Gun license

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Gun license is Waffenrecht in Germany in addition to the hunting license permission to drive certain firearms . Both are to be distinguished from the gun ownership card .

In Austria , the gun license corresponds to the gun pass .

On the situation in Germany

Carrying a gun

In terms of the German Weapons Act (WaffG) , a weapon is carried by anyone who exercises actual power over it outside of their own home, business premises or their own pacified property. This requires permission. However, this permission to drive is only granted in exceptional cases. The prerequisite is that, on the one hand, the applicant is more at risk than the general public and, on the other hand, a firearm is capable of actually reducing the risk.

The issuing of gun licenses to private individuals is very rare; In official practice, gun licenses are almost exclusively given to valuables transport companies and security companies . For the question of suitability, case law requires that the specific weapon operator is capable of effectively warding off an attack according to his personal circumstances and with regard to considerable dangerous situations. Even this requirement is often doubted by private individuals, since attackers usually include the element of surprise and the possibility of weapons in their crime planning. Necessity assumes that the hazard is not caused by other measures, e.g. B. can be eliminated through structural measures, changes in personal behavior and lifestyle or other protective measures. Anyone who regularly has to transport large amounts of cash for work can reduce the risk of robberies by regularly changing routes and operating times.

The gun license documents the official permission to carry a gun, even if not always and everywhere: The gun law prescribes restrictions at events, parties or elevators.

Transportation of a weapon

The transport of a weapon without a permit to carry it (without a weapon license) by the owner is permitted if the weapon is not accessible and not ready to fire. Specifically, this means that there is no ammunition in the weapon in any form - i.e. it is not loaded - and it is carried in a locked container. In addition, the transport must have something to do with the need for weapons law.

Hunting license

The hunter may also use hunting weapons for authorized hunting including shooting in and at in the area, for training hunting dogs in the area, for hunting protection or for forest protection without a gun license. He may also in connection with these activities, e.g. B. while driving to and from the nearby area, the hunting rifles are not ready to fire without a gun license ( § 13 para. 6 WaffG). This requires that the hunter has a valid annual or day hunting sheen is.

requirement

The gun license is not to be confused with the gun ownership card, which authorizes the possession , acquisition and the inaccessible transport of a gun that requires a license. The gun license only authorizes the use of the gun, but not possession. Anyone who wants to carry weapons in public outside of the pacified possession therefore needs both: a weapon possession card and a weapon license . In the case of hunters, the gun license is replaced by a hunting license ( Section 15, Paragraph 1, Clause 1 BJagdG), which allows the use of a hunting weapon for the legitimate pursuit of hunting ( Section 13, Paragraph 6 in conjunction with Paragraph 1 WaffG).

General provisions

Sample of a German gun license

The permit is granted for a maximum of three years, after which it must be extended. The renewal every three years is always associated with a background check. District administrative authorities such as the district offices or, in independent cities, the public order offices are responsible. Prerequisites for the grant are of legal age, personal reliability, a professional examination , a liability insurance and above all a need . To do this, you have to make it credible that you are much more endangered than the general public by attacks on your body and life and that this can be reduced by carrying a weapon. The exact legal circumstances are also regulated in the Weapons Act.

Security companies receive a gun license if required. To do this, they must prove that they are performing tasks that armed activity “imperatively” requires. Usually for money / valuables transport and personal protection. The company's employees who are allowed to carry the registered guns are entered by name on page 3 of the gun license as authorized persons.

Small gun license

In Germany, the small gun license is a gun license in accordance with Section 10, Paragraph 4, Clause 4 of the WaffG, which allows the holder to carry signal , irritant and alarm guns (exercise of actual power over a gun that does not require a permit outside of one's own home, business premises or enclosed property) authorized, but not at public meetings, public events or in elevators.

Situation in Switzerland

The Federal Act on Weapons, Weapon Accessories and Ammunition of June 20, 1997 (as of December 12, 2008) makes a distinction between a weapons acquisition license and a license to carry weapons and a license to trade in weapons.

