Christian Peregin
20 guns for every 100 people
Among the weapons registered in Malta are 1,522 guns with bayonets which are collector's items.
There are about 20 registered guns, including pistols and machineguns, for every 100 people in Malta, according to statistics released in Parliament.
In all, there are about 90,000 weapons registered, including some 12,400 pistols, excluding those owned by the police force.
Among the registered firearms are 52,224 shotguns and 8,373 airguns. The number of registered pistols, revolvers, rifles, machineguns and sub-machineguns reaches a staggering 17,036.
The statistics were given by Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici in reply to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Gino Cauchi, in the wake of a spate of publicised gun crime.
There was a series of armed hold-ups but the more recent prominent cases involved a murder in which Neville Baldacchino, 28, was shot dead in Qormi and the incident when Carmel Saliba, 31, allegedly shot at the Mqabba Nationalist Party club in full view of police. He was charged with the attempted murder of 20 people.
Still, gun activist and expert Stephen Petroni was adamant that the number of available firearms was not a safety hazard.
"All the gun-related crimes committed in the past six months were the work of criminals using unregistered guns and so were the vast majority of gun-related crimes in the past," Mr Petroni said.
He added that the number of unregistered guns in circulation was anyone's guess but many of these would be owned by people who might have failed to register their weapons in the past amnesties and would not hesitate to do so if offered the possibility now.
Although the figure may sound shocking, Mr Petroni argued that licensed collectors or shooters must all go through a stringent process to get a licence, including club vetting procedures, training courses, examinations by the Weapons Board and final approval by the police.
He said that many of the roughly 1,250 licensed gun collectors and target shooters owned more than one gun, with some collections running into hundreds of pieces. Compared to other national averages across the EU the number of guns was relatively low, he pointed out. Automatic firearms are prohibited, except for those manufactured before 1946, which may only be kept unused by licensed collectors.
Many of the registered pistols, revolvers and rifles, as well as airguns, are used for target shooting sports on licensed ranges by licensed shooters.
As president of the Association of Maltese Arms Collectors and Shooters, Mr Petroni insisted that the figures given by the government might be inaccurate because the amnesties of the past were done in a "rush" and many guns could have been categorised incorrectly.
When asked whether he thought any of these guns were bought for self-defence, he said this might have been the case before the new and stricter regulations came into force but it was now unlikely for someone to go through the difficult process of becoming licensed if one did not have a genuine and keen interest in guns.
Speaking to The Sunday Times some weeks ago, police historian Eddie Attard said violence with guns was increasing, with four out of five homicides in Malta this year involving firearms.
"In this day and age, I can buy a shotgun for 'sport' as an excuse to have a firearm at home. Why are there so many people owning hunting shotguns and why are new ones being licensed when the sport is being restricted? Hunting guns are treated almost like toys," said Mr Attard, a former police officer.
The laws appear to be less stringent in the case of hunters, of which there are about 12,000 according to the website of the hunters' federation.
Any person over 18 years can apply for a shotgun by filling out a form at the dealer or the police. If the person has a clean police conduct he will be asked to sit for a bird-identification examination by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, after which a licence is then issued within a month. Another condition is membership of a hunting club that provides insurance against a fee.
The government recently announced it would be proposing amendments to regulate the possession, access to and use of weapons.
