Attaining Fire Arms from Germany Compared to the United States
Introduction
In the whole of Europe, the policies surrounding gun control in Germany are one of the strictest so far. It does not allow attainment, purchase, ownership, or carrying of guns to any persons who have a valid reason to possess a weapon. The laws are completely against ownership of machine guns and semi-automatic weapons and are completely against any possession of other types of firearms. Enforced legal responsibility insurance is recommended for any individual who is permitted to possess weapons. The gun-control policies in Germany have in the past several years been made stricter due to the various reforms that have been made. In 2003, after a brutal killing of sixteen people at a school in the city of Erfurt, by a young teenager, a new Weapons Act was made operational. It banned any handling of large calibre weapons such as the Muzzle-Loading Cannon, by young individuals and made the necessities for having a secure storage of weapons to be toughened. In 2009, another Act was effected which resulted into the development of state gun inventory and to facilitate the government ’s observation of all individuals who have been licensed to possess a gun and ensure that all the necessities for having a safe storage of guns are adhered to by gun owners’. Owing to the reforms that were put in place, the state has the right and mandate to demand access to the locations of any individual who has been licensed to possess a gun and ensure that all the set rules and guidelines over gun ownership are strictly adhered to without fail.
Germany has one of the most Stringent Gun Laws in Europe
In comparison to the US, Germany has very strict guidelines and policies over gun ownership and is usually regarded as one of the toughest in Europe and the whole world (McCormick and John, p. 32).No citizen in Germany has been given any basic right to possess, acquire or have any ownership of guns like the Americans do under the Second Amendment. This could be as a result of the previous Adolf Hitler rule that occurred between 1933-1945, which have obviously been an impact to the recent stringent rules and guidelines.
In Germany, for a person to acquire a firearm, it will require a gun ownership license which will only be given to possession of one gun per license. Qualified individuals that are fit to apply have to be at least 18 years old, and go through a test that will show the stability and consistency in psychology for their reliability, which encompasses going through the criminal records, confirm if the individual has any drug abuse complications, psychological complications or any form of characteristics that would otherwise regard them as incompetent enough not to handle a weapon.
First-time applicants must also go through a mental disorder assessment, especially for those people who are not older than 25 years of age. A clear reason to the need of acquiring and possessing a weapon should be well outlined, which is normally restricted to its application by hunters, individuals who are skilled in precision shooting using a projectile, and security personnel. The application is not allowed for reasons based on self-defence. Obtaining the license comes with some regulations in the number and types of firearms that one is allowed to have, regarding the kind of license someone has.
Fourth-highest Gun Ownership Rate Worldwide
As much as the laws are stringent over gun ownership, Germany was still ranked as fourth just behind the United States in terms of legal gun ownership in 2013 (Lankford and Adam, p. 190).An estimation of more than 1.5 million people possesses more than 5 million legal firearms in Germany with the approximate population of more than 79 million people. The Federal Criminal Police Office has given an approximation of over 19million illegally possessed guns are in Germany further derailing the country’s efforts in curbing the gun menace.
The Lowest Rates of Gun-related Deaths Universally
Despite the high numbers of guns in the country, Germany has recorded fewer death cases associated with guns, in the whole world. This is directly opposite to the incidences continuously reported in the US. For the past two decades, the number of gun-related deaths in Germany has dropped drastically by over 5 times the recorded numbers in 1995 to the present date. This is in comparison to the US whereby the number of gun-related deaths is approximated to over 10000 individuals, who are killed annually. This could be put as 3.6 deaths per 10000 persons while in Germany it hardly reaches 0.06 deaths per 100,000 persons annually.
Mass Shootings have led to Stringent Gun Laws
In the last 20 years, there have been numerous mass shootings that have had an influence in the reforms over gun control policy laws. In 2003, after a brutal killing of sixteen people at a school in the city of Erfurt, by a young 19-years-old teenager, the government of Germany was obligated to pass stricter laws and various reforms on the Weapons Act, such as increasing the least age for getting a firearm and going through a mental examination for persons not more than 25 years of age.
The sale of violent video games was banned for youngsters in 2006 after an 18-year-old shot and injured 5 people in his former school in Emsdetten before committing suicide. This was further replicated in 2009 after a 17-year-old also went to his former school in Winnenden, Baden-Württemberg and murdered 15 people using a semi-automatic gun. Since the shooting in Winnenden in 2009, a gradual decline in gun violence has been realized in the preceding years.
