TFB:
According to the Swedish online hunting magazinecalled Jakt & Jägare, Norway is to ban some semi-automatic hunting rifles.
Norway is not even a member of the European Union, but they seem to be following – and even prepared to go much further – than the EU Gun Ban that is going to be implemented in the rest of the EU in 2018.
Where Norway used to be is outlined here.
Today there are 1,329,000 guns registered in private ownership in Norway, some 90,000 more than in 2011. Anders Groven, secretary-general of the Norwegian Shooting Association, reckons that the increase reflects the rising affluence of the country, as hunters can now afford selections of rifles for different sorts of game.
Gun laws have been prominent in public debate since far-right terrorist Anders Behring Breivik used two semi-automatic guns to kill 69 young people at a youth camp on the island of Utøya on July 22, 2011. A commission appointed to investigate the mass murder has recommended that semi-automatic weapons be prohibited. But a complete ban seems unlikely, as there’s political opposition to it in the Storting.
After the January 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, the EU initiated drafting of a new directive that will further restrict semi-automatic guns. Countries throughout the Schengen Agreement area, including Norway, will be obliged to comply with it.
The man in Norway most aware of the current and imminent future changes in gun ownership most likely is Willy Røgneberg, the manager of Oslo Skytesenter (shooting center), the country’s largest gun shop (shown above at the shop counter). He observes that, “In Norway we’ve always had lots of guns, as we have a hunting culture. Most people in Norway respect weapons and view them sensibly. Here in the shop we’ve hardly ever had a customer come in to buy a gun on impulse, not least because so doing is illegal.” To that he adds the opinion that the country’s gun laws are sufficiently strict.
“Sufficiently strict.” Sufficient enough to have to register guns. So it looks like a gun registry is indeed a precursor to gun illegality and confiscation. Turn them in, boys. Or fight.
