Are European-Style Gun Control Laws a Blueprint for America?
Besides this being an election year in the U.S., the recent amendment to the Czech Republic's charter has me thinking about the debate over gun control and ownership here in America. This move comes with an extreme tightening of restrictions, raising the question: are European-style gun control laws a blueprint for America?
Czech Republic's “Right to Bear Arms”-
Back in 2021, I wrote about how the Czech Republic became an anomaly in Europe. See, they amended their charter to allow for the right to own a firearm for self-defense. This is an extreme view within the progressive nations of Europe. But the Czech laws were a far cry from those we take for granted in America.
As mentioned, the Czech Republic, like many European countries, has strict gun control laws. For example, to own a firearm for self-defense, individuals must:
- acquire a gun license
- pass mental and criminal history background checks
- demonstrate good cause for owning a gun
- pass a gun safety test
- store the gun according to regulations
- and register the weapon with the regulating authority
Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images
Gun Restrictions Can't Stop Violence-
Despite these stringent measures, a tragic incident on December 21, 2023, at Charles University, where a legal gun owner opened fire and killed 14 people and injured 25, highlighted the limitations of these laws.
The Czech Government's Response to Tragedy-
This month, in response to the incident, the Czech legislature passed additional laws, shortening the gun license renewal period from ten years to five, and giving doctors access to databases to determine if their patients are gun owners. These new measures aim to further restrict access to firearms, raising questions about the balance between individual rights and public safety, which are laced with privacy and authoritarian issues.
European vs American Gun Culture-
The Czech Republic has an adult population of approximately 8,720,000, with roughly 314,000 individuals (3.6%) holding gun licenses and owning approximately 1 million firearms.
In comparison, data estimates (nobody can really know) the adult population of the US at around 259,000,000. While it's challenging to determine the exact number of gun owners and firearms in the US because of the lack of universal gun registration (although that is the gun-control advocates goal), estimates suggest that about 45% of Americans own guns, totaling around 82,880,000 individuals owning an estimated 494,000,000 firearms.
The Gun Rights Rally in Columbus, Ohio on March 10, 2018 drew around 1000 well armed, law-abiding citizens.
Implementing European-style gun control laws in the US would be challenging both practically and legislatively. The sheer number of gun owners and firearms in the US would make it difficult to enforce similar restrictions. Besides a scheme like this requiring universal background checks, confiscation and privacy concerns are obvious.
Additionally, the monetary costs from an enforcement standpoint would blow up many state budgets. The US Constitution's Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms for self-defense, which the Supreme Court upheld in landmark decisions such as the District of Columbia v. Heller.
The Basic Question?
While the Czech Republic's approach to gun control may seem appealing to some, it raises a simple and fundamental question about the nature of rights and privileges.
Is a right overlaid with such extensive restrictions truly a right, or does it become a privilege granted by the government?
In the US, efforts to implement stricter gun control laws have faced challenges, particularly in light of the Supreme Court's decisions affirming the Second Amendment. While states have attempted to work around or disregard federal constitutional protections, the legal landscape has shifted following key rulings like Bruen v. City of New York. However, this doesn't mean that proponents of gun control have given up. The debate over gun control in the US remains contentious, with ongoing efforts to find a balance between individual rights and public safety.
Is European Gun-Control Law Coming to America?
The short answer is, not yet. While the Czech Republic's recent amendment to its charter highlights the country's approach to gun control, it may not find its way into American law today, it absolutely serves as a blueprint for American lawmakers bent on taking away the individual's right to own firearms, through tighter and tighter restrictions. The differences in population size, cultural attitudes towards firearms, and constitutional protections make it challenging to replicate European-style gun control laws in the US, but it won't deter the “only the government and my personal private security should own firearms” crowd. The debate over gun control will continue, with both sides advocating for their respective positions in the interest of public safety and individual rights, and I believe Americans will slowly march towards the inevitability of turning over their right's to the government.
What say ye? Do you think Americans will retain their gun rights or, where gun rights are concerned, will we look like Europe in the future? Leave a comment below.
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