Current Gun-Control Law
Overview
The current rules and regulations concerning gun control policies in Germany are viewed as the strictest of all time in the whole of Europe and the entire world. The contemporary Weapons Act has a clear emphasis on the firearms fit for private possession. The Act encompasses an extremely distinguished government for permitting the attainment, ownership and possessing of allowed firearms that limits, regarding the conditions of requirement, the amount and kinds of firearms that can be possessed or bought, and has precise age limitations for diverse kinds of guns. The use of automatic weapons has been made illegal in Germany and the Act is keen at regulating the production of and trade in firearms and is mandated to give feedbacks over all the licensed firearms and their history at all levels of monitoring. The Act also contains strict and well-developed rules and guidelines to have adhered for the secure storage of firearms. The Act is executed by the administrative system of the government, excluding the recently developed National Weapons Register, which is an administrative division.
Licensing
For any individual to acquire or possess a firearm, it is required by law to have a license. There are different types of licenses that can be issued based on the requirements of the applicant, which may include; the license to obtain and own a weapon and the license to carry a firearm. There are some requirements that are applicable when it comes to granting of all licenses, and precise further necessities apply to various kinds of licenses. Particularly, there are distinct guidelines for hunters and marksmen.
Gun-ownership permits should normally be gone through by the state departments after three years, as much as they are approved for an unspecified duration. For many reasons that may come up over the licenses, then the state will have to analyze the licenses at any time of their choice. Licenses can also be made in ways that would enable the applicant and the state to keep a clear monitoring of the applicant by giving other restrictions such as duration, location and secure storage requirements. The requirements for getting any type of firearms license;
• A minimum age limit of 18 years
• The proper positive reliability test of the applicant
• A proper understanding of firearms expertise and guidelines, and knowledge in the use of a gun
• Must be a resident of Germany for at least 5 years
The reliability test has some conditions that would actually disqualify the applicant, such as some criminal records, involvement in any form of illegal or extremist groups or the confirmed assumption of the authorities that the applicant would not keep up to his agreement or follow the guidelines stipulated by law over the handling and storage of the weapon. Other conditions that would not qualify an individual for the permit would be such as; poor legal potentiality, individual complications such as drug abuse and addiction, psychological disorders, or indecisiveness and any form of attributes that would view the applicant as incompetent enough to handle a firearm or keep it up to the licensing requirements. The relevant state officials must ensure that all the necessary documents of the applicant are reviewed completely through the right criminal documents, police files and records, and any other sources that are found to be valid enough.
In Germany, weapons and licenses could be issued to hunters, marksmen, imperilled individuals, collectors, specialists, manufacturers and traders, and business corporations which give armed and unarmed safety services and knowledge to private and public customers. The interest of the security of the public will always have an influence into the issuance of licenses for other purposes especially on the fact that the German legislation policy is to try and put an end to the number of weapons under private ownership.
A license that authorizes acquisition of guns will give a specific amount of firearms to possess. This license will be valid for possession reasons on an annual basis and will be given indeterminately for the reason of acquiring the gun (Cook Philip and Kristin, p. 42).The amount of firearms that an individual is to possess is limited to the needs of the applicant.
Age Requirements
For an individual to acquire any firearm, the law requires for an attainment of 18 years of age. For marksmen, the age limit required is twenty-one years. This was after the mass shooting of 2009 that the higher age limit was introduced, but exemptions are made for suitably qualified shooting clubs that only operate on firearms that are non-lethal. In such a place, an 18-year-old will just be permitted to possess a gun. However, marksmen not more than 25 years of age must go through mental disorders assessed in their initial application for weapons.
Notably, the Weapons Act is against any handling of firearms by juveniles or individuals who are less than 18 years of age (Webster et al., p. 36). However, there are some exclusions to this law on persons who are using a gun in a training session or occupation association under suitable management, or at firing ranges. The law on gun ownership required that individuals as from the age of 14 years were allowed to possess weapons, but after 2009 incidence, reforms changed the age limit to 18 years.
Prohibited and Restricted Firearms
There are two categories of weapons in Germany, firearms of war or firearms necessary for civilian use (Carman and William, p. 115).The firearms of war are restricted within the War Weapons Act and no civilian is allowed to have access to them. Those firearms that are classified as suitable for civilian use are overseen by the Weapons Act and its embargoes and limitations.
The Act has prohibited the use of fully automatic guns and semiautomatic guns that are not purposefully for hunting or sporting. These may include; the Mossberg 500 12 Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun with Pistol Grip or guns that are covered in other objects, firearms that can be easily dismantled, Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, lights, projectors, and night-vision devices that have the capability of being attached to the gun to direct light to the aim and some silencers for Colt revolvers.
