Thursday, December 20, 2012

Guns in Israel

Balloon Juice from Forbes.

Israel’s gun control laws are the opposite of America’s, say Israeli officials. “Only those who have a license can bear arms and not everyone can get a license,” the head of the firearms licensing department told the Jerusalem Post. To qualify for a license, Israelis must be at least age 21, pass a physical and psychological examination, undergo a background check and then qualify at a licensed shooting range. Gun owners are retested every three years, they get a one-time supply of 50 bullets when they order their weapon, and as of next year, they must keep their gun in a safe.
For a nation that has been at war for more than 60 years, it is notable that Israeli officials estimate that there are only 170,000 weapons that are privately owned in a population of less than 8 million, or a little less than one weapon per 50 Israelis. There are an estimated 300 million weapons in America, or roughly one for every America’s 315 million people...

1 comment:

The Mound of Sound said...

Could you imagine how the NRA would howl at these same regs introduced in America? The Yanks could use a psych test, perhaps with a literacy test attached. Those who pass that could then take the standard citizenship test administered to immigrants. That should whittle down qualified gun owners to something in the single digits.