Sweden may have the answer to America’s gun problem

[Yoko.52]

Sweden may have the answer to America’s gun problem

Sweden may have the answer to America’s gun problem
By Tom Heberlein Aug 8, 2016, 8:00am EDTShare this on Facebook (opens in new window)

Twenty years ago, I headed to Sweden for a sabbatical year to study the country’s attitudes toward hunting. As a responsible hunter, I brought my own guns — an old 12-gauge shotgun and a Remington .30-06 — because I didn’t want to miss a shot or wound an animal using unfamiliar, borrowed firearms.

As a sociologist I thought that bringing my own firearms would give me some firsthand experience with European gun laws. That happened sooner than I expected.

My employer, the Swedish Hunters Association, had filled out all the paperwork (including paying the tax), so there was no problem getting my guns into the country. But I couldn’t take them to my apartment, as I would have in the United States.

Instead, like all guns in Sweden, they had to be stored in a locked safe, so colleagues took them directly to the wildlife research lab that has a walk-in vault to store firearms.

I BEGAN TO THINK MORE ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF GUN OWNERS RATHER THAN GUN OWNERS' RIGHTS
Before I could hunt, there was the trip to the rifle range where my shooting scores were registered. While this is not required by law, I was told that landowners would not let me hunt moose, nor would a hunting team accept me, unless I showed I could hit a target — not just a paper target but a full-size plywood moose at 100 yards, standing and moving.

Much of what happened when I went hunting in Sweden was strange to me — hunting birds in the mountains with unloaded shotguns for example, stopping the moose hunt after a couple of hours to sit around a campfire roasting hot dogs, and then butchering a trophy moose without taking even one picture. (Here's my report on the differences in Swedish and American hunting.)

Being in this new setting that was much like and yet so different from Wisconsin got me thinking about hunting in new ways. I began to think more about the responsibilities of gun owners rather than gun owners' rights. I also learned that it was possible to maintain a lively hunting culture along with mandatory gun registration and required safe storage.

As we face a firearm crisis in America today, it’s time for hunters to stop hiding behind the Second Amendment and claim the moral high ground as our nation’s responsible gun owners.

The nation demands some action, and we, more than 13 million gun owners who hunt, are in a unique position to lead the way. Firearm registration as part of our normal licensing process could both strengthen our hunting tradition and at the same time help break the national logjam of inaction.

In Sweden, only responsible people can have guns
Here’s how the Swedish system works: Only responsible people are trusted with firearms. Sweden licenses guns in much the same way we license cars and drivers. You can have up to six guns but can get more with special permission.

To apply for a firearm permit you must first take a year-long hunter training program and pass a written and shooting test. You can also apply for a gun permit if you’ve been a member of an established shooting club for six months.

In addition to undergoing training, Sweden’s gun owners must store their firearms safely. Guns must be locked away in a vault, not stored beneath your car seat or in the nightstand where your kids can find them.

Responsibility in Sweden goes further yet: Convicted of a felony? No guns for you. Beat your wife? No guns. Under a restraining order? No guns. Drive drunk? No guns.

(The gun law does not spell out specific actions that cause a citizen to be "unfit" to have a gun permit. It does say that the police must have a "reasonable cause" to suspend a permit, and these kinds of things might signal that a gun owner is "unfit.")

Even so, being responsible is not such a tough job. Sweden denies permits to only about 1,000 people a year (out of 600,000 permit holders), and they can appeal their rejection to the courts.

I LEARNED THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE TO MAINTAIN A LIVELY HUNTING CULTURE ALONG WITH MANDATORY GUN REGISTRATION AND REQUIRED SAFE STORAGE
And despite these restrictions, Sweden has a strong hunting culture. The heavily forested country is about the size of California but with one-fourth the people. Its moose population per acre is the world’s largest, and moose hunting is front-page news. The king himself hunts moose, and small towns shut down for the season opener much like Wisconsin towns do for the state's deer season.

Sweden has nearly 300,000 hunters, which means it has a readily armed population should it need defense. And make no mistake: Guns are part of Sweden’s culture, history, and national defense — even though it has enjoyed more than 200 years of peace.

Many of my Swedish colleagues served in the military and are proficient with firearms. They can practice at shooting ranges all over Stockholm. When hiking in a city park, it’s common to hear the measured shots of target practice nearby.

And yet gun violence is low in Sweden. The country ranks 10th out of 178 countries in the world for per capita gun ownership but in 2014 had only 21 homicides by firearms. In contrast, the US is first in per capita ownership and had more than 8,000 gun homicides in 2014. Controlling for population, US firearms homicides are 700 percent higher than Sweden’s.


