Gun politics in Italy
Encyclopedia
Gun politics in Italy
incorporates the political and regulatory aspects of firearm
s usage in the country. The Italian Constitution does not recognize the right to keep and bear arms, however different types of gun licenses can be obtained from the national police authorities. According to a 2007 study by The Small Arms Survey Project, the per capita
gun ownership rate in Italy is around 12% with an estimated 7 million registered firearms in circulation.
or living with persons who may gain access to the firearms and abuse them (e.g. living with family members who are mentally ill, alcoholic or drug addicts).
) can be classified as sporting firearms (armi sportive), which can be used for self defence in extreme circumstances (es. during a home invasion) but which can not be carried for said purpose
.
The said catalogue and the related commission will be abolished from 1 January 2012, due to the economic stability law, approved the 12th November 2011.
Citizens are allowed to own:
Trade and ownership of deactivated and replica (non firing) firearms is not regulated by law and is unrestricted.
Hunting
A hunting license
, along with a special hunting permit issued by the region
of residence, allows to carry hunting weapons only during the hunting season and only within game reserve
s. When transporting them outside game reserves, the shotguns must be kept unloaded and locked in their case.
Firearms allowed for hunt are:
Shooting sports
With a shooting sports license, citizens are allowed to transport (unloaded and stored in a proper case) firearms from their home to an authorized shooting range or to another safe place to practice shooting, which, in case of a private place, must be reasonably distant from roads and inhabited areas, and not accessible by unauthorized people.
Concealed carry
A concealed carry license allows a citizen to carry a handgun for personal defense; this license is usually much harder to obtain than other firearm licenses, must be renewed yearly (while the hunting and shoting sports licences are valid for 5 or 6 years, respectively), and the applicant has to provide a valid reason to carry a concealed gun (e.g. a salesperson of valuable goods such as jewelry). A special carry license is released to private security personnel
; this license differs from the standard carry licenses in that it has to be renewed every two years, and allows on-duty open carry (otherwise forbidden), and off-duty concealed carry.
and 7.62x51mm NATO are available in civilian loads and with civilian denominations (such as .223 Remington
, .308 Winchester
). Semi-automatic firearms
can be bought by licensees without additional restrictions.
Operational limits include a maximum capacity of 15 rounds for handguns (effective since 2004), a maximum capacity of 5 rounds (sometimes 10 rounds or even more according to some specific case, such as the M1 Garand
) for non-smoothbore
long arms (rifles and carbines), but those limitations are estabilited in attuation of the National Firearm Catalogue, while no nominal capacity limit applies to shotguns. Restrictions on the ownership of ammunition include a maximum of 1500 shotgun shells and/or rifle/carbine cartridges, and a maximum of 200 rounds of pistol ammunition. These limitations can be overcome only by obtaining a special permit from the local prefect
, about the pistol ammo and only for competitive shooters that must demonstrate partecipation at local/national campionships.
Local police officers are generally allowed to carry their handguns (concealed when off duty), but only within their territorial limits.
Security guard
s can be allowed by the prefect
to carry weapons when on duty and without territorial limits, upon request; usually this permission is granted to cash-in-transit security officers, as well as to private security personnel guarding banks, shopping malls and other facilities (in recent years, even some public offices and hospitals in Italy have contracted private security personnel for 24/7 protection).
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
incorporates the political and regulatory aspects of firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s usage in the country. The Italian Constitution does not recognize the right to keep and bear arms, however different types of gun licenses can be obtained from the national police authorities. According to a 2007 study by The Small Arms Survey Project, the per capita
Per capita
Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...
gun ownership rate in Italy is around 12% with an estimated 7 million registered firearms in circulation.
Gun licenses
To obtain a gun licence applicants must be 18 or older, prove they can handle and use a firearm safely (usually by obtaining a certificate from a shooting range after attending a practical shooting course), declare to have a clean criminal record (verification will be made by the Police authorities) and must not be mentally ill or be a known abuser of, or addicted to, alcohol or illegal drugs. Other grounds for refusal of a gun license include being a conscientious objectorConscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
or living with persons who may gain access to the firearms and abuse them (e.g. living with family members who are mentally ill, alcoholic or drug addicts).
National Firearms Catalogue
Italian laws prescribe that any rifled-barreled firearm imported or manufactured in Italy after 1976 must be identified by a progressive catalogue number, assigned by a commission composed of police and government officials and representatives from the Italian arms industries. The role of the commission is to decide if a rifled firearm should be classified either a war firearm (arma da guerra) or a common firearm (arma comune da sparo). The national firearms catalogue describes the characteristics of the weapon (barrel and overall length, number of rounds in the magazine and other technical specifications) that cannot legally be altered without resubmitting the weapon to the commission. Common firearms with certain features (sights, type of actionFirearm action
In firearms terminology, an action is the physical mechanism that manipulates cartridges and/or seals the breech. The term is also used to describe the method in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism. Actions are generally categorized by the type of mechanism used...
) can be classified as sporting firearms (armi sportive), which can be used for self defence in extreme circumstances (es. during a home invasion) but which can not be carried for said purpose
Concealed carry
Concealed carry, or CCW , refers to the practice of carrying a handgun or other weapon in public in a concealed manner, either on one's person or in proximity.-In Canada:...
.
The said catalogue and the related commission will be abolished from 1 January 2012, due to the economic stability law, approved the 12th November 2011.
