…
United States (Second Highest Rate of Mass Shootings)
Pass an instant background check that considers criminal convictions, domestic violence, and immigration status.
Buy a gun.
Alternative: Go to a gun show and buy a gun from a private citizen. No questions asked!
Yemen (Second highest gun ownership rate in the world, after the USA – Highest Rate of Mass Shootings)
Go to a gun market or find a seller online.
Buy a gun.
Japan
Take a firearm class and pass a written exam, which is held up to three times a year.
Get a doctor’s note saying you are mentally fit and do not have a history of drug abuse.
Apply for a permit to take firing training, which may take up to a month.
Describe in a police interview why you need a gun.
Pass a review of your criminal history, gun possession record, employment, involvement with organized crime groups, personal debt and relationships with friends, family, and neighbors.
Apply for a gunpowder permit. 7Take a one-day training class and pass a firing test.
Obtain a certificate from a gun dealer describing the gun you want.
If you want a gun for hunting, apply for a hunting license.
Buy a gun safe and an ammunition locker that meets safety regulations.
Allow the police to inspect your gun storage.
Pass an additional background review.
Buy a gun.
New Zealand
Pass a background check that considers criminal, medical, mental health and domestic violence records.
Provide character references.
Authorities interview or advise, in person, your partner, or next of kin.
Pass a home security inspection that checks for proper firearm storage. Take a gun safety course.
Wait for approval for a firearms license, which could take weeks or months.
Buy a gun.
South Africa
Join an accredited hunting or shooting club, or document a need for self-defense.
Complete firearm safety training and pass a written test and practical assessment.
Give two employers, friends, or community leaders as references.
Get fingerprinted.
Pass a review of criminal behavior, history of domestic violence and drug abuse, and, in some cases, interviews with family and neighbors.
Buy a gun safe that meets safety regulations.
Allow police to inspect your storage.
Wait several months for a federal review of your application.
Buy a gun.
Mexico
Get a letter from the local authorities confirming that you do not have a criminal record.
Submit a letter showing your employment status and pay.
Pass a background check that considers criminal history, employment, and current gun ownership.
Travel to Mexico City, where the only store authorized to sell guns is located.
Get fingerprinted.
Buy a gun.
Australia
Join and regularly attend a hunting or shooting club, or document that you are a collector.
Complete a course on firearm safety and operation, and pass a written test and practical assessment.
Arrange firearm storage that meets safety regulations.
Pass a review that considers criminal history, domestic violence, restraining orders, and arrest history. Authorities may also interview your family and community members.
Apply for a permit to acquire a specific type of weapon.
Wait at least 28 days.
Buy the specific type of gun for which you received a permit.
Austria
To get a handgun or semiautomatic rifle, prove you are in serious physical danger.
Pass a review of criminal history.
Fill out a mental health survey, and complete a psychological and physical test.
Complete a course on safe gun handling and storage.
Install safe gun storage.
Buy a gun.
If you bought a hunting rifle or shotgun, wait three days before coming back to pick it up.
Canada
To buy a handgun, prove that you practice at an approved shooting club or range, or show that you are a gun collector.
For any gun, complete a safety course and pass both a written and a practical test.
Ask for two references.
Apply for a permit, and wait 28 days before processing begins.
Pass a background check that considers your criminal record, mental health, addiction and domestic violence history.
Buy a gun. If you bought a handgun, register it with the police before taking it home.
India
Join a shooting club, or show that you or your property are under threat.
Attend a practical training course on firearm handling and shooting.
Obtain a certificate of physical and mental health from your doctor.
Affirm that you have a safe place to keep the firearms.
Pass a review that considers three years of tax returns, criminal history, mental health history, and domestic violence and that includes interviews with you, your family, and neighbors.
Buy a gun.
Germany
Join a shooting club, obtain a hunting license, demonstrate you are a gun collector, or prove that your life is threatened.
Demonstrate specialized knowledge of firearms, which may involve a written exam and practical demonstration of safe handling.
If you are under 25, submit a certificate of mental fitness from a public health officer or doctor.
Arrange proper firearm storage.
Pass a background check that considers criminal history, mental health, and drug addiction.
Apply for a permit to purchase a specific gun, which may include an additional short background review.
Buy a gun.
Great Britain
Join a shooting club or document hunting arrangements.
Ask for a character reference.
Arrange proper firearm storage.
Pass a background check that includes a police interview at your home. Your storage arrangements may be checked.
Buy a gun.
Brazil
Write a statement about why you need a gun for self-defense.
Complete a course on firearm handling and demonstrate that you can strike a target from 16 and 23 feet away with 60 percent accuracy.
Obtain a statement from an accredited psychologist certifying that you are mentally fit to fire a weapon.
Obtain a certificate confirming that you have no criminal record and are not under criminal investigation.
Buy a gun.
Register your gun with the federal police.
