Warning: I am not a US citizen. Although I have ties to the US in multiple ways, I was born one month after my parents moved back to Norway. Please don't flame me for not understanding the US gun culture, I don't. It is really incomprehensible to me. I will try to explain the gun control system in this country and why I think it is sane.
In Norway, anyone can own a gun as long as they pass the police back ground check. However doing so is a big responsibility, and you need good reasons for doing so. Like a car you also need training in safety and use.
You can only own handguns and rifles/shotguns.
To have a rifle or shotgun at home you need to be a hunter. The gun it self needs to be within set standards depending on the game you plan to hunt, and you have to pass a detailed hunting/safety course.
This course needs to be passed every two years.
You can only own a handgun if you are registered at a gun club. The only legal purpose for handguns in Norway is for range shooting, either for fun or competition.
After passing the mandatory safety course, you have to be active in the club for six months using the guns in the club.
When the six months passes you can buy your own to keep at the club. Any caliber and size is legal as long as the range supports it. This gun has to be at the club for another six months before you can take it home. At home it has to be locked inside a government approved safety box high on the wall to keep it out of children and others. You can never carry a loaded gun outside or conceal it. You are only allowed to transport it to and from the gun range.
What do these measures do?
It drastically lowers the regular gun related deaths.
Bloomberg estimates that gun related deaths will overtake car related by 2015.
Every single day you have a massacre, just not in one place.
What do these measures not do?
They will not stop the maniacs. We had our own tragic incident with Breivik, and he had all his guns legally.
Imagine though if he had been out there for 1.5 hours with an automatic assault rifle. It would probably have been a lot more than the 69 that were killed out of the 700 people on the island.
So my rambling concludes.
I can't, even though I try very hard, understand why it is a good thing to have many guns around without any restrictions. Guns are extremely dangerous devices and should be handled with care.
I think the system we have is good. It's not perfect, but it allows those that hunt or shoot for sports to do that and it keeps the guns away from children and criminals.
There are very few gun related crimes here and when they happen it is always big news. The cops don't carry weapons on a regular basis.
I think it keeps the society safer.
Sorry if I have offended anyone, it is not my intention. I needed to vent.
