Hello from Israel

[C Islander]

Welcome from Ohio!!

 

[vmumford]

Welcome Lior. Glad to have you aboard.

 

[islamoradamark]

welcome from south florida

 

[italiansport]

Would you please explain the reasons that it's so difficult for a private citizen to get a firearms permit? I would think that with the threat of terrorism that you have to cope with on a daily basis your government would want as many responsible citizens armed as possible.
Jim

 

[hanno]

Welcome from northern Michigan!

 

[Lior]

Would you please explain the reasons that it's so difficult for a private citizen to get a firearms permit? I would think that with the threat of terrorism that you have to cope with on a daily basis your government would want as many responsible citizens armed as possible.
Jim

Thanks for asking Jim. I can give you my perspective on that one, which is biased by my political affiliation and lack of complete data:

Israel's firearms laws, passed in 1949 at a time of cessation of hostilities, required a license from the government to own a firearm and ammunition, which law was inherited from the British. Israel is trying to be both a democracy and a homeland for the Jewish people, and its various governments have tried to balance between the need to make the country unsafe for terrorists and the need to make guns less accessible to fifth columnists and other people who might abuse them (most guns kept by civilians here are probably smuggled military ones, kept illegally by people who don't trust the state). The law gets relaxed when lots of Jewish blood gets spilt here, and tightened again when anti-gun feminists get too much press coverage. People who really want a gun and are willing to live in a certain way that qualifies them to own one can do so with enough planning and resources.

The system here is inconvenient for many people, but on the other hand we don't have many "gun free zones". I've visited the USA just once, a month ago, and was shocked in Chicago by how every other business had a "No guns" sign, as if that would somehow stop carnage, but that's another story.

 

[bigwheelzip]

...was shocked in Chicago by how every other business had a "No guns" sign, as if that would somehow stop carnage, but that's another story.

A common sense observation, that somehow escapes many citizens here.

 

[pawncop]

Welcome from Texas Lior. Great forum for all things S&W, have fun, learn lots, share what you know.

Always grand to have a new member of the S&W family join in from across the Eastern pond.

 

[les.b]

Lior:

I don't want to get political, and don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but Chicago is in no way representative of the United States when it comes to gun laws. Most of the United States are very accepting of those who choose to be responsible for their own safety. Before you visit us again, let us know, and perhaps we can help you know a little about the areas where you are going. BTW, all those signs that you see in Chicago help make it one of the deadliest places in the US!!!

Best Regards, Les