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“We’d still shoot our guns in the air during Eid festivities and weddings but with lots of regulations; it’s either done in an open area away from the public or just one or two bullets shot minimum. Laws are very strict nowadays and although it is a proud tradition in the family, it’s not worth hurting anyone.”
Firearms in Saudi Arabia are strictly regulated. According to article 36 of Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecutor’s Law of Weapons and Ammunition, any individual proven to be carrying a war weapon such as a machine gun or ammunition — or the acquiring of these — is considered a crime. The offender shall be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years of prison and will be fined SR150,000 ($40,000).
A 17-year-old female relative of a groom died in Jazan in July this year after a stray bullet hit her in the chest. In the city of Abqaiq, 25 people were killed and 35 injured at a celebration in 2012 when a are against gunfire at celebrations, campaigning for change.
According to the US Library of Congress, the firearms-control legislation and policy for Lebanon states: “There is no legal right under Lebanese law for anyone on Lebanese territory to bear arms.” No one is permitted to acquire, possess or transport weapons or ammunition except in case of security.
Yet it is estimated that there are more than 1.9 million illicit guns held by Lebanese civilians in 2017, more than double the number since 2007, according to GunPolicy.org, a web source on armed violence, firearm law and gun control which supports global efforts to prevent gun injury.
As of 2015, Jordanians were banned from possessing automatic weapons, licenses were restricted to security companies and private guards. The penalty for breaking the law is imprisonment and hard labor of between three months to three years, or a fine of 1,000 Jordanian dinars ($1,410).
Gunfire during public jubilation at weddings, parties, the end of high school exams and graduations is common. King Abdullah of Jordan has condemned the practice, saying: “There will be a zero-tolerance policy in dealing with celebratory gunfire.”
“Even if it is my own son, I will ask the appropriate authorities to deal with him,” he said.
In 2015, a man was sentenced to 10 years in jail with labor for killing a 15-year-old boy after hitting him with three bullets from an illegal Kalashnikov rifle, penetrating his chest and abdomen and killing him instantly.
But traditions die hard. Many videos have surfaced in Jordan of accidental shootings, a problem that continues even with the current laws that are in place.
So whatever happened to dancing at weddings? It must be time to change the tune when it comes to guns and celebrations before even more people get hurt.