Weapons possession
All private firearms must be registered at the local police department within "72 hours", as specified by law, after purchase or transfer, although this limit goes from the time the firearm is actually took to the place where it is to be registered (for example, the firearm may be bought at a time and withdrawn after a week from the retailer; only then the weapon will require the registration).Citizens are allowed to own:
- up to three common firearms (usually handgunHandgunA handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s, but all firearms not using hunting calibers fall into this category, such as 10-gauge shotguns, or some .22 rimfire rifles) - up to six weapons that have been specifically engineered and/or manufactured for shooting sportsShooting sportsA shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns . Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event...
specifically recognized by an ordnance of the Ministry of Internal; - an unlimited number of hunting weapons (both rifles and shotguns);
- up to eight antique or historical weapons (designed before 1891, regardless of when produced);
- unlimited numbers of single shot muzzle loader replicas, for which no registration is needed;
- unlimited numbers of airguns under 7,5 Joules of muzzle energy, specifically approved by the Ministry of Internal, which require no registration as well.
Trade and ownership of deactivated and replica (non firing) firearms is not regulated by law and is unrestricted.
Firearm collector's license
A Firearm Collector's License allows the bearer to keep at home an unlimited number of weapons, but they must be kept in a safe room, usually cannot be used or moved and their ammunition cannot be bought; exact details may vary according to the local police departments policy.Carry guns in public places
In Italy it is illegal to carry weapons in public places, but the law provides the following exceptions:HuntingHuntingHunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
license
A hunting licenseHunting license
A hunting license is a regulatory or legal mechanism to control recreational and sports hunting.Hunting may be regulated informally by "unwritten law", "self restraint", or "morality" and by laws "enforced by government authority."...
, along with a special hunting permit issued by the region
Regions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
of residence, allows to carry hunting weapons only during the hunting season and only within game reserve
Game reserve
A game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism or hunting purposes. Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris or hunt wild game....
s. When transporting them outside game reserves, the shotguns must be kept unloaded and locked in their case.
Firearms allowed for hunt are:
- All smooth bore guns, with a gauge not bigger than 12, overall length more than 60 cm and a barrel length more than 30 cm.
- Rifled bore guns, firing a bullet with a diameter more than 5.6mm or a case longer than 40mm, overall length more than 60 cm and a barrel length more than 30 cm.
Shooting sportsShooting sportsA shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns . Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event...
license
With a shooting sports license, citizens are allowed to transport (unloaded and stored in a proper case) firearms from their home to an authorized shooting range or to another safe place to practice shooting, which, in case of a private place, must be reasonably distant from roads and inhabited areas, and not accessible by unauthorized people.Concealed carryConcealed carryConcealed carry, or CCW , refers to the practice of carrying a handgun or other weapon in public in a concealed manner, either on one's person or in proximity.-In Canada:...
license
A concealed carry license allows a citizen to carry a handgun for personal defense; this license is usually much harder to obtain than other firearm licenses, must be renewed yearly (while the hunting and shoting sports licences are valid for 5 or 6 years, respectively), and the applicant has to provide a valid reason to carry a concealed gun (e.g. a salesperson of valuable goods such as jewelry). A special carry license is released to private security personnelSecurity guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
; this license differs from the standard carry licenses in that it has to be renewed every two years, and allows on-duty open carry (otherwise forbidden), and off-duty concealed carry.
Limitations
Italian gun laws pose restrictions to the kind of firearms and calibers available to civilians. Full-automatic/select-fire firearms (machineguns), grenade launchers, destructive devices and all other kinds of military weapons are forbidden; a prohibited caliber is expressly the 9mm Parabellum; and as a matter of fact all military ammunition (such as 5.7x28mm, 4.6x30mm, .50-BMG and up) are not avaiable to the public. On the other hand, standard military calibers such as 5.56x45mm NATO5.56x45mm NATO
5.56×45mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the United States and originally chambered in the M16 rifle. Under STANAG 4172, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. It is derived from, but not identical to, the .223 Remington cartridge...
and 7.62x51mm NATO are available in civilian loads and with civilian denominations (such as .223 Remington
.223 Remington
The .223 Remington is a sporting cartridge with almost the same external dimensions as the 5.56×45mm NATO military cartridge. The name is commonly pronounced either two-two-three or two-twenty-three. It is loaded with a diameter, jacketed bullet, with weights ranging from , though the most common...
, .308 Winchester
.308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester is a rifle cartridge and is the commercial cartridge upon which the military 7.62x51mm NATO centerfire cartridge is based. The .308 Winchester was introduced in 1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm NATO T65...
). Semi-automatic firearms
Semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...
can be bought by licensees without additional restrictions.
Operational limits include a maximum capacity of 15 rounds for handguns (effective since 2004), a maximum capacity of 5 rounds (sometimes 10 rounds or even more according to some specific case, such as the M1 Garand
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...
) for non-smoothbore
Smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...
long arms (rifles and carbines), but those limitations are estabilited in attuation of the National Firearm Catalogue, while no nominal capacity limit applies to shotguns. Restrictions on the ownership of ammunition include a maximum of 1500 shotgun shells and/or rifle/carbine cartridges, and a maximum of 200 rounds of pistol ammunition. These limitations can be overcome only by obtaining a special permit from the local prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
, about the pistol ammo and only for competitive shooters that must demonstrate partecipation at local/national campionships.
Police forces
National police officers are always allowed to carry their handguns without territorial or time restrictions, but are required to carry them concealed when they are off duty. Machine guns can only be carried while on duty.Local police officers are generally allowed to carry their handguns (concealed when off duty), but only within their territorial limits.
Security guard
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
s can be allowed by the prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
to carry weapons when on duty and without territorial limits, upon request; usually this permission is granted to cash-in-transit security officers, as well as to private security personnel guarding banks, shopping malls and other facilities (in recent years, even some public offices and hospitals in Italy have contracted private security personnel for 24/7 protection).