Sweden introduces gun amnesty

[burnthebeautiful]

Ugh...

(translated by a tired me at 5:30 am from http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_13958912.asp)

Gun Amnesty to be introduced next year

The government will next year introduce a temporary gun amnesty. Everyone that wants should be able to hand in their illegal guns to the police, without risking punishment, says minister of justice Beatrice Ask (moderate party)

There are too many illegal guns circling around in society, according to Beatrice Ask. One her of her first jobs as minister of justice will therefor be to introduce a temporary gun amnesty.

- We're hoping to gather guns and ammunition that people have without permission. People should be able to clean up thoroughly. There are also people who have previously been criminal, but don't want their gun anymore, and we want to give them a chance to give it up, she explains.

This will be the second time that Sweden introduces a gun amnesty. The first one took place in 1993, when Gun Hellsvik, also a moderate, was minister of justice. During three months, july, august and september, the general public could anonymously do away with their illegal firearms, without risking any punishment from the government. More than 17 000 pistols, revolvers and rifles, and approximately 15 tons of ammunition and 600 gun parts were given to the police. "A tremendously good result", said the then superintendent of the federal police.

-  This was quite a few years ago now, so there is a reason to do it the same way again, says Beatrice Ask. A proposition is now being prepared at the Justice Deparment, and the new amnesty will come into effect as soon as possible, probably march 1st next year.
- It's important that the police are prepared, because it's a big job to take care of all the guns, and to do it in the right way.
The minister of Justice is considering proposing a somewhat longer amnesty than the one 13 years ago.
- Six months is reasonable. We also want to do an extensive check of the guns given in to get a picture of what kind of guns are in circulation.

Inger Davidson, vice spokesmen in the governments justice branch, describes the proposition as a "very sensible idea".

- It's a great win for society to get rid of all the guns that are in circulation and that other people can come across.
The Center Parties spokesperson for justice issues, Johan linander, hopes that "regular joes" now will dare to give up their illegal pistols and rifles.
- Sometimes people inherit houses where there's a gun in the attic where children play, which isn't very safe, he says.

But The Left Parties group leader Alice ?str?m is critical. She thinks that society through an amnesty is sending double signals:
- There's a problem in saying that illegal weapons are a serious problem, and that the police should fight this, and simultaneously saying "Now we'll give you the possibility to give up your guns without being punished".
Johan Pehrson, group leader for The Peoples Party, says the criticism "weighs lightly". He states that there today are tens of thousands of illegal guns in circulation in Sweden.

- Every gun that we can get off the streets is one gun less that can harm, and in a worst case scenario kill, another human being. Experiences from Sweden and other countries is that this fills a function, says Johan Pehrson.

Both in 2005 and last spring a majority of the parliament, consisting of the centre-right parties and The Environment, encouraged the government to instate a temporary gun amnesty. The previous Minister of Justice Thomas Bodstr?m was criticized because the proposal took too long, but he says now that it "is an important step in the fighting of serious organised crime"
- You shouldn't have an amnesty too often, but now is the right time, he explains.

Facts:

Results from the gun amnesty 1993:

6 698 hand guns

54 fully automatic weapons

74 air, spring and harpoon guns

1 canon

[Recumbent ReCycler]

Silly Swedes!  Don't turn in your guns to the government.  If you want to get rid of a gun, place it in a durable waterproof container, take a boat to the ?land islands, and bury it there in a secluded area.  Write down the GPS grid coordinates and email it to me so that I can collect it the next time I go there.    Or you could just take them apart and mail the parts individually to me.

[Spencer]

It is good to know that politicians have a universal belief that we need "permission" to own firearms.

[error]

Frankly, I'd rather see a gun black market than a gun amnesty. How many peaceful people who would never hurt anybody are going to turn in their guns -- and need them later?

[burnthebeautiful]

In another article there's a quote from some higher up police guy saying that virtually none of the guns given up in the 1993 amnesty had been involved in crime... No shit

The people inheriting houses and there maybe being a rifle in the attic has to be the funniest ridiculous gun scenario I've heard from an anti-gun person so far. Someone with a legal gun dying, and the son or daughter inheriting the home, and the son or daughter happening to have young children, and those children happening to play in the attic and find the gun and shoot themselves... Yeah that must happen so often.

I also think it's funny that a canon was given up in the 1993 amnesty. That and the fact that air-guns and metal-spring powered plastic pellet guns were given up, which you don't need a license for...

