Armed to the Teeth
The number of guns in Austria is increasing. Should we be worried?
Have some of you ever fired a gun? Apparently yes because there are over a million firearms registered in Austria. I was just as surprised as most of you by that massive number! Even if we exclude the hunting community from this number that still leaves quite a large amount of guns spread around the country. I always thought of Austria as one of the most peaceful places I have ever known and I do feel safe here. I can walk home after a night out in relative security. Many women might query this assumption as I am a big man but I still feel that Salzburg is a safe place.
What brought this to mind is of course the infamous shooting incident in Bergheim last July. Again I have to stress the fact that it is incomprehensible to me why Austrians elect such people to represent them but I have talked about this before so let us move on. My problem with this incident is that we learned that shooting a gun 29 times in a residential area does not qualify as an offence! Obviously the man has some anger management problems and has been interned at a mental hospital but this only begs the question of how he was legally allowed to possess firearms in the first place. At the very least his licence should be revoked and he must never be allowed to buy any gun of any sort again. Furthermore he should be made to pay for the costs involved for alarming the police and the Cobra Special Task Force. I wonder if there is a register of dangerous persons and if this can be accessed to screen potential gun buyers. I have no idea but I would feel safer knowing that there is. We tend to shake our heads in disbelief at all the deadly shootings in the USA and the facility with which guns can be bought there. In reality, guns are becoming a problem all over the world. I still remember Michael Moore’s documentary film „Bowling for Columbine“. In one shocking scene we saw a bank branch offering a free gun with every bank account opened! An unbelievable offer!
In Britain guns are not the issue (although they are increasing in number). The knife has become the weapon of choice. Statistics for 2017 show an 11% increase in knife crime compared to 2016. Most of the victims and culprits are underage which explains the absence of guns. The fact that Britain’s gun laws are some of the strictest around the world is also an important factor. Owning a gun in Britain is not a right but a privilege. Permission to possess or to purchase a firearm is only granted to an individual who is assessed by the licensing authority, the police, as not posing a threat to public safety and having a good reason to own the firearm. Persons who have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three years or more cannot possess a firearm or ammunition (including antique firearms) at any time.
Going back to Michael Moore’s excellent documentary, I should point out that he came to the brilliant conclusion that Americans crave gun ownership because they live in fear. If you think about it, this is quite logical. One buys a gun to protect oneself and one’s property from harm. It might bolster your feeling of security but you are effectively fighting your fears. The problem is the more people buy guns, the more danger we create in our homes and neighbourhoods. The current US administration seems to think that fighting fire with fire is the solution. The latest harebrained idea: arm teachers at schools to prevent school shootings! Perhaps instead of making America great again one could try to make America safe again. Then again, America has not been a safe place since gun ownership was embedded in the Constitution.
If you are contemplating buying a gun, think twice. The Bible teaches us that he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword. They did not have guns in those days.