Fill out an online form in order to transport your gun.
Return to the dealer and pick up your gun.
Russia
Get a hunting license, or explain why you need a gun for self-defense.
Pass a test of relevant laws, handling, and first-aid skills.
Get a doctor’s note saying you have no mental illness or history of drug abuse.
Attend a firearm safety and handling class and pass an exam.
Apply for a license.
Pass a background check.
Buy a gun.
Israel
Join a shooting club, or prove that you live or work in a dangerous area authorized for gun ownership, including certain settlements.
Get a doctor’s note saying you have no mental illness or history of drug abuse.
Install a gun safe.
Release your criminal and mental health history to the authorities.
Buy a gun and a limited supply of bullets, usually about 50.
Demonstrate that you can use your gun or a similar gun at a firing range before taking it home.
China
Establish a specific reason to possess a firearm, such as for hunting or sports shooting.
Arrange to store your gun at a gun range, remote hunting ground, or pastoral area.
Demonstrate knowledge of safe gun use and storage.
Pass a background check that considers mental illness, criminal record, and domestic violence.
Buy a gun.
Another mass shooting today. Will it ever end?
Many Americans can buy a gun in less than an hour. In other countries, the process takes months.
If I hear the argument “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” one more time I am going to get ill.
15 Mass Killing in 100 Days in 2023. We are setting new records!
The happy Quitter! 
This was very interesting and eye opening. It is just disgraceful how easy it is to get guns into the hands of those who should not have them. Or should I specify in the US. We should learn from the other countries.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Comparing our laws and regulations to others countries, explains a lot, doesn’t it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It certainly does!
LikeLike
There are so many reasons I’m livid these days, but this issue is top of my list. My granddaughter (15) had her first active shooter alert at her school. It wasn’t a drill. It turned out not to be anything but the kids didn’t know that. Nor did the teachers. I can’t believe we–Americans–accept this way of living!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will never understand why we don’t protest in every city, in every village. Parents should be on the streets, not just their children, but we sit still and let it happen. Have accepted this way of living? It looks like it.
LikeLike
It really “brings the message” home when you see all of this info at once. There are parts of the world which actually approach this subject as seriously as it should be taken. Well done, Bridget.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It does, doesn’t it. Shocking to see how negligent we are and how careful other countries deal with the same issue.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing facts Bridget, and scary!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Explains a lot, doesn’t it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It does indeed!
LikeLike
Too many politicians are afraid of angering their campaign contributors, including the gun lobby. That’s why nothing is being done to stop this insanity.
This unregulated aggression against our most vulnerable is definitely not what the Second Amendment is all about, nor what our forefathers intended by any means, they were people of common sense. But our current politicians, despite what the people want to feel safe, have made a joke of it, and terrorized folks into believing they need a machine gun to protect themselves.
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
We have a well regulated (mostly) militia, our police and national guard, to protect us from foreign aggressors.
It is not infringing on anyone’s rights to have to go through a background check in order to weed out the unstable, violent, and dangerous lunatics!
LikeLiked by 1 person
People are so concerned about their freedom and their rights, they forget to look around. We have lost our freedom already, we are held captive in a prison we built ourselves.
When children are afraid to got to school, when people like us will leave the country to enjoy retirement somewhere else, because they don’t feel safe anymore, that’s when you know that the freedom we once had in mind, the freedom of the individual, has been lost.
We are all held at gunpoint.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ll said.
LikeLike
Why and how are there so many mass killers
LikeLike
There is a correlation between the length of the process and the number of mass shootings, then. One hour to get a gun? Phenomenal! It is hard not to get overwhelmed with the number of mass shootings reported, as they just continue on and on, without abatement, especially in the US and Yemen, it seems.
That adage about People killing people is false. Without a semi-automatic assault rifle, people do not kill people en masse.
LikeLike
A sad fact in South Africa is that while it certainly takes a long time for legitimate gun owners to obtain permits to own a gun, there is a plethora of stolen guns owned by criminal elements – many of them police guns too. Fortunately (so far) the mass shooting syndrome has not reached this country. Given that a large section of our population emulates much of what happens in the United States, I hope this will prove to be a step too far.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, Bridget! Thanks for sharing how the sane world deals with guns in the hands of its civilian population.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Disgraceful. We are destroying our country with gun mania.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sadly, that’s exactly what we are doing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The fact that safety storage is not required irks my nerves beyond expression.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I had to smile when I read your comment. I couldn’t have expressed my own feelings any better.
LikeLiked by 2 people
This makes me sad.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You and me both -and many others.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very informative and revealing. I didn’t know this many countries had this many rules. Good rules. We in the US are so backwards in some ways.
LikeLiked by 3 people
It’s actually pretty eye-opening to see the precautions in other countries. It floored me. I had no idea, that’s why I put it on my blog.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Sad. Sad. Too sad.
LikeLiked by 1 person