Review of the firearms licensing system in Greece

The government is reportedly considering a legislative framework for firearms licensing, especially following two recent shootings involving shotguns.

Let us recall that in the recent shocking murder of a woman in Thessaloniki, the perpetrator used a shotgun, and in the brutal crime in Piraeus, where an elderly man killed a parking attendant with a shotgun because he was in the way of cars parked on the sidewalk, he also used a shotgun.

In Greece there are about 1 million units of hunting weapons, 5.5 thousand units of small arms and 3 thousand units of weapons for personal protection. In addition, the population has more than 800 thousand illegal firearms.

https://rua.gr/news/obschestvo/52517-800-000-edinits-nezakonnogo-ognestrela-na-rukakh-zhitelej-gretsii.html

Two measures being considered by the government regarding gun ownership

Sources in the Ministry of Civil Defense claim that it is impossible to obtain a license with a psychiatrist’s report valid for 10 years, indicating the direction of the pending change in the current legal framework.

Another measure that appears to be under consideration is requiring a ballistics test on every gun before it is purchased, so that every gun sold has an identification number.

800,000 illegal firearms in the hands of Greek residents

7 out of 10 purchased via the Internet – at least 2 out of 10 Greek residents own weapons legally or illegally, older people purchase guns and ammunition for self-defense.

In response to a request to the Greek police (EL.AS) from the NEA publication, they responded that “for reasons of national security, the number of legally circulating weapons in Greece cannot be disclosed.” However, according to information obtained from research on this issue, there are approximately 2,000,000 weapons in circulation in Greece. Of these, 800,000 are illegal, in the hands of persons who have not registered them anywhere, and the remaining 1,200,000 are legal (pistols, hunting rifles, etc.).

Approximately 2 out of 10 people in the country own any type of weapon, however, gun ownership in Greece remains low compared to other countries (Cyprus – 34 guns per 100 inhabitants, Finland – 32 guns per 100 inhabitants) and, of course, with the USA (120 guns per 100 inhabitants) and, of course, with the USA (120 guns per 100 inhabitants) 100 inhabitants). Another issue is that half of these weapons are illegal, unlike the countries mentioned above.

According to the Greek police, “Licenses to own and carry weapons in Greece are issued mainly for the following purposes: hunting, shooting (shooting clubs or shooters), personal security, security of premises and people (the license to own is issued to a security officer, and license to carry for security guards), and collecting (active or deactivated weapons).According to official data from the National Police, the total number of weapons seized in criminal offenses involving the use of a weapon as a tool in the four-year period 2019-2022 is 8,629.

Considering the difficult crime situation in the country, tightening the issuance of weapons licenses will not lead to a reduction in criminal cases of their use, but will definitely put criminals who do not have problems with a “license” in a more advantageous position.

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