Gun laws in Ukraine
| Gun laws by country |
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Law
Ukraine is the only country in Europe where firearms are not regulated by statute. Everything related to firearms is regulated by the Order №622 of Ministry of Internal Affairs. Citizens are permitted to own non-fully automatic rifles and shotguns as long as they are stored properly when not in use. Handguns are illegal except for target shooting and those who hold concealed carry permits.
A license is required to own firearms, and a citizen may be issued a license if that person:
- is 25 years of age for rifle ownership, 21 years of age for smoothbore weapon ownership, 18 years of age for cold or pneumatic weapon ownership;
- has no criminal record;
- has no history of domestic violence;
- has no mental illness or history of mental illness;
- has good reason (target shooting, hunting, collection).
Gun owners are required by Order to renew their licenses and registration of their guns every three years. Failure to comply will result in revocation as well as confiscation of guns. Limited categories of citizens like People's Deputies of Ukraine, judges, journalists and some other may own traumatic pistol with ability to fire rubber bullet.
Concealed carry licenses are available, but are not normally issued unless a threat to life is present and can be proven.[1]
Once a license is issued, all guns must be kept unloaded and in a safe. If a person owns more than three firearms, the safe must have an alarm on it.
Politics
The political party Right Sector has the position that the population should keep and bear arms, as in Switzerland.[2] Dmytro Yarosh told the New York Times that the organization's lawyers were drafting a bill modeled on Swiss notions of firearms possession.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ "Guns in Ukraine: Firearms, armed violence and gun law". Gunpolicy.org. 2001-05-07. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
- ↑ Azar, Ilya (10 March 2014). «Мы — не вооруженные силы»: Интервью с одним из лидеров украинского «Правого сектора» ['We are not the armed forces': Interview with one of the leaders of the Ukrainian 'Right Sector']. Lenta.ru (in Russian).
Nationalists from the fighting movement Right Sector … are depicted as neo-Nazis by Russian state TV channels.… The head of the Kiev branch explained to Lenta.ru … how it intends to deal with the Russian army in case of military invasion.… 'We believe that people should be armed. As in Switzerland.…'
- ↑ Kramer, Andrew (21 March 2014). "Deadline is set for militias in uprising to surrender their illegal guns". New York Times. p. A12.
'It's not normal to ask people to hand in their weapons in the situation we have now,' Dmytro Yarosh, the leader of a right-wing paramilitary group, Right Sector, said in an interview this week.… Mr. Yarosh said lawyers with his group were drafting a bill for consideration in Parliament that was modeled on Swiss notions of firearms possession, in which an armed population is seen as a quick deterrent against a foreign invasion. 'Allow people to keep weapons at home,' Mr. Yarosh said, describing the logic of gun ownership in the context of Ukraine. 'Then, when the enemy walks down the streets of your country, you can shoot him right from your own window.'…