This from the Atlanta Journal and Constitution at http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/wednesday/news_9343ca1b239002fc0098.html . This address will only be linkable until Tuesday 6-6-00.
Note the paragraph which states "Several of Hungary's neighbors are expected to introduce similar strict gun controls, a precondition to membership to the European Union for many of these nations." Those who wish to buy and sell in the marketplace must take the mark. I've heard that somewhere ...
Groups protest strict gun proposals in Hungary
Private security firms would lose licenses
Thomas Orszag-Land - London Observer
Wednesday, May 31, 2000
Budapest, Hungary --- Hungary's plans to introduce Europe's toughest gun control legislation, strictly curtailing the possession of legally held firearms, has outraged many local special interest groups, including private security firms, the insurance industry and sportsmen.
''Eastern Europe is still probably the easiest place on Earth to obtain cheap handguns illegally,'' complains Peter Kovacs, 47, a security officer and father of four. ''A lot of kids have them, and old ladies get shot at point-blank range for their little savings. But if I lose my license to carry my legally obtained firearm, I would face ruin.''
Many thousands of small arms and other military weapons were sold, abandoned or just traded for food by Red Army soldiers when they retreated from the region after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian mafia now is involved in massive arms smuggling.
The recent Balkan wars as well as the continuing ethnic conflicts in Kosovo have also produced a flow of weapons through the region's porous frontiers.
The private security industry throughout Eastern Europe has experienced a surge in business in the wake of the proliferation of small arms ownership.
Several of Hungary's neighbors are expected to introduce similar strict gun controls, a precondition to membership to the European Union for many of these nations.
Two-thirds of the 250,000 licensed weapons in civilian ownership in Hungary are held by sportsmen and their clubs. The rest are mainly for self-defense, used by private security guards and members of highly privileged groups of civilians such as members of parliament, judges, state prosecutors, tax investigators and top civil servants.
''In future, a gun license for self-defense will be issued only in response to a specific personal threat,'' said Bela Ring of the Interior Ministry legal department.
Zoltan Trombitas, chairman of the Association of Gun License Holders, thinks legally owned weapons have not been used for a criminal purpose in Hungary for many years. ''The authorities should concentrate their resources on collecting unlicensed weapons,'' he said. ''Can't they understand that lawfully armed civilians constitute a powerful deterrent against violent crime?''
The government counters that it's not the task of civilians to fight armed criminals and that guns in civilian hands could prove a threat to innocent bystanders.
Heti Vilaggazdasag, an influential weekly journal, has welcomed the proposals to deprive private security companies of their gun licenses. The journal said many bank robberies begin when security guards are disarmed and their guns are turned against them by criminals.
Mihaly Vorosmarty, chairman of the Society of Private Investigators and Security Agencies, also favors tighter gun control legislation. But he fears the legislative proposals in their present form would threaten the existence of many member companies engaged in protecting banks and security vans used in large cash transfers.
''Security agents would become easy target for violent attack if they were unarmed,'' he insists.
The Association of Hungarian Insurers also fears the proposed new law could make many high-value transactions uninsurable.
Lawmakers also propose limiting the number of hunting rifles and shotguns allowed per person for sporting purposes.
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Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.
Note the paragraph which states "Several of Hungary's neighbors are expected to introduce similar strict gun controls, a precondition to membership to the European Union for many of these nations." Those who wish to buy and sell in the marketplace must take the mark. I've heard that somewhere ...
Groups protest strict gun proposals in Hungary
Private security firms would lose licenses
Thomas Orszag-Land - London Observer
Wednesday, May 31, 2000
Budapest, Hungary --- Hungary's plans to introduce Europe's toughest gun control legislation, strictly curtailing the possession of legally held firearms, has outraged many local special interest groups, including private security firms, the insurance industry and sportsmen.
''Eastern Europe is still probably the easiest place on Earth to obtain cheap handguns illegally,'' complains Peter Kovacs, 47, a security officer and father of four. ''A lot of kids have them, and old ladies get shot at point-blank range for their little savings. But if I lose my license to carry my legally obtained firearm, I would face ruin.''
Many thousands of small arms and other military weapons were sold, abandoned or just traded for food by Red Army soldiers when they retreated from the region after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian mafia now is involved in massive arms smuggling.
The recent Balkan wars as well as the continuing ethnic conflicts in Kosovo have also produced a flow of weapons through the region's porous frontiers.
The private security industry throughout Eastern Europe has experienced a surge in business in the wake of the proliferation of small arms ownership.
Several of Hungary's neighbors are expected to introduce similar strict gun controls, a precondition to membership to the European Union for many of these nations.
Two-thirds of the 250,000 licensed weapons in civilian ownership in Hungary are held by sportsmen and their clubs. The rest are mainly for self-defense, used by private security guards and members of highly privileged groups of civilians such as members of parliament, judges, state prosecutors, tax investigators and top civil servants.
''In future, a gun license for self-defense will be issued only in response to a specific personal threat,'' said Bela Ring of the Interior Ministry legal department.
Zoltan Trombitas, chairman of the Association of Gun License Holders, thinks legally owned weapons have not been used for a criminal purpose in Hungary for many years. ''The authorities should concentrate their resources on collecting unlicensed weapons,'' he said. ''Can't they understand that lawfully armed civilians constitute a powerful deterrent against violent crime?''
The government counters that it's not the task of civilians to fight armed criminals and that guns in civilian hands could prove a threat to innocent bystanders.
Heti Vilaggazdasag, an influential weekly journal, has welcomed the proposals to deprive private security companies of their gun licenses. The journal said many bank robberies begin when security guards are disarmed and their guns are turned against them by criminals.
Mihaly Vorosmarty, chairman of the Society of Private Investigators and Security Agencies, also favors tighter gun control legislation. But he fears the legislative proposals in their present form would threaten the existence of many member companies engaged in protecting banks and security vans used in large cash transfers.
''Security agents would become easy target for violent attack if they were unarmed,'' he insists.
The Association of Hungarian Insurers also fears the proposed new law could make many high-value transactions uninsurable.
Lawmakers also propose limiting the number of hunting rifles and shotguns allowed per person for sporting purposes.
------------------
Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.