Under Indonesia's gun laws, only citizens employed in select professions can be issued a gun permit. Among those allowed to legally pack heat in Indonesia are doctors, public officials, lawmakers, members of the military and police and corporate heads.
That should make the gun control enthusiasts quite happy, but no and wait, there's more.
"As long as they are good, we'll grant a license," [National Police spokesman Ins. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution] said. "But they have to pass a psychological test first."
Psychological testing, too, and the gun control enthusiasts are still not happy.
"It's no secret that it is easy to get a firearm, whether it be legal or illegal," said Indra SH, a member of the House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs. "The police need to evaluate and revoke civilian firearm permits."
Yes, that's right, revoke those permits, because it's no secret that it is easy to get an illegal firearm.
Stay with me here, we're getting to the good stuff. According to a May, 2012 IAPCAR article:
People’s Consultative Assembly deputy speaker Lukman Hakim Saifuddin has called on the police to seize all firearms belonging to civilians, including lawmakers, businessmen and lawyers.
“It’s better to collect all the firearms from the hands of civilians,” he said
And they can go door to door to collect firearms because each one is registered, well, the legal one's anyway. But what about the illegal ones? I hear what you're thinking, with all this permit requirements and psycho testing and registration, how can there be illegal firearms in the Republic of Indonesia? Now we're getting to the reason for this post.
According to another Jakarta Globe article, Jakarta Police Kill Two as Gun Ring Bust Goes Wrong. A gun ring? That must indicate some type of trafficking, right? Well, not quite, according to the article:
“Members of the mobile detective unit managed to uncover a gun-making ring in the Cipacing area of Sumedang, West Java,” Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said.
Police learned of the homemade gun ring after arresting Muhammad Ibrahim, a.k.a. Wongso, on suspicion of robbing a jewelry store. Wongso reportedly told police he bought the gun from Doni, a man described by police as a career criminal.
Yep, when you require permits and registration, the thugs will still get their firearms, even when they have to make the guns themselves. And, how does the government deal with this, by banning firearms for the legal owners. Yep, truly a Brady Paradise.
What are your thoughts?
The Indonesian people are mostly not ready for permissive gun ownership because it is not something they think about or what they understand. Unlike Americans, they are not responsible, disciplined and educated enough. You guys have 2 centuries of culture and gun rights. Trust me, I'm an Indonesian myself.
ReplyDeleteAnti gun people and groups here are such because they do not understand the concept of firearm ownership. I educated some people about it and they understood then. Of course, there are anti gun people with selfish agendas whom we must be cautious of.
However if there were to be a reform, the regulation must still be tight. The only major change Indonesia needs right now is the obliteration of the unclear bureaucracy in order to make it easier for law abiding citizens and responsible people to buy firearms. Lots of laws with firearms here are not educated (and effective). A clear law is needed as in the 1945 Indonesian Constitution (the law of the land) says that a person has the right to defend his/her life and existence.
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