Sunday, August 21, 2005
Gun Laws in France
Gun Laws in France
GUN LAWS -- FRANCE - From: Emmanuel Baechler
If you have to go to France and to practice self defense, you are in a pretty bad situation. Concealed carry is strictly fobidden, unless you are a policeman ON DUTY, or someone like that.
Nearly all autos calibers like .380 ACP, 9mm Para, .40S&W, and .45 ACP are considered as "war caliber" (1st category).
You can get AT MOST license for "war caliber" firearms (up to seven central percussion guns), and that's exclusively for target shooting.
For self defense, you will no more have the choice, if you can get a license for a such purpose (the frenchies are very restrictive), between .32 ACP, .38 Spal and .357 Magnum (4th category) those guns can be bought for Target shooting still with an authorisation.
Even worse, the shamy Schengen agrements, that France signed, forbid the import (ownership, manufacturing and use) of hollowpoint ammo in handguns.
May 29 1998 - French National Assembly votes to tighten gun laws
PARIS, May 29 (Reuters) -
The National Assembly, driven by fears that U.S.-style gun violence could one day spread to France, voted on Friday to tighten already rigid restrictions on the private ownership of firearms.
The legislation now must go to the Senate, which is expected to take it up in the autumn.
The bill flatly bans the purchase or possession of firearms or ammunition without official approval.
The state could authorise gun ownership only for:
Members of the military.
Members of a certified sporting association. -- Professional target shooters.
Individuals who require a weapon to exercise their profession.
Individuals whose physical safety is seriously threatened.
Private ownership of handguns was previously largely banned in France under a 1995 decree, although hunting rifles are freely sold.
Critics said the decree, which divided arms into eight categories ranging from weapons of war to collectors items and sets out distinct regulations for each category, was overly complex and riddled with loopholes.
There is also a lively black market arms trade in many poverty-stricken urban neighbourhoods, where crimes committed with firearms have been steadily on the rise in recent years.
Proposed by Socialist deputy Bruno Le Roux, the new legislation was backed by the assembly’s leftist majority but opposed by opposition conservatives.
Le Roux said the measure would "mean the end of gun sales in our country," reversing what he called a trend towards broad acceptance of firearms in French daily life.
"We don’t yet have daily gun tragedies in our country, but it would be wise to act before we do," he told Reuters.
However, conservative Gaullist deputy Thierry Mariani argued the measure was also "full of serious loopholes and will only add to the confusion which already exists on this sensitive issue."
He urged parliamentarians to delay action on the bill until the
government prepared comprehensive firearms legislation expected in early
1999 REUTERS@
15:36 05-29-98
GUN LAWS -- FRANCE - From: Emmanuel Baechler
If you have to go to France and to practice self defense, you are in a pretty bad situation. Concealed carry is strictly fobidden, unless you are a policeman ON DUTY, or someone like that.
Nearly all autos calibers like .380 ACP, 9mm Para, .40S&W, and .45 ACP are considered as "war caliber" (1st category).
You can get AT MOST license for "war caliber" firearms (up to seven central percussion guns), and that's exclusively for target shooting.
For self defense, you will no more have the choice, if you can get a license for a such purpose (the frenchies are very restrictive), between .32 ACP, .38 Spal and .357 Magnum (4th category) those guns can be bought for Target shooting still with an authorisation.
Even worse, the shamy Schengen agrements, that France signed, forbid the import (ownership, manufacturing and use) of hollowpoint ammo in handguns.
May 29 1998 - French National Assembly votes to tighten gun laws
PARIS, May 29 (Reuters) -
The National Assembly, driven by fears that U.S.-style gun violence could one day spread to France, voted on Friday to tighten already rigid restrictions on the private ownership of firearms.
The legislation now must go to the Senate, which is expected to take it up in the autumn.
The bill flatly bans the purchase or possession of firearms or ammunition without official approval.
The state could authorise gun ownership only for:
Members of the military.
Members of a certified sporting association. -- Professional target shooters.
Individuals who require a weapon to exercise their profession.
Individuals whose physical safety is seriously threatened.
Private ownership of handguns was previously largely banned in France under a 1995 decree, although hunting rifles are freely sold.
Critics said the decree, which divided arms into eight categories ranging from weapons of war to collectors items and sets out distinct regulations for each category, was overly complex and riddled with loopholes.
There is also a lively black market arms trade in many poverty-stricken urban neighbourhoods, where crimes committed with firearms have been steadily on the rise in recent years.
Proposed by Socialist deputy Bruno Le Roux, the new legislation was backed by the assembly’s leftist majority but opposed by opposition conservatives.
Le Roux said the measure would "mean the end of gun sales in our country," reversing what he called a trend towards broad acceptance of firearms in French daily life.
"We don’t yet have daily gun tragedies in our country, but it would be wise to act before we do," he told Reuters.
However, conservative Gaullist deputy Thierry Mariani argued the measure was also "full of serious loopholes and will only add to the confusion which already exists on this sensitive issue."
He urged parliamentarians to delay action on the bill until the
government prepared comprehensive firearms legislation expected in early
1999 REUTERS@
15:36 05-29-98
