Iceland review - 2019, Qupperneq 108

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Iceland Review
With relatively widespread gun ownership but
virtually no gun crime, foreign observers have fre-
quently held up Iceland as an example of sensible
gun control. The types of guns people can possess
are strictly limited and getting a license requires
a long and difficult process designed to ensure
responsible gun ownership. While legislation is an
effective tool to minimise gun violence, it’s not the
only reason Icelanders manage their guns respon-
sibly. In order to understand how Iceland’s gun
legislation works, we need to take a closer look at
the country’s gun culture.
Guns play a very different role in Icelandic soci-
ety and culture than they do in the US, Atli Helgi
Atlason, an avid hunter who has lived in the US for
20 years, tells me. “Gun ownership is a privilege in
Iceland, rather than a right.”
Tight gun control, no gun crime
As Helgi Gunnlaugsson, professor of criminology
at the University of Iceland, points out, gun crime
is almost unheard of in Iceland. “There are very
few armed robberies in general, and it is very rare
to see guns used in crimes, certainly homicides.
Iceland really stands out in international compari-
son when it comes to gun crime.”
Icelandic law places strict limits on gun owner-
ship. To get a gun, you must be at least 20 years old.
You must also pass a medical assessment to ensure
you are mentally and physically fit to handle a gun
and you can’t have a criminal record. Applicants
must then get recommendations from two people
to attend a course on guns, gun safety, as well as
gun and hunting laws. Only after passing a written
test can you get a license for smaller shotguns and
rifles. To get a permit for larger rifles (up to 30 cal-
ibres) and semi-automatic shotguns, you must wait
an additional year.
“The legislation is much stricter than for exam-
ple in the US,” Helgi points out. “But it’s not pro-
hibitive or exceedingly restrictive. It is very difficult
to get a permit for a handgun, but it’s relatively
straightforward for most law-abiding people to get
a gun permit, which is reflected in the high ratio
of gun ownership.” The law, however, ensures that
guns do not fall into the wrong hands and promotes
responsible gun ownership.
Getting a license
Sergeant Jónas Hafsteinsson has issued gun per-
mits for the Reykjavík Police since 1986. 70-80%
of all applications for permits are filed with the
Reykjavík Police, so he has reviewed the vast major-
ity of applications for nearly a quarter century. “I
can only think of one recent case where I had to turn
down an application. People either know whether
they meet the conditions, or they come in and talk to
me to make sure. Once in a while, applicants fail the
written test, but they usually try again and pass.”
It’s also rare for the police to revoke licenses. Only
60 gun permits have been revoked since 2000, pri-
marily due to sentences for possession of controlled
substances. Most of these permit holders didn’t own
guns, according to Jónas.
Counting guns
While Icelandic gun ownership is relatively high,
Jónas tells me that data on gun ownership which
are frequently cited are exaggerated. Many articles
claim that there are as many as 90,000 firearms
in Iceland, but the actual figure is closer to 65,000
guns, which includes guns which have been deac-
tivated, as well as guns brought into Iceland by
hunters on their way to Jan Mayen or Greenland.
These weapons must be registered once they enter
the country and remain on register even though
they have left. The figures also include more than
7,000 old single-shot shotguns and “sheep guns,”
single-shot handguns used on farms around the
country. Still, the figure is quite high for a country
of just 350,000 people. The rest of the guns fall
into three main categories – collectors’ weapons,
guns used for marksmanship, and hunting weap-
ons. The vast majority are hunting weapons; 39,255
shotguns and 25,360 rifles.
The official figures are probably not far off the
mark because very few smuggled and unregis-
tered weapons seem to be in circulation in Iceland.
“Officers rarely come across unregistered weapons
during searches or in connection to criminal investi-
gations. The overwhelming majority of guns seized in
this manner, are registered weapons that have been
stolen.” Unregistered weapons do turn up regularly,
Jónas continues, “but these are usually shotguns
bought by grandpa at the local store decades ago.”
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Ptarmigan hunter in
Bjarnarfjörður fjord in
the Strandir region.