Hungarian Firearm Laws
Fortitudo Dei
recently, there has been a lot of talk regarding gun control and
whether tight firearms related legislation does/does not prevent
violent crime.
Without this turning into a thread of pro/anti gun opinions, can
anyone tell me what the current laws in Hungary are as regard to the
private ownership of firearms? The sorts of things I am interested in
are age limits, if there are various categories of license (e.g.
shotgun, rifle, military style semi-automatic rifles, pistols?), time
taken and checks required to obtain a license, costs (acceptable or
prohibitively high?), required security (gun safes?), and if any of
these laws restrict sport shooting (e.g. precision target pistol
shooting).
This just out of personal interest - I am not currently interested in
obtaining such a license, but am interested in comparing current
Hungarian laws with those in my own country.
Replies in English would be appreciated (my speaking ability in
Hungarian is not too bad, but my reading and writing skills are not
that great :(
Many thanks,
Gábor Tóth
Wellington
New Zealand
Steven Szabo
Newsgroups: soc.culture.magyar
>Without this turning into a thread of pro/anti gun opinions, can
anyone tell
>me what the current laws in Hungary are as regard to the private
ownership of
>firearms?
You can own a gun in Hungary 4 any of the following:
1) Self defence. You can only have a handgun for that. You have to
give a very good reason why you need it. If you are not in danger
because of work or special circuimstances (lawyers, politicians,
police might get it) you will be denied right off the bat! After a
gun inspection and mandatory medical checkup it's determined if you
are eligible. If yes, you can have a license that's good for 5 years,
and the paperwork takes approximately 2-3 months. It costs approx 60K
forints, which is about $200 USD. One more thing: you have to
participate in training specialized to your category of gun, after
which you also have to pass a special exam.
2) Sports: you have to join a sportsclub, ow the process is very
similar to the 1st. You can only have sports guns for this purpose.
3) Hunting: You have to join a hunting club, and the procedure is also
similar. You cannot have a handgun for hunting, it must be a hunting
gun!
Couple of general rules: you have to be 18 or older, the police can
deny you the license without any reason. You have to prove that the
gun is stored properly and safely in your house. No conceiled weapons
allowed! You cannot be licensed if there is an investigation pending
against you in connection to a violent crime, and your license can be
revoked because of such investigation.
It is prohibited to own automatic weapons or weapons that look
deceptive, are easy to dismantle or change their size,
characteristics...etc. It is also prohibited to use guns that fire
ammo that changes it's shape form in any way if fired, except for
hunting purpose. (shutgun for instance). You can't have any type of
optical/electronic device attached to your gun except if hunting or
sports.
As you can see there are tons of regulations that make sure no
civilian can own a gun that will likely be used in a crime.
Wally Keeler
news:3cdf54e6.356169980@news...
> This just out of personal interest - I am not currently interested in
> obtaining such a license, but am interested in comparing current
> Hungarian laws with those in my own country.
> Replies in English would be appreciated (my speaking ability in
> Hungarian is not too bad, but my reading and writing skills are not
> that great :(
> Many thanks,
> Gábor Tóth
Hi Gabor
Here is an article about guns in the weekly Budapest Sun and the url where
you can obtain it on your own. I'm taking a chance by providing this because
there are some on this newsgroup who regard my providing such information as
an unpleasant experience.
May 9, 2002 - Volume X, Issue 19 Budapest Sun,
http://www.budapestsun.com/article.asp?Article=News
'You can't legislate'
By Fraser Allan
Gun owners in Hungary expressed their shock over the shooting of 13
teachers, two students and a policeman by student Robert Steinhauser in
Erfurt, Germany, but said such incidents do not deter them from owning
weapons.
Steinhauser, 19, who took his own life shortly after the shootings,
was a licensed gun owner and member of a police-licensed gun club.
Gábor Vass, firearms expert and editor of Kaliber, Hungary's only
dedicated gun magazine, said the country's gun laws were the strictest in
Europe after the ultra-restrictive laws of Great Britain, which were
introduced in 1996 after former Scout leader Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16
young children and their teacher in Dunblane, Scotland.
"Gun enthusiasts in Hungary do not want 'liberal' gun laws, we want
strict, but rational and democratic laws," he said.
Current gun legislation, which was introduced in 1999, dictates that
prospective gun owners must give an adequate reason for possessing a
firearm - hunting and sports (target) shooting are generally the only
reasons accepted.
Current levels of licensed gun ownership in Hungary are very low
compared to most other European countries - only 25,000 handguns (pistols
and revolvers), 28,000 gas-alarm guns and 7,000 sporting handguns are
registered.
The greatest number of licenses are owned by hunting enthusiasts, with
170,000 hunting rifles registered.
License holders in Hungary must be 18-years-old, have no criminal
record and are subject to a firearms examination and physical and
psychological tests.
Police also check locations where firearms are stored. No automatic or
semi-automatic weapons are normally permitted.
Vass argued that tighter gun laws are not the solution to firearms
murders.
"For a mass murder you don't even need a gun, just evil intent," he
said. "There are literally millions of illegal weapons around, and anyone
can get access to them," he continued.
"In 99% of crimes involving guns, illegal weapons are used - there is
something unethical about punishing millions of law-abiding gun owners for
the crimes of a few lunatics."
British expatriate and gun owner John White said the Hungarian laws
are more than adequate.
"The law requires you to undergo a six-month probationary period at a
gun club before you are allowed to apply for ownership of a weapon," he
said, adding that the cost of the process in Hungary is relatively high and
may be an additional factor as to why ownership figures are so low.
"You must also be seen to be involved in regular shooting competitions
to keep the license," he added.
Before White moved to Hungary, he was a member of the same gun club as
Michael Ryan, who in August 1987 shot 16 people in Hungerford, England,
before turning the gun on himself.
"One thing that taught me was that you can never legislate against
these terrible things," White said.
"I didn't know Ryan too well, but he gave the impression to everyone
at the club that he was a very ordinary guy and didn't seem unstable at all.
What turns these people is anybody's guess."