firearm you need the following:
You need to own land, or have two people willing to sign a form saying it's OK to shoot on their land.
OR you need to be a member of a gun club.
You have to apply for a license and go through a couple of hoops.
In practice, what this does is restrict firearms to people who either have a genuine need, or a genuine interest. The fact that you normally need permission from two people to shoot, or club membership, acts as a sort of community policing. The "Mall-Ninja" sorts tend to find themselves without individuals willing to sign on the dotted line, while if you are any form of enthusiast you'll usually get support from other firearm owners.
Also. Just because you are not allowed to own a firearm exclusively for self defense, does not prohibit you from from using it in self defense. If there's a burglar in your home, you're well within your rights to paint your walls with his face. You can shoot 'em if they're on your land and Running Away if they've been harassing you (Yes, this actually happened and was a major case). The storage requirements mean it takes time to get the weapon ready. It must be loaded. Even a few minutes taken to assemble and load is the difference between a tragedy and a second though.
The net effect, therefore, is that anyone who needs or has a genuine interest in firearms can get one. It doesn't stop criminals.
It does filter out the toxic ones.
I love the smell of rotaries in the morning. You know one time, I got to work early, before the rush hour. I walked through the empty carpark, I didn't see one bloody Prius or Golf. And that smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole carpark, smelled like.... ....speed.
One day they're going to ban them.