Owing to the Erfurt mass shootings of 2003, the Mossberg 500 12 Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun with Pistol Grip was illegalized in 2008. These multiple short firearms were illegalized because their shots had the capability of going through bulletproof vests. Those weapons which are still legalized are just into the matter of different limitations on the fact of licensing guidelines and purpose. In this case, individuals who see the need of possessing a gun for self-defense, the relevant government officials may only give out permits for a certain kind of a gun.
Safe Storage of Firearms
It is the responsibility of licensed gun owners to ensure that their firearms are kept in secure areas as stipulated by law with the appropriate storage mechanisms, and this is based on the strength, power and effectiveness of the firearms. It is the duty of gun owners to ensure that they give appropriate information to the relevant authorities over their safe-storage measures and also ensure that the authorities are given clearance to enter their premises for the intention of monitoring amenability with safe-storage guidelines and principles.
Authorities have been given a full jurisdiction to access gun-owners premises without any search warrant especially if there is any threat of possible danger. This is as much as the German constitution grants every citizen the right to privacy of home. Unsystematic inspections should be anticipated at any time and in place whether there is any form of threat or not. After the mass shootings in 2009, various reforms on the gun–laws were implemented that saw the authorities given the rights to enter premises of individuals possessing guns (Kleck and Gary, 153).
The law, however, makes it clear that the authorities have the right to access such homes and ensure that the owners have kept the guns in compliance with the set guidelines. If found outside then the owner may have different reasons as to why the gun is not locked up. This will require the authorities to assess the claims. However, a homeowner has the right to deny entry of authorities into their premises only if the reasons are valid. This is limited to the number of times the denial is made because the continuous denial of entry will be a violation of the constitutional responsibility to work together with the relevant authorities on the safekeeping of firearms, which would otherwise result in revocation of the license. These rights given to authorities by the constitution are aimed at ensuring that gun owners have the obligation of keeping their firearms in a safe and secure place.
Whichever the means of acquisition of firearms will demand proper adherence to the guidelines in relation to the safe storage of guns. Any individual who is mandated to inherit a firearm and is not licensed to acquire one should ensure that it is made to be functionless by installing a device that will facilitate its blockage. Nevertheless, if the individual is permitted by law to possess a firearm, then they are required to put information into an official record within a duration of one month after acquirement by inheritance. For an individual who is not permitted by law to possess a gun, then they are required to apply for a license of possessing a firearm, which will be considered based on the guidelines set through the license acquisition processes and programs.
Registration
It is important for all firearms to be registered with the relevant authorities so as to make sure that they are registered with the authority that gave them permission to acquire and possess the firearm license (Kleck and Gary, p. 100). Immediately after the acquisition, the gun-owner is expected to make registration with the relevant authorities within fourteen days after acquisition, and the authorities have the duty of keeping the records that will enable locating of a weapon’s possession from the time of its production. Furthermore, the relevant authorities that are concerned with firearms have the mandate to give proper communication over the records of possession of weapons to the local Registers of the legal Domicile, who keep records and information of German residents in their fixed legal address or permanent home. The local Registers of the legal Domicile is to ensure that they give every information over any change of residence or death of a gun owner to the weapons authorities. This is very important for keeping track of all the inherited weapons and facilitating recording and certifying necessities.
The registration process has been made effective with the current developed National Weapons Register, which started its set-up actions in 2013 January. This enabled the authorities to ease their work by getting all the required information on the estimated 545 weapons to the National Weapons Register.
Are the Gun Laws in the USA and Germany Similar or Different?
Germany
Immediately after WWII, the German government had banned the acquisition or possession of firearms even by the national police or the civilians (Utter and Glenn, p. 90). The possession of any weapon that has a muzzle power of more than 7.5 Joule demands for proper licensing from the weapons authority for any form of firearm. For acquisition or ownership of a gun will require a mandatory ownership license from the relevant authorities. Possession will require the owner’s consent on the adherence of set rules and guidelines over the use and storage of the weapons. When handling firearms at public vicinities, the gun should be unloaded and in a firm, completely enclosing sealed container.
America
• Certain states and areas only need that an individual attains a permit for them to acquire or have weapons.
• Certain states and areas need that private guns get registered with the law enforcement agency or with any relevant authority.
• The whole nation enables some kind of secretive possession of a gun while in public.
• A majority of the states enable public carrying and possession of an open gun in public vicinity.