Weapons registered in Malta
Shotguns 52,224
Pistols 7,682
Harpoon guns 6,258
Revolvers 4,693
Rifles 4,291
Air rifles 3,900
Air pistols 3,405
Swords 1,642
Bayonets 1,522
Air guns 910
Daggers 459
Machine guns 226
Sub machine guns 144
Other weapons 2,974
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John Matthews
Mar 6th 2009, 18:08
Christian Peregrin (author of this article) Please define OTHER WEAPONS. Please define AIR GUNS you have already included Air Rifles and Air Pistols in your statistics. Other WEAPONS can be practically ANYTHING i.e. Dinner Knives, DIY Tools, Pieces of Wood, Stones (David & Goliath), the list goes on. Newspapers YES newspapers if you have the knowledge or have been taught how to use a newspaper as a WEAPON. I would also like to know how you came to the conclusion 20 GUNS for every 100 people when according to Internet World Statistics 2007, the population of Malta was 386.007. I also hope that you have NOT included swords/bayonets/daggers/other weapons in your statistics as the headling states "GUNS" Please elucidate
Paul Jones
Mar 26th 2010, 02:39
I am so glad to see that not only here in the US are people in such denial of the true cause of crime. For those of you who think the GUNS are the problem I would point out that there was an incredible amount of Murder commited prior to 1132 AD. If people want to kill people they will find a way gun or no gun....Just ask Able
James Green
Mar 6th 2009, 14:53
@Joe Formosa
Can anyone explain to ME why someone would need a Ferrari, a 30 meter luxury yacht, a private plane amongst others on our 'little rock'?
Whilst those figures may alarm you, have you considered:
1. Some may belong to museums
2. Some may be parts of guns (yes even screws and springs) which had to be registered under the old law
3. Some may be deactivated (see above)
4. Some may be relics of WW2 discovered and duly registered.
5. Some may be collected by heavily vetted and trustworthy citizens for reasons as stated by Mr Petroni below.
Regarding the reference to other weapons most probably they are items pertaining to archery, spears, lances etc.
To ease your mind (and BTW the correct term would be bazooka NOT 'bazzuka'):
SCHEDULE I
(Article 3)
PART I - PROHIBITED FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION
Explosive military missiles and launchers
Ammunition with armour piercing, explosive or incendiary projectiles and the projectiles for such ammunition
Finally since you seem extremely perturbed by these 'alarming' figures regarding inanimate objects, I cordially invite you to take up residence, or at least holiday, in violence wracked Nigeria. After all they only have 1 gun per 100 residents!
John B.Vincenti
Mar 6th 2009, 14:28
Ramon Casha states that "gun ownship is not a right".
My dear fellow, you have as much right not to own one as I have to own one. Who are you to dictate what I can own or not own?
Who's to say that you won't go beserk with a kitchen knife one day?
Perhaps, I should campaign so that you cannot own a knife, since you may have the potential to mis-use it.
If you want to make a noise, make it in the correct direction and at the actual cause of criminality.
You remind me of the anti-smokers, who pressed home their right not to inhale my smoke. That's fair enough, but what about my right to smoke? The likes of you left now lee-way where I could excercise my right, not even allowing for "smoking establishments" that you anti-smokers could avoid. Why, because you know what's best for me and smoking kills. No, you want things only your democratic way.... your rights and your rights alone.
At least, there's still the right of Freedom of Expression. I also reserve my right to determine how I live and die, without encroaching on your rights.
Live and let live
Stephen Petroni
Mar 6th 2009, 13:36
@Joe Formosa
The explanation is clear to anyone who is not blinkered: we are fortunate that on this 'little rock' there exist enough serious collectors who spend their time, energy and resources in preserving historical artefacts for furture generations. If it were not for the individual collector there would be no museums today.
Stephen Petroni
Mar 6th 2009, 13:30
@ George Pisani
A collector must be licensed in terms of LN177. I would venture to think that you are not licensed as one since what you are stating here flies in the face of what the law requires of a collector in terms of safe keeping.
Joe Formosa
Mar 6th 2009, 09:36
Machine guns 226
Sub machine guns 144
Other weapons 2,974
Can anyone explain why someone would need a machine or sub machine gun on our little rock?
and I hope no rocket launchers or bazzukas are registered under "other weapons"
God help us.
L..Galea
Mar 6th 2009, 09:07
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson
George Pisani
Mar 6th 2009, 01:37
I, as a collector of British Military Weapons, I enjoyed seeing the picture attached to this article. But I was appalled at seeing that the bolts (which include the firing pin) where still on the weapons. Surely the Maltese gun laws prohibit the storing of weapons with the firing pin still in them?
Michael Spiteri
Mar 5th 2009, 20:30
Why not ban smoking? For sure that is what is killing hundreds of citizens in an agonizing death - not guns!
