The Government Doesn't Need To Ban Guns To Strip Them from You
While 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke and other liberals threaten to ban popular sporting rifles and crack down on other firearms, just remember that the government doesn’t need to ban guns to strip away your right to own one.
In Germany, for example, it’s perfectly legal to own a firearm granted you meet and follow the requirements written in the law. The German Weapons Act of 2002 and its subsequent amendments spell those stipulations out in painful detail.
The first step to acquiring a gun in Germany is to qualify for a valid firearms ownership license.
Assuming the person trying to get a firearm is over 18, they must also demonstrate “reliability and personal aptitude,” have “necessary specialized knowledge,” “demonstrate a need” and have purchased liability insurance that covers at least one million euros.
Many of the subjective requirements are not codified in law, but rather left to the discretion of “competent authorities.”
In other words, applicants better hope they wind up with a government official who knows what they’re talking about, and not one who believes AR-15s are ghost guns capable of firing 300 rounds per second.
To demonstrate a “need” for a firearm, applicants need to belong to a specific profession, or be “a hunter, marksman, traditional marksman, collector of weapons or ammunition, weapons or ammunition expert, endangered person, weapons manufacturer, weapons dealer or security firm.”
If applicants want to buy a weapon because they’re afraid someone might break into their house, tough luck.
Unless they can provide proof that they are specifically in danger, they’ll have to defend their castle with kitchen utensils and other makeshift weapons.
Once a sufficient need has been demonstrated, authorities have to determine “the suitability of the weapon or ammunition for the stated purpose.”
As we’ve seen in America, AR-15s for hunting are demonized as overkill despite often being chambered in a smaller caliber. Being forced to demonstrate a “need” will undoubtedly be one of the most disastrous things imaginable for gun rights in the United States.
In Germany, each new gun is also required to be registered to authorities with the buyer and seller’s information.
Once applicants complete the herculean task of acquiring a firearm, they may be surprised to find the “fun” is just getting started.
Guns and ammunition are required by law to be stored in secure and separate containers, unless the storage area meets the incredibly detailed and byzantine DIN/EN 1143-1 government requirements.
Gun owners are also required to let authorities inspect any storage container.
“Owners of weapons, ammunition or banned weapons requiring a licence shall also grant the authorities access to the places in which weapons and ammunition are stored in order to check compliance,” the law states.
It’s not hard to see why these storage laws alone are a bad idea.
In a dire situation where seconds can mean the difference between life and death, many German gun owners could find themselves fiddling with two separate safes to simply load a gun.
As can be seen in Germany, there’s no need for a ban on guns to crush your Second Amendment rights.
Given the power of the law, anti-gun leaders can chip away at our constitutional rights until we’re jumping through hoops for the privilege of owning a registered and highly regulated firearm.
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