At my Wisconsin hunting camp, there are no gun rights – just gun responsibilities
My favorite place in the world is an old cabin in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, where Heberlein relatives and friends have gathered every year for the past seven decades to hunt ruffed grouse and white-tailed deer. My fondest, proudest, and happiest memories of friendship, accomplishment, and even despair have occurred in the presence of firearms in that camp.

America's gun problem, explained

But in my hunting camp, gun rights don’t exist — just gun responsibilities. Wally and Norman know that. Wally was walking down the nearby White City logging road with Dick at his side when his .30-30 lever-action rifle fired unexpectedly. If Dick had been walking ahead of him, Dick would have been the one who didn’t show up at camp that next year instead of Wally, whose carelessness cost him his camp privileges.

Norman, meanwhile, is one of the world’s nicest guys, but he doesn’t hunt with us anymore either. Twice his gun went off accidentally.

I doubt most Americans understand how its hunters focus on gun responsibilities. Novice hunters are taught how to handle guns: Assume every gun is always loaded — even if you’re sure it’s not. Never point a gun at anything you would not shoot. The ground and sky are the exceptions, but not a house, a barn, or the neighbor’s cat. If you find yourself looking into someone’s gun muzzle, you’re always right to call out the hazardous infraction.

In our public rhetoric we may talk about the right to bear arms, but in our hunting life we focus on our safe gun-handling responsibilities to our fellow hunters. We don’t tolerate irresponsible hunters in the field, so why support the alleged rights of gun owners who make mass murders too common in America?

The author (left) at his hunting camp, reading from a log of past hunts. (Courtesy of Tom Heberlein)

How American hunters can claim the moral high ground for gun owners
It’s time to show the world that we hunters are the responsible gun owners in America. We can’t wait for Congress to pass new gun control legislation — it seems bound by money and lobbyists to never act. We hunters should use our own institutions, which we fund with license fees, to maintain safe and responsible gun ownership.

We don’t have to wait for the nation to act. We can work state by state to incorporate hunting firearm registration as part of our normal licensing process. Today when you buy a hunting license, you must meet a number of requirements like being a state resident, being a certain age, and in most states providing evidence of hunter safety training.

For each animal, the type of weapon that is legal is already specified in the rules. It would be a simple step in the licensing process to require hunters to specify the serial number of all firearms they are using for hunting. Registering the weapon would make it legal for hunting.

This registration won’t make hunting any safer — hunting will be just as safe whether the gun is registered or not. But it will signal to the vast majority of Americans who support responsible gun ownership that we hunters are willing to make a visible step as responsible gun owners.

Wildlife commissions set hunting rules in most states, so it’s in their authority to require that any firearms used for hunting in that state be registered with the agency. It’s as simple as listing the make, model, and serial number of the firearms you will use for hunting when you buy your license.

Hunters don’t need expensive, time-consuming background checks — we are already trained. This proposal would apply only to firearms used for hunting. You wouldn’t need to register the AK, AR, handgun, or MSR (modern sporting rifle) you keep in the closet for home defense; our wildlife agencies makes rules only for guns used in the hunt, not all guns. Non-hunting firearms should also be under control, but let’s start first by registering the millions of firearms used for hunting.

We hunters have our own police — conservation wardens — who number 5,000 strong nationally. We even pay their wages through our hunting fees to make sure we obey the rules. When wardens check a hunter in the field, they determine if the firearm is the right caliber as determined by the hunting regulations. For waterfowl, the magazine is checked to make sure it can only shoot three shells rather than the five for which it was designed. The shells the hunters are carrying are checked to make sure they are nontoxic.

It would be a simple matter for the warden to check the serial number on the gun and compare those printed out on the back of the hunter’s license or to query an electronic data base. If you’re caught hunting with an unregistered gun, then you’re hunting illegally and are subject to fines and lost hunting privileges. It is as simple as that.

Of course this idea faces obstacles, including the biggest one of all: hunters’ unwillingness to change. Anything. We love hunting so much that its traditions and practices create strong emotional ties that we defend instinctively and passionately. If you doubt it, just ask any wildlife manager how stubbornly hunters resist even minor changes to rules and quotas.

Many will say self-registration won’t save lives. They’re right ... and wrong. Hunter involvement in mass shootings is so unusual that no one is keeping the statistics. Hunters very rarely inflict such evil on innocent lives.