James Green
Mar 5th 2009, 20:12
Quote: 'There are about 20 registered guns, including pistols and machineguns, for every 100 people in Malta, according to statistics released in Parliament.' Unquote.
This may sound alarming to the uninformed!
Some statistics regarding gun ownership:
Finland Guns Per 100: 56
Switzerland Guns Per 100: 46
Serbia Guns Per 100: 38
France Guns Per 100: 32
Canada Guns Per 100: 31
Sweden Guns Per 100: 31
Austria Guns Per 100: 31
Germany Guns Per 100: 30
Greece Guns Per 100: 23
Malta Guns Per 100: 20
Mmmmmm.............. as is oft the case, we have ended up at the bottom.
Can someone please explain why this parliamentary question surfaces with monotonous regularity and gets reported in a similar vein. Is there some underlying ulterior motive?
Mr Eddie Attard claims 'four out of five homicides in Malta this year involved firearms'. Maybe Mr Attard would now most kindly elucidate us to how many of these four homicides involved registered firearms and hence owned by legitimate owners!
The Commissioner of Police, during a recent TV interview, stated that he is MUCH MORE preoccupied with UNREGISTERED firearms than with registered ones.
Maybe be the next enigmatical parliamentary question should be:
'How many UNREGISTERD firearms?'
simon pinnington
Mar 5th 2009, 19:58
As a UK target shooter, I can only hope that Malta does not make the same mistakes that the U.K. Parliment made in removing ownership of many classes of firearms from legtimate gun owners, In the U.K. we are left with a situation with rising gun crime, but with the law abiding citizen being deprived of his sport without any increase in public safety ! Now the only people who own pistols are the criminals and the sporting shooter who is the natural ally of the Police is penalised.
Malta has a fine tradition of trusting its citizens, the firearms legislation in Malta has worked well, don't change a fair and effective system, support your sporting shooters don't alienate them.
Sylvana Zarb Darmanin
Mar 5th 2009, 19:46
Mr Ramon Casha, throwing unsubstantiated statements into the air gets you nowhere. Please substantial your unfounded accusations. Otherwise these will be considered, as usual, as being baseless. Could these be fruit of your imagination?!
John Matthews
Mar 5th 2009, 16:31
You must be fed up with me but I implore the Maltese people to realise the quality of their Internation Shooting Teams. For a small country they are brilliant and they bring honours to Malta. Don't put honest shooters in the same category as criminals. Do they use HUNTING shotguns?
John Matthews
Mar 5th 2009, 16:06
It appears to me that Eddy Attard hasn't got a clue as to what he is talking about. Sensationalism once again. Please Eddy Attard define what is a HUNTING SHOTGUN. I have written to this paper so many times with this question but NOBODY has been able to answer it. Just because Mr Attard is an ex police officer, doesn't mean to say he is experienced with the wherewithall of firearms. I can vouch for this as I often carry out seminars with the UK police force with regard to firearms and the run of the mill policeman is not very conversant with this subject. A shotgun will always be a shotgun. Please note Eddy Attard some shotguns are used for clay pigeon shooting, skeet etc so much so that at Bisley new ranges have been built for these disciplines. So far nobody has made a comment as to where REGISTERED guns have been used in gun crime.
John Matthews
Mar 5th 2009, 15:42
As a target shooter resident in the UK, I can only endorse Stephen Petroni's logic. We in the UK lost our right to possess cartridge firing pistols after the Dunblane tragedy, however, this did not stop the rising gun crime here. The press is the main problem as it thrives on sensationalism. (sells papers) Look at the "Snowdrop" campaign here, fired by the press. It later transpires that the "author" of this campaign has no knowledge of firearms whatsoever, but, too late the damage has been done to the law abiding shooters. I hope your readers will research these statistics before making unnessesary comments. We have had here a person convicted of deliberately driving his car at another, have cars been banned? As a lot of people both here and abroad say "people kill people", it doesn't take a genious to use alternatives to the gun to become a weapon.
