Israeli Gun-Law
Reform Passes, Thousands More Allowed to Carry Arms
By JNS August 23, 2018 , 12:25 pm
So Moses spoke to
the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go
against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. Numbers 31:3 (The
Israel Bible™)
Israelis practice shooting handguns at the Olympic
Shooting Range in Herzeliya. (Credit: Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
A major reform to Israel’s gun law meant to put an end to
terrorism on Israeli streets will make more than 500,000 more Israelis eligible
to receive permits to buy and carry handguns.
The new law went into immediate effect on Monday, and
will allow hundreds of thousands of Israel Defense Forces infantry-unit
veterans and active police officers to apply for gun permits.
Army officers with rank of first lieutenant or higher and
non-commissioned officers ranked first sergeant or higher will not only be
eligible for gun permits, but will no longer be asked to return their guns and
permits upon honorable discharge from reserve service. They will be permitted
to put in a request to keep carrying them.
Magen David Adom, ZAKA and Hatzalah medical and police
volunteers will also be eligible for permits.
The measure was pushed forward by Public Security
Minister Gilad Erdan, who asserted that arming more Israelis would reduce the
number of terror attacks and “strengthen public security.”
“Many citizens have saved lives during terror attacks,
and in the era of ‘lone-wolf’ attacks, the more qualified gun-carrying citizens
there are, the better the chance to stop terror attacks without casualties and
reduce the number of casualties,” Erdan said in a statement.
Up until the reform was implemented, Israelis had to
prove that they live or work in areas deemed “dangerous,” and had to undergo
regular testing and continued training.
Under the new regulations, those Israelis who have held a
firearm permit for 10 years will be able to keep their weapons indefinitely and
without periodic testing.
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