The concept of the right to keep and bear arms is spreading around the world.
It's spreading as slowly as maple syrup on an cold morning. But it's spreading.
As we noted a few weeks ago, Israel is loosening restrictions on civilian gun ownership in the wake of the October 6 massacres. Israeli policy is still much more stringent than America's - but any positive momentum is good momentum.
Along similar lines: Poland, sitting on the front lines of the Russo-Ukrainian war, is slowly dragging itself into the world of civilian gun rights and self-defense:
The number of residents in Poland applying for a permit to own a firearm set a record in 2024 at nearly 46,000. The previous highwater mark, set in 2023, was roughly 41,000. The total number of guns owned by civilians in the nation now stands at 930,100, a figure that is twice what it was in 2017.
The standards aren't exactly American...:
Requirements to own a gun in Poland are stringent and include passing an exam, acquiring a certificate of health from a doctor and another from a psychologist. With a few exceptions, all applicants must be at least 21 years old, have a clean criminal record and not be addicted to drugs or alcohol. Issued permits fall into distinct categories that identify the gun’s intended use, including possession for self-defense, training, hunting, etc.
Between medical checks, courses that offer the exams and the sometimes-required sporting-club membership, it is expensive. The government’s fee for applying for a Polish gun-ownership permit is the bargain in the time-consuming process, 242 zltoys (about $65 U.S.), according to a summary from Hartmann Tresore—a highly renowned Polish manufacturer that began offering gun safes in 1983.
...but it's a start. Poland knows the consequences of being not armed enough:
Poland relaxed its firearm ownership laws in 2011, although permit applications trickled in until 2022—the year Russia invaded Ukraine. Since that conflict began the nation also made gun safety and marksmanship education mandatory in its school systems.
And finally, Argentina - whose libertarian swerve under Milei finally caught up with gun rights. Milei's National Security minister Patricia Bullrich announced over this past winter:
HISTÓRICO: LOS MAYORES DE 18 AÑOS PODRÁN SER LEGÍTIMOS USUARIOS DE ARMAS
— Patricia Bullrich (@PatoBullrich) December 11, 2024
A partir de ahora, los mayores de 18 años pueden ser Legítimos Usuarios de armas. Esta medida, que impulsamos desde el Gobierno Nacional, actualiza una norma obsoleta de 1975 y respeta la Reforma del Código…
Partial auto-translation from Spanish:
From now on, those over 18 can be legitimate gun owners. This measure, promoted by the National Government, updates an outdated 1975 law and respects the 2015 Civil Code reform, which set the age of majority at 18.
At 16, they have the right to vote. At 18, they can go to war, start a family, or join a security force. And, incredible as it may seem, at any age they can choose a sex change that will affect them for life. So, why can't they be legitimate users or bearers of a gun at 18?
For years, no one dared to make this decision. We didn't hesitate. While we disarm narco-terrorist gangs and organized crime, we celebrate the fact that good citizens can access weapons as legitimate users.
Like so many of Milei's accomplishments in office, it'd sit well among western Americans.
In the meantime, here in the USA the wave of people buying guns for the first time just keeps setting records:
Results of a poll released early this week by the University of Texas at Tyler and The Dallas Morning News indicate first-time gun owners accounted for more than half of the new firearms purchased between May 28 and Sept. 2. The study focused tightly on registered voters in the state—with a sampling 1,150 Texans registered to vote—but the numbers endorse a 2020 trend first noted by FFLs across the nation as early as March.
Of those current firearm owners who responded to the combined phone and online survey, 17 percent bought a new gun in the past 90 days. Fifty-four percent of them were exercising their Second Amendment rights for the first time.
The proportion of new enthusiasts in gun shops was also on the increase late last month, according to the survey results. Eighty-four percent of new purchases in the last two weeks of the survey were made by new owners. That finding, combined with the already strained ammunition supply line, are another good indication that retailer inventory will likely remain low through the Presidential election and heavy holiday shopping season.
Let's celebrate the wins.