Joseph cachia
Mar 5th 2009, 15:36
To Mr. J.Martinelli. Dear sir, please bear in mind that all these civilians that own machine-guns are mostly collectors. They treat their possesions as treasures. Remember that the last thing that would cross these people's minds is to commit crime with their beloved posessions. You have to compare these people, to the car owner that in in love with his prized 1968 Chevrolet Corvette or 1972 Mg Midget. We have to distinguish between natural born criminals and enthusiasts.
Nobody seems to even consider the possibility that someone might like small arms or machine guns for what they are and their history. Jet fighters were created as war weapons but nobody judges the thousands that go to annual air shows to see the Harrier in action.
John B.Vincenti
Mar 5th 2009, 14:01
The Heading on Page 5 "20 guns for every 100 people", is sensationalism at it's best.
It misleads the reader to conclude that 1 in every 5 people in Malta has a gun. That nearly works out at 1 per household. Beware any potential invaders, we are armed to our teeth.
What has the present crime rate using firearms have to do with the amount of licenced weapons afterall? Why was this question raised in Parliament anyhow?
Does the amount of electricity consumers have any bearing on the amount of people that are electrocuted?
Do the amount of cars on the road have a direct bearing on the amount of fatalities?
Answer =No and no. Why? , Because accidents, mistakes and even crime are created by the consumer or the owner and not by the object he/she owns.
Being a responsible and law abiding citizen (that comes from up bringing and education) is self controlling. Past are the days, when the Church and State decided what was best for us.
Unfortunately, though many people are now educated, and demand their "Rights", many more conveniently forget that they also have to be responsible and accountable for their actions.
Joseph Cachia
Mar 5th 2009, 13:53
If we abolish gun ownership of geniune collectors, why not abolish car ownership ? Afterall, what prevents anyone from driving off on a Bus-stop full of people or on to a pavement in sliema? Stop with this ridiculously biased anti-gun campaign. Criminals will not stop to be criminals and they will not stop owning guns whatever measures are taken. This is all unjustified discrimination.
Alex Spiteri
Mar 5th 2009, 13:44
@mr casha...can u pls provide facts of the mentioned statistics!
And if ur accusing me of being a neocon by simply supporting gun rights, u clearly don’t have any ideas what neocon's policies are. They too, suppressed individual liberty when they drafted the ‘Patriot Act’!
I'm a proud supporter of the American Constitution, the one that with its basic principles for individual liberty and freedom gave berth to the world’s (once) greatest nation!
J Martinelli
Mar 5th 2009, 13:19
In whose hands are machine and sub machine guns?
Why are such weapons even available to civilians?
Ramon Casha
Mar 5th 2009, 12:20
@Alex Spiteri: Spoken like an American neocon.
Gun ownership is not a right. Statistics show that gun owners are much more likely to be killed than non-gun-owners, and a substantial percentage of them are killed by their own guns. Wherever guns were made available there was a sudden increase in crime. Unfortunately, it's easier to introduce guns than take them off the street.
Alex Spiteri
Mar 5th 2009, 11:20
All these articles lately about guns, makes me sensing that there’s an effort from the establishment to control gun ownership. Gun right’s is the basic of individual liberty and if the government would ever control this, they would be waging a war on personal freedom.
Blaming gun ownership for the rise in crime, especially the mentioned incidents in the article, would be very naive and stupid. In the UK, since people had to return their guns to the authorities under a law passed in the first years of New-Labour, saw a rise in crime of around 40% in the first months alone. And the argument of New-Labour was that it would make the streets safer!
Although gun ownership might be completely abolished by the liberal establishment, a handful of people would still have guns in their possesion, most of them criminals. Granting gun rights to all civilians would give the right to every individual defending himself, his family and his property!
Joe Camilleri
Mar 5th 2009, 11:10
What is the difference between Air Guns and Air Rifles?? aren't they the same?
e.cortis
Mar 5th 2009, 10:38
Dare anyone invade Malta ?. We really can defend ourselves if..........!!!!!