Top 10 Countries with Assault Weapons Bans

Every nation has its own laws and restrictions regarding guns and assault weapons. The United States is no exception.  Click through the 10 countries which have attempted to enact assault weapons bans. They may not have succeeded, but at least some of them have tried.  Precautions should always be taken to protect our families and our loved ones from harm.

1. The United States of America

Senator Diane Feinstein announced she’d like to introduce a Federal assault weapons ban bill in the U.S. Senate after the 2012 deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 28 people dead, including 20 children and the gunman. The bill as of January 25, 2013 has a provision where the sunset clause, which was part of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, will be eliminated and will be directed at firearms with detachable magazines and at least one single military feature.

Gun Homicides per year: 9470

2. Australia

In Australia, people are not allowed to possess automatic or semi-automatic firearms. Neither are they allowed self-loading and pump action shot guns. They are, however, allowed to use a gun for self-defense, but self-defense is not sufficient grounds to be granted a license. Interestingly enough, hunters in Australia are allowed to obtain a license at the age of 10.

Gun homicides per year: 286

3. Costa Rica

Two years ago, 32 women, 48 children and 172 men were killed by firearms in Costa Rica. Those statistics glow from backlit posters on Avenida Escazú, southwest of the capital, and overlook highways in Curridabat, east of the city, emblazoned on giant billboards.

The goal of Costa Rica’s gun prohibition laws is to inform people that firearms in general have a negative effect. The focus remains on protecting the families.

The reforms currently are facing a vote in the Legislative Assembly. If passed, the changes would allow only one gun per home, prohibit the carrying of a firearm in a bar or school, blacklist anyone with a history of domestic violence from owning a gun and raise the penalty for owning an illegal firearm to up to eight years in prison.

Gun Homicides Per Year: 371

4. United Kingdom

In 2011, the U.K. experienced 0.07 gun homicides per 100,000 people; the U.S., by contrast, had 3 gun homicides for every 100,000. In 2009 there were 138 gun deaths in the U.K, where there are 6.7 guns for every 100 people.

One reason for excellent statistics is the U.K.’s strict gun laws.  According to an English rifle and gun club legal center, any person possessing a firearm in the U.K. must posses a Shotgun Certificate or a Firearm Certificate. No exceptions!

Pepper spray, semi-automatic, Machine Guns, and pump-action rifles, and any firearm that has a barrel less than 30 centimeters in length are banned.  The only type of firearm that can be owned legally are shotguns, black powder weapons, manually-loaded cartridge pistols and manually-loaded center-fire rifles.

To gain a firearm certificate, applicants must be over age 14, and must show they have acceptable security and “good reason” to own a rifle. Applicants must declare all criminal convictions and name two references to support the application. Applications must be renewed every five years.

5. Canada

Canada has an exceptionally low gun casualty statistics, in comparison to the United States. In 2009, there were 0.5 deaths per 100,000 from gun homicide — only 173 people. Still, the ownership is comparatively high — there are still 23.8 firearms per 100 people.

There is no legal right to possess arms in Canada. It takes about 60 days to buy a gun in Canada, and there is mandatory licensing for gun owners. Gun owners going for a license must have third-party references, take a safety training course and pass a background check with a focus on mental, criminal as well as any addiction histories.

Licensing agents are required to advise an applicant’s spouse or next-of-kin prior to granting a license, and licenses are denied to applicants with any past history of domestic violence.

6. Mexico

In Mexico, it is considered illegal for someone to carry a firearm that is considered to be military grade. Mexicans are able to own a number of semi automatic weapons, if they go through the painstaking licensing process. The military, not the government, regulates gun licensing and sales from a single gun store. Applicants who obtain licenses are entitled to buy a handgun between .22-.38 calibers that should remain in the home. Mexico’s massive gun deaths over the past decade have mainly been the product of illegal weapons imported into the country from the United States.

Gun Homicides Per Year: 4791

7. Germany

The country already has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Handguns are only on sale to those aged 18 or over, with heavier weapons restricted to those over 21. No weapon can be purchased legally without a firearms ownership license, which is only available after personal checks.

None of this appears to have prevented a 17-year-old former pupil of Albertville school in Winnenden from going on a gun rampage. According to Spiegel online, the student’s family kept some 18 various weapons at home.

Gun Homicides Per Year: 903

8. Japan

Besides the police and the military, the only group that is allowed to posses guns is hunters, and that controlled in the strictest circumscribed. The police even check hunters’ ammunition inventory, to make sure that there are no unaccounted shells or bullets. Hunting licenses themselves are not mostly hard to obtain. A prospective hunter must take an official safety course; and then pass a test which covers maintenance and examination of the hunting gun, methods of loading and unloading cartridges, shooting from various positions, and target practice for stationary and moving objects. The hunting license is valid for three years.

Trap and skeet shooting are also tightly restricted.

Civilians are unable to obtain handgun target licenses. Even possession of a starter’s pistol is only allowed under vigilantly- detailed conditions.

Gun Homicides Per Year: 582

9. China

Gun ownership in the People’s Republic of China is seriously regulated by law. Generally, private citizens are not permitted to own guns.

Guns can be used only by law enforcement, the military and paramilitary, and security personnel protecting property of state importance.

Civilian ownership of guns is largely restricted to authorized, non-individual entities, including sporting organizations, authorized hunting reserves and wild life protection, management and research organizations. The chief exception to the general ban for individual gun ownership is for the principle of hunting.

Illegal possession or sale of firearms carries a minimum punishment of 3 years in prison, with the maximum being the death penalty.

10. New Zealand

In New Zealand,  it is illegal to own handguns, military-style semi-automatic weapons or fully automatic firearms without a permit to purchase and a relevant firearm license endorsement. The country is more liberal than most countries in the Oceania area. To obtain a license, applicants must pass a vigorous background check, have character professional references and go through an interview process. Self defense is not a reason to apply for a gun license.

Gun Homicides Per Year: 7

There is a larger issue here, we’re facing, and it’s not the guns. It’s actually the lack civility in this country or empathy. Top 10 List is troubled to learn that gun enthusiasts heckled Neil Heslin, a father who lost his child at Sandy Hook Shooting.