Question to those not in the USA, and who have lived outside the USA. - eviltoast

I’ve been thinking about something and want to check an assumption I have. I only hear directly from other people in the USA, and interract with the global community through memes. How are the gun regulations/laws different from yours in terms of strictness, and do you wish there was more or less where you live?

Not looking for a debate here, discuss cold drinks vs hot drinks instead. Appreciate either answer. ❤️

Edit: Thanks for the answers all. I’m super proud how productive eveyone kept this talk. I figured most of you had very different experiences than I. I’ll share my most recent experience. I don’t have a firearm, but have considered it after being trained enough. When sharing this with “normal” people around town, I had multiple people offer to sell or gift me a gun where the serial number was scratched off and non-traceable. I ofter heard, “oh man, yeah. You need a gun.” I have literally never needed one. The fact that people offer to give me one when I don’t have a liscence or training shows the mindset of the minority here and how much of a problem a few individuals can make to safety within the current system.

  • BabyWah@lemmy.world
    4·
    1 year ago

    Also Belgium. The only time I had a gun was when I joined the Police for a few years. After that, nope. In my 5 years, I’ve never even had the thought that I should pull out my gun. I’ve served in Brussels and rural areas.

    It was just emphasized so much during our 12 months of training to ‘never ever use it unless it’s your last resort, only pull out your gun when you’re ready to pull the trigger’ that it simply didn’t cross my mind. We were more trained with the stick thing, ‘job?’ and judo, hand to hand combat.

    Also, as a civilian you have to take an exam to own a firearm. If you have mental health problems or a record of criminal behaviour forget it. Even if you do get a license, you can only use it in a shooting range and specific situations. And never transport your gun and ammo together.

    If you have a burglar, even then you’re only allowed to use appropriate force. If he has a knife, you’re not allowed to shoot him.