The weapon acquisition license is required for the acquisition of a weapon in trade and, more recently, also among private individuals (status on December 12, 2008). Before, you only needed a transfer of ownership contract to purchase a firearm from a private person, which the seller and buyer had to keep for 10 years. An extract from the central criminal register is required for the weapon acquisition license. The same conditions now apply to the sale of weapons among private individuals as to the purchase of a weapon from a specialist dealer. Self-defense sprays of toxicity classes G1 and G2 require a permit. Certain long guns such as Swiss orderly repeating rifles, single-shot hunting and sporting rifles, as well as single-shot rabbit killers and bolt guns are available without a weapons acquisition license, changes of hands are subject to a contract and notifiable. In order to acquire prohibited weapons, an exemption from the responsible canton is required, including:

  • Series firearms and series firearms converted into semi-automatic firearms and their essential and specially designed components.
  • Military launchers of ammunition, projectiles or missiles with explosive effect and their essential components.
  • Weapons that simulate an object of use and their essential components.

The weapon license entitles you to carry a weapon anywhere in Switzerland. The applicant must be able to substantiate a particular threat. He has to prove his practical and theoretical knowledge in an exam.

For the transport of weapons, in particular (to and from) courses, events of shooting and hunting clubs, armory, holders of a weapons trade license, specialist events, no weapons license is required. The weapon and ammunition must be separate.

An arms trade license is linked to a theoretical and practical test. A fire-proof and burglar-proof business space is also required.

Foreigners without a permanent residence permit always need a weapon acquisition license to buy a weapon, regardless of whether it is bought in stores or from private customers. Citizens of the following countries are not allowed to own weapons and ammunition: Albania, Algeria, Sri Lanka, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Turkey.

Situation in the United States

The second amendment to the constitution ( Second Amendment , passed December 15, 1791 ) guarantees the possession and carrying of firearms at the federal level. States, counties, and parishes can, according to the 2010 McDonald v. Chicago of the Supreme Court does not issue any deviating regulations. For more information, see 2. Amendment to the United States Constitution .

In the USA there are very different regulations for “carrying” firearms, depending on the state. A “ carry permit ” is comparable to a German gun license . In the USA, the concealed carry permit is particularly important .

As in most states, weapons are freely sold, one is weapons permit ( Firearms License ) neither issued nor it is for gun ownership requirement. Some states and municipalities have exceptions to this rule.

Map of the states of the United States of America that allow or prohibit the open carrying of a firearm

The open (d. E. For each visible) performing loaded firearms ( open carry ) is allowed in eleven states without a license. A license (“ carry permit ”) is required in thirteen states . In nineteen states, the carrying of firearms is subject to strict regulations and is therefore only permitted in exceptional cases. Open firearms are banned in seven states and Washington, DC .

A special gun license ( concealed carry permit ) is required in all states (except for Alaska , Arizona and Vermont ) to carry firearms concealed . Concealed carrying is permitted in Washington D. C. with permission.

Business people and entrepreneurs who manufacture or trade firearms, however, require a Federal Firearm License .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See OVG Nordrh.-Westf. , Decision of March 16, 2005 - 20 A 2167/04 - ; Bay. VGH , judgment of May 17, 1994 - 21 B 93.3076 -, BayVBl. 1994, 732; Meyer: The newer gun law case law of the Federal Administrative Court , GewArch. 1998, 89 (96).
  2. ↑ OVG Rheinl.-Pf. , Judgment of March 25, 2004 - 12 A 11775 / 03.OVG -, NVwZ-RR 2005, 326.
  3. ↑ Appendix 1 Section 2 Nos. 12 and 13 to the WaffG
  4. ↑ Federal Act on Weapons, Weapon Accessories and Ammunition (Weapons Act, WG) ( Memento of February 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Article 12 of the Swiss Weapons Ordinance
  6. ^ FDJP: Arms ban: Federal Council adapts list of countries - fedpol. In: www.fedpol.admin.ch. Retrieved April 13, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Carrying of weapons is no longer prohibited in Washington ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive )