Editorial

For some odd reason, current gun licensing laws in Malta have given rise to serious anomalies.

On one hand, prospective hunters have to wait months to get called for a test to permit them to procure their guns. On the other hand, if one wants to buy a firearm that is not going to be used for hunting, all one has to do is join a target shooting club. It takes about a month to get registered. This involves basic training on how to handle a weapon, knowledge of the ramifications of the law and how to store the weapon and the ammunition.

However, once registered, this entitles a member to buy up to 10 weapons that can range from a revolver to more sophisticated and deadly weapons such as a sniper's rifle or a sub-machine gun!

Unbelievably, there seems to be no distinction between the types of firearm that are chosen and the law does not distinguish between the bona fide collector and those that buy dangerous firearms, apart from laying down certain conditions which, at the end of the day, still allow an ill-meaning person the use of a lethal weapon.

The same licence caters for all purchases, irrespective of whether it is a collectors' piece used as an ornament in a house, a rather harmless airgun or a high-powered pistol or rifle. The importation of certain firearms should be of concern to the authorities. What could be the purpose of one buying a Kalashnikov?

No doubt, these matters have been raised elsewhere and people tend to invoke the right to self-defence or so-called "peace of mind". Peace of mind for whom?

As yet, Malta has not adopted a trigger-happy culture and, God forbid, it should move down that road.

The recent juvenile lethal crimes in the UK involving firearms should be a grim reminder that the procurement of firearms in our midst should be seriously controlled. We have enough sad cases of armed assault and robbery to realise the dangers at stake.

This does not mean that the government should not provide licensing laws that enable collectors, hunters and sportsmen to buy firearms. However, licensing should be on the basis of the intended use of the weapon and, consequently, depending on the user himself. In other words, there should be far more rigorous conditions when issuing licences, whether for target shooting, collecting, or hunting. Besides streamlining the gun-licensing situation, it is imperative the government takes a very harsh attitude towards those who have and use unlicensed weapons, especially when one considers that the firearms used in crimes are usually unlicensed.

It is distressing to note that two men were only given a suspended jail term for holding an elderly couple against their will in an attempted robbery. Thankfully, the Court of Appeal overthrew this lenient sentence and jailed both men for a total of eight years.

The presiding judge pointed out that crimes involving firearms are very serious and should always be punished with an effective jail term.

However, prevention is better than cure. There are enough firearms in circulation. It is not in society's interest that the situation remains unchecked or is poorly controlled by ineffective gun laws.

Although laws should respect bona fide collectors and enthusiasts, all loopholes that enable the importation of dangerous and unwarranted firearms must be closed off and the withdrawal of such weapons should be seriously considered.

Above all, when dealing with firearms-related crime, zero tolerance should be exercised by all.