Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Gun Control Debate Survives Invasion and War

—

by

sherlockj
in

by James C. Sherlock

The gun control debate survives invasion.

Ukraine. A user survey survey last week in Ukrainian government e-portal ‎Diia (1,726,452 participants in a pre-war population of 40 million) showed most Ukrainians express a desire to freely own weapons for personal use.

  • 59% are in favor of the free carrying of weapons;
  • 22% – categorically against;
  • 19% – believe that it is possible to have a weapon, but not carry it with you.

Ukraine is the only country in Europe where firearms are not regulated by statute. I suspect that the Russian Army finds that regrettable. Everything related to firearms is regulated by Order №622 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Citizens are permitted to own non-fully-automatic rifles and shotguns as long as they are stored properly when not in use.

From Wiki:

Diia (Action) (Ukrainian:is a mobile app, a web portal and a brand of e-governance in Ukraine.”

Launched in 2020, the Diia app allows Ukrainian citizens to use digital documents in their smartphones instead of physical ones for identification and sharing purposes. The Diia portal allows access to over 50 governmental services. Eventually, the government plans to make all kinds of state-person interactions available through Diia.

Russia.

That led me to an article Owning, Using, and Carrying Guns in Russia. I offer it for reference.

I published these results for no other reason than I think Virginia readers will find gun regulations in Ukraine and Russia interesting.

Share this article

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

Comments

27 responses to “Gun Control Debate Survives Invasion and War”

  1. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/articlepdf/2776515/peterson_2021_ld_200232_1650384846.2761.pdf

    Uh yep.

  2. emjak Avatar
    emjak

    Comparisons with gun control in other countries may be interesting, but why focus on Ukraine and Russia?

    It might be more useful to consider gun control in America today by looking at the issue through the perspective of gun control in Anglo-American history. I do not expect an historical perspective will provide definitive answers or solutions. But it can help provide insights into the context of gun control, proposed solutions, and the consequences (intended and unintended) of past efforts at gun control.

    Some examples of such literature include the following (listed alphabetically by author):

    Saul Cornell, A Well Regulated Milita: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America (Oxford University Press, 2006)

    Stephen P. Halbrook, The Founders’ Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms (Ivan R. Dee, 2008)

    Stephen P. Halbrook, The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class? (Post Hill Press, 2021)

    Joyce Lee Malcolm, To Keep and Bear Arms: The Origins of an Anglo-American Right (Harvard University Press, 1994)

    And I am sure there are other books on the history of gun control that could be helpful.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      I agree, but Mr. Sherlock brought up Ukraine as an example of the usefulness of residents having guns.

    2. James McCarthy Avatar
      James McCarthy

      The best literature (alleged to be non-fiction) is Justice Scalia’s opinion in Heller v DC. The Justice employed a great deal of history to justify the absence of text in the 2A to arrive at his decision along with 4 others. That questionable conclusion has morphed into a cultural belief that rivals some religions including the Second Commandment against establishing false gods. Kinda ironic the 2A and 2C.

  3. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Not sure I understand the point here. Russians have always been allowed rifles for hunting. During the invasion of Ukraine the government handed out weapons to ordinary people. The relevance?

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      None. It’s a gray moment.

  4. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Guns per capita:
    #1 US 1.2
    #2 Falklands 0.6

    1. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      Yet neither has won a war in our lifetimes.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Yeah, but one keeps trying! BTW, not spending more than a year in country qualifies as a win, so Panama and Grenada are little w’s.

        1. Lefty665 Avatar
          Lefty665

          So true, and under the Monroe Doctrine they are really “ours” anyway aren’t they?

          It had never occurred to me before, but invading Panama out of our bases in the Canal Zone looks a lot like Russia going after Ukraine out of their bases in Crimea. Wonder if the Russians will deal with Zelenskyy the same way we dealt with Noriega? What goes around…

  5. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Well, the United States population will be in good shape in the case of an invasion from Canada or Mexico.

    I am in favor of the United States emulating Ukraine regarding gun ownership. Instead of dealing with a constitutional provision and various federal and state laws, we should let the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives regulate gun ownership through its orders.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      I dunno. I think it’s 50-50. What’s our record against Canada? And don’t forget, the Mexican Army crossed the Texas border in 2005 and were welcomed with open arms by the locals. Might be our Donbas…

      1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        The return of Pancho Villa…!!

    2. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      “Instead of dealing with a constitutional provision and various federal and state laws, we should let the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives regulate gun ownership through its orders.”

      Great. All you need to do is pass a constitutional amendment voiding the second amendment.

      Then the gun laws can completely change every time there is a new administration in DC.

      1. Matt Adams Avatar
        Matt Adams

        He’s becoming more hyperbolic as the days Youngkin is in office extend.

      2. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Why void that which is OBE?

      3. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        #Repeal2A…!! Proposed text: The second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. Let’s make it happen…!!

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          OBE2OBE

        2. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          Or not.

    3. Matt Adams Avatar
      Matt Adams

      “Well, the United States population will be in good shape in the case of an invasion from Canada or Mexico.”

      Not really, you see firearms are heavily regulated in Mexico, only the cartels and gangsters have them and they are fully automatic.

    4. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      How do you propose we go about doing that? Ignoring a constitutional provision, I mean.

  6. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    I could get behind Ukrainian-style common sense gun regulations…

    Citizens are permitted to own non-fully automatic rifles and shotguns as long as they are stored properly when not in use.

    Handguns are illegal except for target shooting, those who hold concealed carry permits, and handguns awarded for service. Concealed carry licenses are available, but are not normally issued unless a threat to life is present and can be proven.

    A license is required to own firearms, and a citizen may be issued a license if that person:

    is 25 years of age for rifle ownership, 21 years of age for smoothbore weapon ownership, 18 years of age for cold or pneumatic weapon ownership;
    has no criminal record;
    has no history of domestic violence;
    has no mental illness or history of mental illness;
    has a good reason (target shooting, hunting, collection).
    Once a license is issued, all guns must be kept unloaded and in a safe.

    Gun owners are required by order to renew their licenses and registration of their guns every three years. Failure to comply will result in revocation of the license, as well as confiscation of guns. There is a 10-round magazine limit for rifles.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      And apparently, they were able to defend their country quite well for over 6 years against a superior force.

      Provisions for self defense and the right to life is held as superior to the ability to kill. Common sense.

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      And apparently, they were able to defend their country quite well for over 6 years against a superior force.

      Provisions for self defense and the right to life is held as superior to the ability to kill. Common sense.

  7. Stephen Haner Avatar
    Stephen Haner

    Getting pretty hard to find anything about Virginia on this “state policy” blog. A hundred thousand dead Ukrainians are not very interested in Russian gun laws as Russian guns ended their lives. Sheesh. Anything dumber than a gun control discussion about a war zone?

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Ohhhh! State policy!! Not state YOUR policy. Easy mistake.

  8. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    Citizens are permitted to own non-fully-automatic rifles and shotguns as long as they are stored properly when not in use.

    Old rules, no longer applicable. The Ukrainian government handed out 10s of thousands of full auto guns a couple of months ago, and did Molotov cocktail training too. Should we emulate those practices here?

    Anecdotal reporting is that Ukrainian gangs have been using the actual assault weapons they were given to reduce the number of opposing gang members. Wonder if that would work here?

    Once again you’ve missed it. Maybe you should travel up the shore and spend time on the beach with Ol’ Joe. I hear it’s beautiful. Y’all could reminisce about Corn Pop, his Dad Pop Corn Pop, and his cousin the drug dealer Jimmy “Crack” Corn.

Leave a Reply

Read More