Israel Considering Easing Gun Laws

Glock 43

From a CNN report (link auto plays video, like everything seems to these days):

Gilad Erdan, minister of public security, was contemplating a number of options, police said.

Among security steps were closing off the Palestinian suburbs of east Jerusalem and relaxing gun licensing.

Sounds like a good idea to me. This actually wouldn’t be the first time they’ve eased their gun regulations in response to attacks. This shows that societies facing existential threats, who cannot afford the luxury of magical thinking, seem to agree that firearms in the hands of ordinary good citizens make everyone safer. Israelis are even hitting the range because of the recent attacks. Sadly, things will probably only get worse for Israel since the Obama Administration has abandoned them as allies, and now the whole region is a mess.

Israel’s gun culture really centers around universal military service. It might be tempting to compare it to Switzerland, but the Swiss system is one of universal militia service. Switzerland’s gun laws are relatively permissive, whereas Israel’s are actually pretty strict. Not everyone is happy with that state of affairs, however.

6 thoughts on “Israel Considering Easing Gun Laws”

  1. They have already announced the changes. THey’ve added a few small villages to the list of cities and towns where people are eligible for firearms licenses, but there’s no major change.

  2. For a country literally beset on all sides and from within by enemies determined to wipe them out, and given their history, the Israelis are so strangely squeamish about weaponry. I really don’t get it.

  3. It’s really very simple: Israel was founded by socialists.

    Also, update: as of now there are no reports of relaxations to the licensing system.

  4. How much training is enough training. Not much if you just want them to be able to handle a firearm safely. There was I time when I would live fire between 150-200 rounds a month. But the big thing is to know when to use that firearm. That is much more difficult to instruct and train for. I don’t know a way to really teach situational alertness in a class room environment. To me that is learned on the street. At present PA doesn’t require any training yet holders of a LTCF problems are almost unheard of.

    Just think about this before giving a knee jerk response.

    1. The same is true here in Washington. No training required, no issues. I think the reality is people are much less casual than the pearl-clutchers believe. While not every person may have thought about every last ramafication or scenario involved in carrying, the average permit holder has thought about self-defense and the implications of using a gun more than the average non-carrying gun owner. Therefore, they’re more likely to educate themselves.

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