What are the rules for owning/carrying a gun in your country?

[Yenix]

I know most of you guys here are from the USA, but I have seen people from other countries too... And I am really interested to hear if you can own/carry a weapon in your countries, as here in Czech, the rules are getting more and more strict every year...

You can still buy almost anything you want unless is fully automatic and you have a license, but there are more and more restrictions on magazine sizes, club registrations and so on.

I heard for example in Russia, it is not possible to own a gun at all.

[SonofLiberty]

That question is nearly impossible to answer. The rules vary state to state and in some cases even certain cities are different from the states where they are located. Do you have any state or locality in mind?

[GrizzlyetteAdams]

As for countries outside the USA, a search engine may give you quicker answers, as most of the (currently active) posters here are from North America...the others are mostly lurking/learning and not saying much, but hopefully, they will chime in!

[tmttactical]

I cannot speak for the entire nation, so I will speak for my state, the beautiful state of Arizona. We can open carry, concealed carry, no CCL required, tho they wold like folks to get one. We can buy any firearm that is approved for legal sale in America. No restrictions on mag size, amount of ammo and no waiting time once you pass the NIC part. As I said, I love my state.

[Murphy]

I cannot speak for the entire nation, so I will speak for my state, the beautiful state of Arizona. We can open carry, concealed carry, no CCL required, tho they wold like folks to get one. We can buy any firearm that is approved for legal sale in America. No restrictions on mag size, amount of ammo and no waiting time once you pass the NIC part. As I said, I love my state.

LOL.. Arizona, the state where you can freely carry a gun any way you want.. no license required.

Lets look at their mass shootings and how it compares to other states:
Please note: You'll have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the list to find Arizona but if you want to find California, its right at the top.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/811541/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-state/

[Yenix]

I cannot speak for the entire nation, so I will speak for my state, the beautiful state of Arizona. We can open carry, concealed carry, no CCL required, tho they wold like folks to get one. We can buy any firearm that is approved for legal sale in America. No restrictions on mag size, amount of ammo and no waiting time once you pass the NIC part. As I said, I love my state.

And what happens if you want to drive to another state, where the rules are different? You have to leave the gun at home?

[GrizzlyetteAdams]

Good find, Murphy. I noticed that Arkansas also has very lenient gun laws that require NO license to open carry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Arkansas), and how both Arkies and Arizonians enjoy a super low mass shooting rate, according to your link.

Ha. Not surprised that Califunny has the highest rate.

[Morgan101]

Missouri is a " shall issue " State. You are not required to have a CCL to carry a firearm. When you drive to another State you are required to follow the law in that State. Some States have reciprocity agreements where they will recognize each other's laws. It is up to the gun owner to know the laws in the State they wish to travel to. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

See if this link is helpful: https://www.gunlawsbystate.com/law/s...ouri-gun-laws/

[Yenix]

Missouri is a " shall issue " State. You are not required to have a CCL to carry a firearm. When you drive to another State you are required to follow the law in that State. Some States have reciprocity agreements where they will recognize each other's laws. It is up to the gun owner to know the laws in the State they wish to travel to. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

See if this link is helpful: https://www.gunlawsbystate.com/law/s...ouri-gun-laws/

Shall issue?

[tmttactical]

And what happens if you want to drive to another state, where the rules are different? You have to leave the gun at home?

Let my explain it as best I can. Think of Arizona as a free country and then think of California as Cuba. So if I am leaving my free country and going into California / Cuba, I would have to leave my firearms behind, since most of my firearms would not be legal in Cuba.

[SonofLiberty]

Shall issue?

That means they have to issue you a permit unless good cause is shown not to. Usually, if you can legally own a firearm there you can get a concealed weapons permit there.

[Murphy]

Shall issue?

Back in the 70's, 80's and 90's, if you wanted to carry a concealed weapon, you had to fill out an "application" and then go in front of a committee of government officials (usually police officers, a judge, county clerk or something like that).. and you would have to explain to them why you felt the need to carry a gun. For instance, "I'm Mr Smith and I own a popular nightclub and make bank deposits where I carry $20K in cash at night, in the dark". And various other reasons that range from "You're a paranoid idiot and we won't let you carry anything" to "Wow, you should have your own security detail, here's your permit".

The problem with this system was that it was arbitrary in nature. It was dependent upon local officials and their personal feelings towards those looking for the permits. A very flawed and semi-corrupt way of doing things.

So they changed the law and basically said "If you're a law abiding citizen and you don't have any serious criminal record, then you should be allowed to carry a concealed firearm"
This made the entire process so exacting that no committee was required anymore. It was no longer a matter of opinion. You have either been convicted of a predefined list of crimes and would be denied, or you haven't and "shall be" permitted. Hence, the name, Shall Issue.. because you can walk into the permit office with gang tattoos and a Hell's Angles biker jacket, and so long as you're not a convicted criminal, they shall issue you the permit.

Just a few years after many states started "Shall issue", we saw a statistical drop in violent crimes nationwide. Criminals are afraid of people who are capable of defending themselves with deadly force. Carjacking someone is no longer a crime that might just send you to jail if you get caught, its a crime that might send you 6 feet under.

The mathematics of "risk vs reward" changed and it resulted in a decrease in crime.

[Morgan101]

Yenix: I believe the way they (State Governments) differentiate the legal terms is ' shall issue ' and 'may issue'. In shall issue States as Sons of Liberty described if you can legally own a firearm the State should give you a permit. In a may issue State you have to go through a process as Murphy described to get a permit. That process is usually quite long, can be very expensive, and there is no guarantee you will be given the permit.

[Yenix]

Oh, now it makes sense... I've been reading "issue" as a problem, not "issuance". :) Thanks for clarifying. It is interesting to read how the conditions might be different even when you are a different country. You have a right to own a gun stated in your constitution, correct?

[Morgan101]

The Second Amendment to our Constitution allows individuals the Right to Keep and Bear Arms; and our Supreme Court has ruled that to be an Individual Right. There are reasons when that right is forfeited. Criminals for instance, or people with certain types of mental disorders are not allowed to purchase guns. There is a form that you complete, and a background check is done when you purchase a firearm. In Missouri the background check is done over the phone, and there is no waiting period. If you qualify you can carry the gun out of the store. Some States may have a waiting period for you to take possession after the background check is done. The laws vary from State to State.