Don't Shoot!
Guns are a touchy subject these days. Especially in the U.S. But not in Spain. Here, most people think the Americans have gone crazy about firearms, seeing monsters under the bed they need to protect themselves from with the most deadly weapon available. Spaniards do not understand why a normal person with a normal life would think he needs to own an automatic rifle to defend himself. Does that person live in the middle of a combat zone? Or is he creating one?
Guns are not forbidden in Spain. Anyone eighteen years or older can apply for a gun permit. But there are caveats. Firearms are divided into seven categories, from short firearms and long firearms with rifled barrels in categories one and two, to crossbows, bows, blank firing guns, and flare guns in category seven. And that passes through hunting rifles, compressed air rifles, machetes, and antique firearms that can still fire. An applicant is required to prove a necessity for the firearm, from personal defense to hunting. That means you can't just show up and say, "I want a gun so I can feel safe walking the streets at night." That does not prove necessity. Apart from the proof, the applicant has to pass a psychophysical aptitude test at a designated medical center (a cousin with a vague medical-related degree doesn't cut it), a background check that includes checking any incidence of domestic violence, and has to undergo theoretical and practical training with the gun he intends to buy to make sure he knows how to use it and how the law applies to him. Then there are nine types of firearms licences. The only people allowed to apply for permit A (the all-inclusive one) are people who belong to the armed forces, police, or civil guard. All permits have to be renewed at least every five years, sometimes every two years. Exhausting? It should be, and is intended to weed out the nut cases.
While gun ownership is allowed, the ownership of war material is not. The most you can have at home is a semi-automatic weapon. No one is allowed to have at home any weapons designated for war use, which includes fully automatic weapons, armor-piercing bullets, expanding bullets, or incendiary ammunition. So, no AK-47 for Junior this Christmas. And the guns people have at home must be kept in a safe, to which only the owner has access. Just to make sure that a six-year-old won't pick up a gun lying around and shoot granny. This makes the homicides by guns go down. Yes, there are accidents, mostly hunting accidents and accidents by idiots, whose gun and permit are then taken away. But, in 2011 in Spain there were about 10.4 legal guns for every 100 people, making it the 61st country in civilian gun ownership. There were 90 homicides by guns that year, or about .2 per 100,000 people, and they were 21.8% of all homicides that year. That same year in the U.S., there were about 88.8 legal guns for every 100 people, making the U.S. the 1st country in the world in civilian gun ownership. That year there were 9,146 gun homicides, or 2.97 per 100,000 people; 60% of all homicides were gun homicides.
And Spain is not the best country in Europe. There are countries where gun ownership is even lower and the deaths by guns are so low they're in the basement. England and Wales are a good example. The cops there don't even carry weapons. The idiot knifer in the subway the other night was subdued with a taser. Almost always the criminal comes before the judge because he isn't killed. There were about 6.2 guns for every 100 people, and 41 homicides by firearm in 2011, making it .02 per 100,000 people, or 6.6% of all homicides that year. That's not to say the English don't have crime and can't be violent. But guns usually aren't involved.
So every time there's news of a shooting in the U.S., we tend to think Americans are being silly. All this clamor of how owning guns makes someone feel safe is puzzling. Why would it make anyone feel safe having something in their home that can be used against them? Or that can be stolen and used to kill innocent people? I feel safer walking down city streets knowing that most people around me do not have guns. Or if they own one, will have it locked in a safe at home. And if I had one and had had to go through rigorous training to know how to use it, my first instinct when threatened would probably be to hit the intruder or mugger on the head with it and run.
Security doesn't come from a gun barrel. It comes from knowing there aren't any around you.
Guns are not forbidden in Spain. Anyone eighteen years or older can apply for a gun permit. But there are caveats. Firearms are divided into seven categories, from short firearms and long firearms with rifled barrels in categories one and two, to crossbows, bows, blank firing guns, and flare guns in category seven. And that passes through hunting rifles, compressed air rifles, machetes, and antique firearms that can still fire. An applicant is required to prove a necessity for the firearm, from personal defense to hunting. That means you can't just show up and say, "I want a gun so I can feel safe walking the streets at night." That does not prove necessity. Apart from the proof, the applicant has to pass a psychophysical aptitude test at a designated medical center (a cousin with a vague medical-related degree doesn't cut it), a background check that includes checking any incidence of domestic violence, and has to undergo theoretical and practical training with the gun he intends to buy to make sure he knows how to use it and how the law applies to him. Then there are nine types of firearms licences. The only people allowed to apply for permit A (the all-inclusive one) are people who belong to the armed forces, police, or civil guard. All permits have to be renewed at least every five years, sometimes every two years. Exhausting? It should be, and is intended to weed out the nut cases.
While gun ownership is allowed, the ownership of war material is not. The most you can have at home is a semi-automatic weapon. No one is allowed to have at home any weapons designated for war use, which includes fully automatic weapons, armor-piercing bullets, expanding bullets, or incendiary ammunition. So, no AK-47 for Junior this Christmas. And the guns people have at home must be kept in a safe, to which only the owner has access. Just to make sure that a six-year-old won't pick up a gun lying around and shoot granny. This makes the homicides by guns go down. Yes, there are accidents, mostly hunting accidents and accidents by idiots, whose gun and permit are then taken away. But, in 2011 in Spain there were about 10.4 legal guns for every 100 people, making it the 61st country in civilian gun ownership. There were 90 homicides by guns that year, or about .2 per 100,000 people, and they were 21.8% of all homicides that year. That same year in the U.S., there were about 88.8 legal guns for every 100 people, making the U.S. the 1st country in the world in civilian gun ownership. That year there were 9,146 gun homicides, or 2.97 per 100,000 people; 60% of all homicides were gun homicides.
And Spain is not the best country in Europe. There are countries where gun ownership is even lower and the deaths by guns are so low they're in the basement. England and Wales are a good example. The cops there don't even carry weapons. The idiot knifer in the subway the other night was subdued with a taser. Almost always the criminal comes before the judge because he isn't killed. There were about 6.2 guns for every 100 people, and 41 homicides by firearm in 2011, making it .02 per 100,000 people, or 6.6% of all homicides that year. That's not to say the English don't have crime and can't be violent. But guns usually aren't involved.
So every time there's news of a shooting in the U.S., we tend to think Americans are being silly. All this clamor of how owning guns makes someone feel safe is puzzling. Why would it make anyone feel safe having something in their home that can be used against them? Or that can be stolen and used to kill innocent people? I feel safer walking down city streets knowing that most people around me do not have guns. Or if they own one, will have it locked in a safe at home. And if I had one and had had to go through rigorous training to know how to use it, my first instinct when threatened would probably be to hit the intruder or mugger on the head with it and run.
Security doesn't come from a gun barrel. It comes from knowing there aren't any around you.
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