But that’s not the point. Self-registration of our hunting weapons would distinguish us from other gun owners, not in words but in deeds. We would be taking the first step toward universal gun registration by registering our hunting firearms. Non-hunting gun owners who want to prove that they are responsible might want to join the hunting registration system.

Registration could lead gradually to requiring safe storage by locking all hunting guns in gun vaults. That would prevent tragedies in our own homes, which does mean saving lives. Ask the hunter who has lost a child to an accident or horseplay with an unsecured rifle or handgun.

Of course, we can expect to hear this mantra: "If they know who owns guns, they can come and take them away." But "they" already know. Computerized lists of licensed hunters are in government offices in all 50 states, and many of those lists are public information. One must assume they figured out that licensed hunters have guns.

HOW MANY MORE MASS SHOOTINGS MUST WE WATCH WITH HELPLESS IMPOTENCE WHILE ASKING, "WHAT I CAN DO?"
Won’t self-registration of guns reduce hunter numbers? I’ve spent much of my career studying hunter population dynamics, and I’m concerned about declines in hunting. But I don’t think the dropout group will be large.

Many hunters claim they’ll quit hunting when license fees go up, and, yes, license numbers often dip the first year, but most return the next. Hunting matters that much to us. And, yes, some might keep their hunting firearms secret and give up hunting instead. Personally, I’m willing to see them go. I want to hunt with men and women who responsibly register their hunting firearms.

Why do this? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? How many more mass shootings must we watch with helpless impotence while asking, "What I can do?" To protect what we love — our hunting life — we must differentiate ourselves from other gun owners.

By choosing to register our guns with our wildlife agencies, we would follow a long history of putting restrictions on ourselves for the greater good: bag limits, season lengths, blaze orange clothing, and so on. We will be recognized as the responsible registered gun owners.

Sweden shows it’s possible to have a serious hunting culture with firearms restrictions. With rights comes responsibility. Let’s show the way. Who will be the courageous, visionary sportsmen and women who establish the first hunter registration system in Vermont, or New York, or in my home state of Wisconsin, and take a step forward to sensible gun use in America?.

That is the trick there...they think of guns as a responsibility not a right,.

 

[Tolworth John]

Those of us in Europe have always wondered why as the amendment to the constitutions says, that a militia is vital for the freedom of the people, they may bare arms.
Sorry if miss quoted, but to me if one wants to own a rifle, one should belong to a disciplined military unit that trains and enforces discipline on its members.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

Criminals in our country tend to get their guns by way of theft. I'm not sure how the registration of guns and gun owners would help that. My coworker lost a few to a burglary, despite having them in a high-end gun safe. The gun registration only helped in the recovery of one gun, when the kid was caught shooting the gun into the air while walking down the street. It didn't do anything to prevent a crime.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Those of us in Europe have always wondered why as the amendment to the constitutions says, that a militia is vital for the freedom of the people, they may bare arms.
Sorry if miss quoted, but to me if one wants to own a rifle, one should belong to a disciplined military unit that trains and enforces discipline on its members.

Our militia would be an adjunct force if the nation, or a state, was under threat. For example, if the rioters couldn't be controlled by the police or national guard, and the stability of the state was in jeopardy the civilian militia might be called up.

 

[Tree of Life]

The only gun problem that I'm aware of in America is that guns are in short supply right now. It's difficult to find guns and ammo because so many people are buying them. How can we ramp up production?

 

[pescador]

The only gun problem that I'm aware of in America is that guns are in short supply right now. It's difficult to find guns and ammo because so many people are buying them. How can we ramp up production?

Are you trying to be provocative or cute? Either way, it's not funny. We have a severe gun problem in the US! There are too many people who use guns inappropriately, bringing danger to themselves and others. It's like giving 9-year-olds the keys to the family car; it's a guarantee that somebody will be hurt or killed.

The Second Amendment is about "a well-regulated militia", not a bunch of untrained, irresponsible people who want to take the law into their own hands (literally).

BTW, I am a lifelong shooter and hunter.

 

[Tree of Life]

Are you trying to be provocative or cute? Either way, it's not funny. We have a severe gun problem in the US! There are too many people who use guns inappropriately, bringing danger to themselves and others. It's like giving 9-year-olds the keys to the family car; it's a guarantee that somebody will be hurt or killed.

The Second Amendment is about "a well-regulated militia", not a bunch of untrained, irresponsible people who want to take the law into their own hands (literally).

BTW, I am a lifelong shooter and hunter.

