In disarmed Poland, any police officers would like further difficulties in defending citizens. Police trade unions filed a petition to the parliament demanding mandatory registration of black powder weapons. In the opinion of commentators, specified government is unnecessary and the risks associated with the spread of specified weapons are minimal.
"In our country, there may already be over 500,000 guns. As the tragic cases of the past fewer years have shown, it is increasingly utilized by criminal communities, people with disorders. Unfortunately, her victims are besides police officers who, erstwhile they go to intervention, in police systems, do not see that a individual can own specified a unit of weapons," we read in the petition of the NSZ Policemen.
Andrzej Idzikowski, a erstwhile police officer and shooting instructor, disagrees with a akin diagnosis. As he stressed, defending citizens with black powder weapons is not a negative trend. – In my opinion, we do not have a problem with any legally owned weapons in Poland. – he said. He noticed that black powder incidents were little uncommon than fatal road accidents. Given that there are about 1 million weapons in the legal trade subject to registration, and that the events with which it is utilized (also illegally) are on average 5 per year, according to Idzikowski, this is simply a "scale at lightning level".
– This is not the kind of scale that would someway force legislators to take on the subject of black powder weapons regulation. According to the explanation of a democratic regulation of law, any prohibition, regulation or regulation must arise from a real and crucial social need – he emphasized.
Besides, as the investigator pointed out, it would be a powerful problem to introduce specified regulations and permissions. First of all, we don't know how many black powder guns there are. Furthermore, it is located – the historical 1 (before 1885) both in the hands of collectors and – its contemporary replicas – in the hands of hobbyists. And so far, no of them needed permissions, so it circulates freely, sold from hand to hand, can be purchased in the store or ordered online.
Secondly, it is hard to imagine the widespread confiscation and illegalisation of specified weapons. “It must be taken into account that a large part of this weapon are monuments, souvenirs that constitute the National Treasure,” said Idzikowski.
- What would we do with that gun? If we were to origin permanent damage, e.g. by depriving it of its performance characteristics, we would destruct monuments and their owners would be entitled to compensation – noted the erstwhile police officer.
– I'm afraid any of the gunholders would hide it in their homes and not burn to legalize it. said Idzikowski. As he noted, any of them do not want to bother with formalities and others due to the fact that they are not on their way with the police.
– It seems to me that the rulers should pay attention to the petition of police unions, and then consider whether the introduction of the proposed solutions would not make a greater mess and would not make the state questionable – He summarized.
According to Andrzej Idzikowski, petitioners' demands are absurd. – Near my house, during a home disturbance, 1 gentleman cut off his another hand with a chain saw. And a friend of hers, erstwhile she went into intervention, the owner of the place hit an axe in the head, the girl is in a coma. – he gave examples and asked if any of these reasons would want to legalize chainsaws and axes.
– It's hard not to mention knives, and especially large kitchen knives, which have been leading the line in police statistic for decades. – he noted.
Idzikowski stressed that surviving in a country like Poland, where there is simply a war going on across the east border, we should change the way we think and think about how to teach society self-defense. Our geographical location and historical experience leave us no large choice. Something “that would seem unrealistic 3 years ago is happening in front of our eyes just abroad”, he stressed.
– Children now learn how to shoot and handle weapons, but there is simply a large group of adults who never had the chance to do so – He did. He added that all Polish citizen who will be trained with firearms strengthens its defence potential.
At the same time, he noted that there was no request to "relax" the current rules on arms ownership. "In my opinion, we are Texas Europe. The anticipation of access and scope of different types of weapons is so wide that a vast part of Europe can envy us," he stressed.
Asked by PAP for an opinion on "blackprobes" mec. Konrad Godlewski noted that according to the Act on Arms and Ammunition, tools and devices, the usage of which may endanger life or wellness are, among others, nunczak and batons made of wood or another dense and hard material, imitating a baseball bat.
He pointed out that according to Article 9(3) of the Arms and Ammunition Act, the items could be held on the basis of a weapon licence issued by the competent individual due to the permanent residence of the individual afraid or the seat of the curious entity of the territory commander of the police, and, in the case of professional soldiers, on the basis of a licence issued by the competent commander of the Military Gendarmerie Branch.
Mec. Godlewski asked the question, do we have real opportunities in Poland to effectively and rapidly verify cases of breaches of the proposed legal standards? "With current staff problems in the police and very crucial burden on the courts, I uncertainty it personally," he said.
At the same time, he pointed out that the applicable services, and behind them the judiciary, are not necessarily ready to introduce fresh restrictions on the introduction of a black powder weapon permit.
"Nothing undermines respect for the law like the deficiency of the ability to enforce it later," said Konrad Godlewski.
In his opinion, specified a recipe becomes dead and yet alternatively of helping – harm. "Perhaps solutions to the problem should not be sought in the creation of further causistic rules on a given kind of weapon, but in the careful listening to the sovereign's voice in terms of access to arms," he stressed. He noted that this opinion has changed over the past fewer years.
“I always emphasize that the gunman will always gain the weapon regardless of the existing bans,” said Mr Godlewski.
(PAP)/work. FA
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