My tuppence worth - we have pretty strict firearm laws here (Ireland), though they seem to be in a process of change. Automatic weapons are illegal of course, except for special members of the police, army etc.,
It seems relatively easy to get a licence for a shotgun - mainly you need somewhere to shoot it (at least 80 yards from any houses) and a reason (pest control etc.,). Rifles (mainly in .22 calibre) are a bit more tricky, as police do background checks (fair enough) and you do tend to get put through the hoops a bit more trying to get one. You also need the same criteria as for a shotgun. Though a .22 can travel a good distance, it seems a bit silly, as shotguns tend to be preferred by criminals for their wide spread pattern.

Police are mainly concerned about security - your gun must be secured and locked in a safe. This makes good sense for the owner as well, as the main problem in having a gun in the house is that if it becomes known you have one, it can invite a break-in by the unscrupulous eager to obtain an illegal weapon.

I have seen ads for shops selling a range of pistols, including 9mm, as well as single shot rifles selling calibres like 7.62 and .303, so it must be possible to obtain these guns. I presume you'd need a very good reason for wanting one though.

Some police officers though are a bit silly about giving out licences and try to insist that custom is in fact legislation, especially with higher calibre weapons.

Of course, criminals have whatever they want - pistols, rifles, you name it. Recently there was a shoot-out on a busy motorway near a certain city here involving one car chasing another at high speed while the passenger opened up on the other car with a sub-machine gun.


Having tight gun laws does little to stop criminals getting their hands on whatever weapons they want - apart from the issue of theft of legal weapons - unsurprisingly, since career criminals have already embarked on a path in life where the idea of obeying laws is laughable in the first instance.

That said, if there aren't too many guns lying round in the first place, accidents etc., are less likely to happen, people are less likely to turn to guns to settle a dispute etc.,

Micheal Moore adressed this question in 'Bowling for Columbine' and I'd have to remember the Canadian taxi driver's comment "if more guns made people safer, America (the USA) would be one of the safest countries in the world - but it isn't". My friends in Arizona decided against keeping a gun in the house as they have a 10-year old kid, and he might get hold of it one day and bring it out to show off to friends etc.,

I doubt guns make for a much safer society - if homeowners have them to feel secure, the bad guy is likely to have them too, only s/he is likely to have far less scruples about using them. I reckon you'd have to start with inculcating a respect for human life across the board to tackle this issue. I wouldn't like too many guns floating round, as people might turn to them when they lost their temper (eg. going postal!) I'd prefer they broke my windows or whatever... Plus I'd hate to be put in the position of having to shoot someone myself, I really wouldn't want that on my conscience / soul.