# Does anywhere have laxer gun laws than the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2019, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anywhere-have-laxer-gun-laws-than-the-us/832498 "2019-04-13T15:17:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anywhere-have-laxer-gun-laws-than-the-us/832498/21 "2019-04-14T21:47:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [From the Governor of Svalbard Island:](https://www.sysselmannen.no/en/Shortcuts/Firearms/) > , also > > so, gun carrying in the areas listed isn’t even mandatory-it’s just recommended. I stand corrected. My sources were friends who have lived there. Before 2016, when the quote guidelines came into effect. I found a few places still on the net mention is as compulsory, but no official sources. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anywhere-have-laxer-gun-laws-than-the-us/832498/22 "2019-04-15T03:03:20Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > So the US has famously lax gun laws, as viewed from the rest of the “western” world. But it does have some, automatic weapons for example are effectively banned (the [details](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Firearms_Act) are complicated) > > Does any country have laxer laws on the ownership of private firearms? I don’t mean state-owned firearms, so countries where conscripts are required to take their rifles home (such Switzerland and Israel, IIRC) don’t count. Likewise for countries that have gun laws but they aren’t actually enforced (along with any other laws) so weapons are widespread (e.g. Somalia or Syria) > > I remember reading somewhere that the occupying powers in Iraq allowed one AK-47 per-household (presumably military full-automatic ones, not the semi-automatic variant that are legal in the US), was that actually codified in a law, or just military policy during the occupation? Not sure if anyone linked to the comparison [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation), but basically the US is yellow across the board…which means it varies. Yemen, on the other hand, is green/yellow across the board, so I’d say that meets the OPs question. On a slightly deeper level, as far as I know, no other country but the US has enshrined a right to keep an bear arms as part of their revolution and constitution, so it’s not really that surprising that the US is an outlier. As people have noted, though, you can’t really talk about ‘US gun law’ across the board, as it varies widely from state to state and even within states in some cases. I’m not sure why a license seems to be the thing most are latching onto, but probably because the US doesn’t require one, seeing as how the right is, again, enshrined in our Constitution. We do have gun laws, however, even though a license isn’t required, and .there are regions (cities, towns or counties) where it’s either effectively impossible or very, very difficult to own or get a firearm. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anywhere-have-laxer-gun-laws-than-the-us/832498/23 "2019-04-15T03:12:23Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I know one. A woman, old college friend, who is a prosecutor. She prosecuted some bad guys, got lots of threats, credible enough so that she was issued a permit. As far as I know, she no longer feels the need to carry a gun, but she did for a while. I don’t have direct knowledge but I seem to recall that being a prosecutor is a special case it doesn’t need to show cause. That’s a fuzzy recollection. I’ve known many prosecutors and some may have been authorized to carry a gun but no one advertised the fact and I don’t have any personal knowledge that any of them did. Prosecutors have more power in NJ than in most states and are considered to be part of law enforcement even though they are not sworn officers. For instance the county prosecutor is the highest law enforcement official in the county, not the sheriff. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anywhere-have-laxer-gun-laws-than-the-us/832498/24 "2019-04-15T05:51:13Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Per [Wiki:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation) Not sure that Wiki is an accurate representation of the state of South Africa’s gun laws. We’re listed as “permissive”, but we’re actually a “may issue” country, not a “shall issue”. That would make us “restrictive” per their own definitions. I know some Americans _feel_ we’re permissive because we _mandate_ concealed carry, which requires special permitting in some US states. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anywhere-have-laxer-gun-laws-than-the-us/832498/25 "2019-04-15T06:02:04Z")
You need a license in California but to get a license you need to pass the background check and the then take a multiple choice test that’s so easy that I can’t imagine anyone failing it. The entire process took me like ten minutes and I had my laminated card. I took the test without any studying or knowing a damn thing about guns. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anywhere-have-laxer-gun-laws-than-the-us/832498.md?page=1)