I'm going to launch a mini-campaign where I urge people to first and foremost not give up and their guns, but if they do want to give up their guns, to donate their guns to a woman who is in need of it. When the amnesty starts I plan on standing outside police stations with a sign saying "Donate your gun to charity - all guns are donated to defenseless women", or something along those lines. But the gun amnesty is going to last 6 months, and I'm not wasting that much time.

[citizen_142002]

Are there any gun advocacy groups in Sweden or the other Scandanavian nations?
Oh and I heard that the Socialists took a beating in the last election, are these "moderates" replacing the parties from the far left?

[burnthebeautiful]

There are some hunting advocacy groups, but no pro self-defense groups. Me and a friend of mine were thinking of starting one, but it never materialized. I'm not sure about the other Scandinavian countries, I'm not familiar with any.

The new government is a coalition of centre-right parties, that only want some minimal changes. The party furthest to the right is The Moderate Party, followed by The Center Party... So that kind of gives you an idea of what they're like. They're a small step in the right direction in most issues. They want to sell some state companies, lower some taxes, absolish some regulations. Nothing huge, but a step in the right direction.

[aries]

Frankly, I'd rather see a gun black market than a gun amnesty. How many peaceful people who would never hurt anybody are going to turn in their guns -- and need them later?

Me too... breaking the law is just fine if it's morally justified
Case in point, I am going to NYC this winter. I will carry a loaded weapon in my car and keep one in my hotel room. I might CCW. It's called concealed for a reason... nobody knows about it. It's just that so many places (private ones) have metal detectors I dont want it to hamper my journey, and NYC is a fairly safe place now)
If I lived there, I sure would carry.

The only time where legislation is really BAD is that if youve lived there and dont have a gun, then you have to get one on the black market.

[Recumbent ReCycler]

Frankly, I'd rather see a gun black market than a gun amnesty. How many peaceful people who would never hurt anybody are going to turn in their guns -- and need them later?

Me too... breaking the law is just fine if it's morally justified
Case in point, I am going to NYC this winter. I will carry a loaded weapon in my car and keep one in my hotel room. I might CCW. It's called concealed for a reason... nobody knows about it. It's just that so many places (private ones) have metal detectors I dont want it to hamper my journey, and NYC is a fairly safe place now)
If I lived there, I sure would carry.

The only time where legislation is really BAD is that if youve lived there and dont have a gun, then you have to get one on the black market.

I've carried in NYC.  One time when I was taking a bus through NYC, I had to change buses in NYC, and they had security guards with hand-held metal detectors wanding people and searching bags.  I was lucky to get through without them finding my Glock because they didn't check my briefcase.  (When I saw the checkpoint, I went into the bathroom and took the pistol out of my shoulder holster and put it in my briefcase and locked it.)  Another time a guy cut me off in NYC during icy weather and hit his brakes while I was towing a heavy trailer.  I bumped his rear bumper lightly without doing any damage.  This big guy got out of his SUV and threatened to slit my throught.  I wasn't scared of him because I was carrying a couple concealed firearms, and had about a dozen more in the cab of my truck.  I'm glad he decided to drive off instead of trying to start something or calling the cops.  Later that day north of the city I got pulled over by a cop who fortunately didn't look real hard into my truck or even ask for my drivers license.

[burnthebeautiful]

I found a Wikipedia page about Finnish firearm laws. Their laws are a lot better than I thought. Still restrictive compared to NH (although Finland has no regulations on silencers), but very permissive compared to most other countries in Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Finland

Most important parts:

In Finland there are over two million licensed firearms and an estimated quarter of a million unlicensed firearms. According to the Finnish Ministry of the Interior, firearms are present in approximately one-quarter of Finnish homes, with most firearms licensed for hunting.

Many active military reservists personally possess pistols, target rifles, shotguns and semi-automatic rifles for practice shooting. This has been passively supported by the government, as it gives the reservists the possibility of practice shooting without the requirement of government spending.

Firearms can only be obtained with an aquisition license, which can be applied for at the local police for ?32. A separate license is required for each individual firearm and family members can have parallel licenses to use the same firearm.

They may be carried only when they are transported from their place of storage to the place of use (shooting range, hunting area or such). Even then they must be concealed or kept in carrying pouches. Only security guards with special training and a permit are allowed to carry a gun in public places.

A license for a pistol or a rifle is relatively easy to obtain, requiring only an (often nominal) membership to a marksmanship association, although the police usually require that the first gun is suitable for a beginner.

[Shawn]

"Now we'll give you the possibility to give up your guns without being punished".

When you hear these words it is time to load the guns, not give them away...