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Opinion Elephants in trunks: the main obstacle to the granting of gun licenses Israel today

2023-02-01T07:59:50.743Z


The problem with the number of gun licenses is not only in the tests - it is also in the refusals to grant licenses, the non-renewal of licenses or the cancellation of existing licenses due to the recommendation of the police


Following the serious attack in Jerusalem in which seven people were murdered, the political-security cabinet convened and decided, among other things, to speed up the granting of weapons licenses to Israeli citizens, that is, to ease the requirements that must be met in order to obtain a license to carry weapons.

This, among other things, after the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gabir arrived at the scene of the attack, encountered complaints from residents on the subject and promised to address it.

The harsh images from the attack made it clear how important it is to have armed and skilled citizens on the streets.

There is no dispute that a citizen carrying a weapon present at the scene from the beginning of the incident can react sooner than a police force, however quickly.

But is speeding up the granting of gun licenses expected to increase the number of citizens carrying weapons?

A firearms license is issued to a private individual based on tests defined in advance by the Ministry of Internal Security.

Today, the main and recognized distinctions are based on three main groups:

The first, according to place of residence, place of work, etc.;

The second, according to type of occupation - farmer, road guide, military officer, fireman, shooting instructor, etc.; and the third, according to training - service in the security forces (officers and guards on a permanent basis and in the reserves to a certain degree), military training in rifle 07 and above, service in special units or in the police, Training of security bodies, and more.

If we go back to the demand to reduce the tests, most of which we presented above, the claim of the public and some of its elected officials is that reducing the tests will allow many to issue firearm licenses.

This claim is true (currently the waiting time for a license is between eight and ten months), but the elephant in the room is being ignored.

The problem with the number of gun licenses is not only in the tests - it is also in the refusals to grant licenses, the non-renewal of licenses or the cancellation of existing licenses - due to a recommendation or demand from the police.

At any stage of the process of granting a firearms license to a person, the police can object.

A person can apply for a license for the first time in his life and be refused by the police.

The police can object even at the license renewal stage, and even during the time period between renewals.

Sometimes the demand of the police can be well-founded, for example when the person is suspected of committing a serious crime.

But sometimes, and in most cases this is the case, the refusal of the police can be completely unreasonable, and even bordering on the ridiculous.

For example, I have come across situations where the police asked to revoke a gun license of a person who received intelligence about his involvement in drugs.

That way, without explanations, without investigation - unknown intelligence information.

In another case, I encountered a man who was investigated on suspicion of sexual harassment and had his license revoked.

Without going into the question of the seriousness and responsibility of that person for the offense, we must ask: what is the connection between a suspicion of such an offense and a gun license?

The path to change lies not only in easing the tests for granting private weapons licenses, it also lies in stopping the baseless and illogical objections to it.

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2023-02-01

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