I'm not a hunter but I am a shooter, CCW holder, and I carry every day. If we have a gun problem, it's a lack of education. More people should be trained and educated to carry and use guns responsibly.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

The only gun problem that I'm aware of in America is that guns are in short supply right now. It's difficult to find guns and ammo because so many people are buying them. How can we ramp up production?

I've had ammo on order for months. The gun shop I buy from has nearly empty handgun displays. When will the Left learn that when they threaten our guns we just obtain more. The biggest buyer of ammo is the government, thus the shortages.

 

[pescador]

I'm not a hunter but I am a shooter, CCW holder, and I carry every day. If we have a gun problem, it's a lack of education. More people should be trained and educated to carry and use guns responsibly.

That is one problem, but not the main one. The problem is that virtually anyone can buy a gun from a store, a gun show, or another person, get ahold of some ammo, and use it in any way they want. That is a recipe for violence and loss of life.

Again, the 2nd Amendment is about "a well-trained militia, being necessary to the security of a free state". It's not about an untrained mob taking the law into their own hands.

 

[Tree of Life]

I've had ammo on order for months. The gun shop I buy from has nearly empty handgun displays. When will the Left learn that when they threaten our guns we just obtain more. The biggest buyer of ammo is the government, thus the shortages.

Biden has some nasty plans for ARs. I don't own an AR but I wish I did. Anyone who wants one should buy one before the inauguration.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I'm not a hunter but I am a shooter, CCW holder, and I carry every day. If we have a gun problem, it's a lack of education. More people should be trained and educated to carry and use guns responsibly.

I recently got my CC license but cannot find the 'pocket gun' I want.

 

[Tree of Life]

That is one problem, but not the main one. The problem is that virtually anyone can buy a gun from a store, a gun show, or another person, get ahold of some ammo, and use it in any way they want. That is a recipe for violence and loss of life.

Again, the 2nd Amendment is about "a well-trained militia, being necessary to the security of a free state". It's not about an untrained mob taking the law into their own hands.

That's not really true. Private sales and gun shows are a little different, but in order to buy from a store you have to be 21 (for a handgun) and pass a background check.

Virtually anyone can illegally buy a firearm off of the streets and use it however they want. There are no amount of laws that are going to be able to stop that. Gun laws only prevent good guys from getting guns because only good guys care about owning guns lawfully.

 

[Tree of Life]

I recently got my CC license but cannot find the 'pocket gun' I want.

This is the pocket gun you want.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

That is one problem, but not the main one. The problem is that virtually anyone can buy a gun from a store, a gun show, or another person, get ahold of some ammo, and use it in any way they want. That is a recipe for violence and loss of life.

Again, the 2nd Amendment is about "a well-trained militia, being necessary to the security of a free state". It's not about an untrained mob taking the law into their own hands.

Well regulated, not 'well trained'. I was in the Army and believe me we were not "well trained".

 

[OldWiseGuy]

This is the pocket gun you want.

I like it! Thanks. I was thinking more of a .22 mag., but even that ammo is scarce.

 

[Tree of Life]

I like it! Thanks. I was thinking more of a .22 mag., but even that ammo is scarce.

I haven't bought ammo in a while because I stocked up earlier this year. But I'm surprised to hear that .22 is hard to find. That's usually well stocked even in an ammo shortage.

I would not recommend .22 for a defensive carry. .380 or 9mm is the way to go, in my opinion. But the smaller .380 guns are more difficult to shoot than a slightly larger 9mm simply because they have so much kick. My wife carries a Ruger LCP2 (.380 auto). It's easier to shoot my 9mm than that one.

The problem with owning a .22 is that if you own one you might load it. And if you load it, you might carry it around. And if you carry it around, you might shoot someone with it. And if you shoot someone with it, and they find out about it, then you might be in for some nasty litigation.

 

[Yoko.52]

I'm not a hunter but I am a shooter, CCW holder, and I carry every day. If we have a gun problem, it's a lack of education. More people should be trained and educated to carry and use guns responsibly.

