Gun Laws in Foreign Countries

Due to recent events occurring in America, people have been seeking out reforms in our nation’s gun laws so that they may feel safer inside their homes and inside the nation’s schools. Unlike some countries, America cannot be considered “harsh” with its gun laws, nor can it be considered weak when compared to still other countries. When looking to reform our gun laws, our nation should revise and remodel our laws after countries with stronger guns laws, such as Switzerland and Canada. With 3.84 gun related deaths per 100,000 people, and only .52 of those deaths being homicides, Switzerland is one the countries with the lowest gun deaths per year (“Wikipedia”). This is due to the countries strict control on guns and gun usage. One of their most unique laws in the government requirement for all able-bodied men to have an automatic weapon in their home, and ammunition, in the case of a call to military duty. The ammunition for the gun must be kept sealed and is strictly accounted for by the government. Citizens are required to keep this weapon from age 20 to age 42, the duration of their militia service, and are then given the option to keep the gun with the automatic function removed (Cotter). Along with the required militia weapons, the Swiss government also has strict policies on privately owned firearms. Much like the military guns, the privately owned weapons and the ammution are all registered and accounted for by the government. Any and all unregistered ammunition must be used at a government owned firing range, and none is allowed to leave the premises (Cotter). Finally, the Swiss government has strong laws on “conceal and carry” hand guns. The citizen who will be carrying the weapon must have a reason to be carrying the weapon, know how to carry the gun, and know how to use it safely to carry the weapon (Cotter). It is no surprise that Switzerland is one of the safest countries when it comes to guns. Much like Switzerland, Canada has stricter gun laws than the USA, with 2.13 gun related deaths, .5 being homicide, per year compared to the US’s 10.2 gun related deaths, with 3.6 being homicide (“Wikipedia”). The Canadian Firearms Program, or CFP, is the group of people in charge of making and enforcing gun related laws in Canada. Some of the biggest laws they have concern certification, licensing, and investigation. The certification laws state that all individuals who want to own a nonrestricted firearm must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course, which “teaches basic firearms safety practices, operation of firearms, safe handling, carrying and storage, and responsibility of the owner and user” (Byrne). The licensing laws states that all individuals must be screened when they apply for a license and that the individuals will continue to be screened after they obtained their license. The CFP does not allow citizens who pose a potential risk to their own or anyone else’s safety to obtain a license and removes guns and licenses from those who do not have a safe and responsible way of using their firearms (Byrne). Finally, the investigation laws states that the CFP have the ability to track gun owners with the Firearms Investigative & Enforcement Services Directorate and law enforcement to investigate illegal firearms activities. Chief Firearms Officers supervise Chief Firearms Instructors to ensure that citizens are always taught to be safe and responsible when handling a firearm (Byrne). While not all of the above stated laws would help to improve the United States gun situation, some people find it may be wise to amend and fit these laws into ours as to make our country safer. Our country does not need to give every young man a gun, but teaching the young men how to properly use and handle a gun and pass a test in order to safely and responsibly use the weapon would be wise. Also, requiring a form of licensing and continuing to keep an eye on citizens with a license in order to be sure they maintain the safety they are taught to use while handling weapons would be in the countries best interests. Finally, the government should add a clause to conceal-and-carry in order to make it necessary for the citizens carrying the hidden handgun to have a pressing issue that requires the safety of a dangerous weapon. Though it is impossible to make our country one hundred percent safe from firearms and criminals, it is the country’s best interest, I believe, to change our gun laws as to make it harder to obtain a weapon and safer to both use a weapon and to be around those who use weapons. It may be hard to be completely safe, but it never hurt anyone to try a bit harder to keep the citizens in this country safer from others here. It is much more worth losing a bit of our “freedom”, so long as we can be sure we are safe in our homes and our schools.

Works Cited Byrne, Drake. "Canadian Gun Safety." eHow. eHow. Web. 11 Feb 2013. . Cotter, Mitch. "Switzerland Gun Safety." eHow. eHow. Web. 11 Feb 2013. . "List of Countries by firearm related death rate." wikipedia. wikipedia, 11 Feb 2013. Web. 11 Feb 2013.

Cited: Byrne, Drake. "Canadian Gun Safety." eHow. eHow. Web. 11 Feb 2013. . Cotter, Mitch. "Switzerland Gun Safety." eHow. eHow. Web. 11 Feb 2013. . "List of Countries by firearm related death rate." wikipedia. wikipedia, 11 Feb 2013. Web. 11 Feb 2013.