That's what most of us are talking about education training and being held accountable if your little brat gets their hands on a gun and shoots up the elementary school you go to prison. Because a parent should be aware of their child is having mental problems. My parents easily worked 100 hours a week when I was a child and yet somehow they were able to know what was going on in all of our lives they know who was bullying us they knew which teachers were having problems with us. My youngest brother was trying to get himself a gun when he was little. My dad caught on to that one. He found out that there were several boys at school who are beating him up regularly he knew my brother was being bullied but he didn't realize he was being beaten up. He got those boys and their parents in a meeting and explained what was going on all of the parents went off on their brats.he removed my younger brother from that school for the rest of the year and saw that he was homeschooled he hired a tutor and he got my brother's counseling. He also got my brother self-defense classes. my mom knew what I lost my virginity and I still have no idea how she figured that one out cuz I guarantee you the girl I was with sure is heck did not tell her. A good parent knows everything their child is doing I don't care how much they work. Used the same settings we have for getting a driver's license. You take classes to learn how to use guns properly and responsibly. You take a test and if you pass the test you get your gun license. You get it renewed every four to five years. If you have a violent criminal record you don't get your gun license much like if you drink a lot or have a lot of tickets on your driving record you can't drive a car legally. and this is the thing other countries do it and they're able to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. And honestly a criminal will not shoot up a school a mentally unstable person will shoot up a school or a theater or a mall. A criminal is out to make money it is a business and I'm not talking about rapist and psychopaths.

 

[Tree of Life]

That's what most of us are talking about education training and being held accountable if your little brat gets their hands on a gun and shoots up the elementary school you go to prison. Because a parent should be aware of their child is having mental problems. My parents easily worked 100 hours a week when I was a child and yet somehow they were able to know what was going on in all of our lives they know who was bullying us they knew which teachers were having problems with us. My youngest brother was trying to get himself a gun when he was little. My dad caught on to that one. He found out that there were several boys at school who are beating him up regularly he knew my brother was being bullied but he didn't realize he was being beaten up. He got those boys and their parents in a meeting and explained what was going on all of the parents went off on their brats.he removed my younger brother from that school for the rest of the year and saw that he was homeschooled he hired a tutor and he got my brother's counseling. He also got my brother self-defense classes. my mom knew what I lost my virginity and I still have no idea how she figured that one out cuz I guarantee you the girl I was with sure is heck did not tell her. A good parent knows everything their child is doing I don't care how much they work. Used the same settings we have for getting a driver's license. You take classes to learn how to use guns properly and responsibly. You take a test and if you pass the test you get your gun license. You get it renewed every four to five years. If you have a violent criminal record you don't get your gun license much like if you drink a lot or have a lot of tickets on your driving record you can't drive a car legally. and this is the thing other countries do it and they're able to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. And honestly a criminal will not shoot up a school a mentally unstable person will shoot up a school or a theater or a mall. A criminal is out to make money it is a business and I'm not talking about rapist and psychopaths.

A few things:

1. I don't have brats, I have children. Four of them. They are educated about the seriousness of fire arms. If my guns are not on my person, they are in a safe or a lock box.

2. Parents are held criminally responsible if their child gets ahold of a gun and shoots it.

3. Adult citizens don't need a license to own a gun because the Constitution of the United States of America recognizes their right to own a gun. Neither do we need a license to exercise free-speech.

4. A license is required to conceal-carry a fire arm. For this license you have to go through 8 hours of training and pass a shooting test and apply at your local sheriff's office. It must be renewed every 5 years.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I haven't bought ammo in a while because I stocked up earlier this year. But I'm surprised to hear that .22 is hard to find. That's usually well stocked even in an ammo shortage.

I would not recommend .22 for a defensive carry. .380 or 9mm is the way to go, in my opinion. But the smaller .380 guns are more difficult to shoot than a slightly larger 9mm simply because they have so much kick. My wife carries a Ruger LCP2 (.380 auto). It's easier to shoot my 9mm than that one.

The problem with owning a .22 is that if you own one you might load it. And if you load it, you might carry it around. And if you carry it around, you might shoot someone with it. And if you shoot someone with it, and they find out about it, then you might be in for some nasty litigation.

The gun shop folks tell me that .22 ammo is the last thing the ammo makers produce, after they have filled the more profitable orders. One of the guys there goes out west to shoot prairie dogs each year. He says he and his buddies shoot tens of thousands of rounds at the critters.

I think you are underestimating the effectiveness of the .22 Mag.

 

[Arc F1]

The only gun problem that I'm aware of in America is that guns are in short supply right now. It's difficult to find guns and ammo because so many people are buying them. How can we ramp up production?

Try cheaper than dirt dot com

 

[Arc F1]

The gun shop folks tell me that .22 ammo is the last thing the ammo makers produce, after they have filled the more profitable orders. One of the guys there goes out west to shoot prairie dogs each year. He says he and his buddies shoot tens of thousands of rounds at the critters.

I think you are underestimating the effectiveness of the .22 Mag.

The little 2 shot ones hide pretty well in the glove box. Just enough to give you time to get out of the situation.