Reforming the gun law isn’t just about databases

In one of the very first articles I wrote for Italian Tech, I talked about the new “social media-ready” Kalashinikov, a 12/76-gauge shotgun designed for “Generation Z” and I wondered about the change in perception on the use of weapons, from an instrument of offense (also defensive) to a “toy” (but not the “iron”, protagonist of the great film by Nino Manfredi) amplifier of psychopathologies that push an individual to broadcast the massacre he is committing live. Then comes the crime news, with its tragic rawness, to remind us that the dramas of madness don’t need the internet to consume themselves and trigger the usual, hackneyed debates about “easy weapons” and the need to eliminate them from circulation, and which inevitably end with the classic “ad hoc laws are needed” and then – as they say in the theater when the show ends – “Dark!”,
According to a much quoted adage of the Prussian strategist von Moltke, “no plan resists the impact of battle”, therefore, by way of metaphor, it is true that no law will definitively solve the problem of the abuse of legitimately circulating firearms. However, this is not an alibi for omitting the imposition of some minimum rules and at no cost which would undoubtedly have the effect of reducing the risk of events such as those we have just witnessed.

The complicated relationship between knowledge and crime

by Andrea Monti

August 20, 2022

Today, in order to handle weapons in the shooting range and to apply for a rifle carrying license which also allows the possession and transport of pistols, it is necessary to obtain the DIMA – weapons handling diploma. The DIMA is issued by the Italian Shooting Union (UITS) a national sports federation affiliated to CONI but also a public body supervised by the Ministry of Defence, organized into territorial “sections”.
In order to obtain the DIMA is necessary to produce medical certification (which, however, is not based on in-depth clinical evaluations) and attend a short course (in some cases a few hours of theory) and a practical exam which consists in firing about fifty shots. Furthermore, once the qualification has been obtained and the license to carry a rifle has been obtained, it is not obligatory to periodically attend the shooting range. In the meantime, you can own a dozen pistols, two carbines and an unlimited number of shotguns, as well as buying a few kilograms of gunpowder to make (very many) bullets at home, freely buying shells, primers and ogives. In theory, the weapons office of the police headquarters should check compliance with these prescriptions, but – as always – there are few personnel, there are many functions to be performed, and controls, inevitably, are fewer than they should be.
The practical result of this arrangement is that:

• except in egregious cases, even people with ailments or radicalized political-ideological beliefs can have access to the armories of the shooting ranges or legitimately obtain a large number of weapons;
• once you get the weapons you can easily “disappear from the radar”;
• cinappropriate behaviors or attitudeswhich would legitimize the attention of the police headquarters, they are not detected by the managers of the polygons, who are not even obliged to report anomalies;
• in the anonymity permitted by law, those who have managed to obtain a license to carry a rifle can equip themselves with a deadly arsenal.

Waiting for that finally build the single database of gun owners and that (if privacy zealots allow it) connect it with those of mental health centers and police recordsthere are things that can be done immediately, at no cost and with immediate effectiveness:

• make the procedure for acquiring the DIMA more complexproviding for a longer and more detailed course, thus giving the possibility of verifying the effective suitability of the aspiring shooter to handle weapons;
• establish for the section presidents of the Italian Shooting Union, for the directors and shooting instructors theobligation to report any anomalous behavior to the competent police headquarters of the visitors (including security guards and municipal police), also in terms of non-compliance with safety measures in the handling of weapons and behavior on the firing line. This would facilitate the execution of checks and the withdrawal of licenses granted to subjects who are no longer suitable;
• criminalize the heads of the UITS sections for failure to report,
• predict some precise rules on the control and custody of weapons and of the ammunition made available to the shooters, to reduce the risk of theft, as in the case of Rieti, punishing non-compliance with criminal penalties;
• establish that anyone who does not practice sports in a national federation recognized by CONI or associations of military personnel on leave can hold one and only one pistol, .22 caliber, with a single magazine limited to a maximum of ten rounds and a maximum of fifty bullets:
• oblige the non-sporting owner of firearms to attend a section of the Italian Shooting Union at least twice a month, in order to maintain the dexterity on the safe use of the weapon and allow for the control of any critical behavioral issues;
• distinguish the license to possess a single weapon from that for sporting practice (which should allow the use of the quantity of weapons necessary to compete in the various categories, including forklifts);
• allow the purchase of gunpowder only to agonists and amateurs who practice activities recognized by a national federation recognized by CONI or associations of retired soldiers;
• make the granting of the possession and transport license for sports practice conditional on the effective participation in training and competitions organized, for agonists and amateurs, by national sports federations affiliated with CONI or associations of retired soldiers.

The concrete and immediate effect of these measures would be:

• reduce the number and lethality of weapons in circulation:
• reduce the risk of allowing the possession and use of weapons to potentially problematic individuals;
• reduce the consequences of raptus or deliberate actions committed with legitimately held weapons;
• make police checks more efficient and targeted.

If all of this seems over the top, you should consider that sports shooters (the real ones) are already subjected to very stringent checks on those who get a gun and then disappear.
Athletes undergo an annual medical check-up and, during training sessions, are checked by federal instructors and coaches. In addition, the regulations of the federations affiliated to CONI prohibit any “paramilitary” fantasy, they do not allow the use of “tactical” clothing and anthropomorphic targets. Therefore, a sports shooter handles firearms safely, has no “shackles” (or “triggers”) for the head, and is always controlled at multiple levels. It is not clear why the “housewife” —perhaps prey to their demons and therefore dangerous “by default”— should instead be able to enjoy an extraordinarily advantageous treatment compared to those who practice a sport.
Some of these proposals, in particular those on the introduction of the crimes of failing to report “displaced persons” and failing to keep arms and ammunition against those in charge of the shooting ranges, require a law or a decree-law which could be entitled “Urgent measures for the granting of police licenses for the possession of firearms”. Others may already be made operational by provisions of the Minister of the Interior and even by the Police Chief (who can impose specific prescriptions on the issuance of the license to carry a rifle).
It does not take much; all it takes is a little “political will” to help make Italy a less dangerous place by balancing the rights of the citizen with the duty of the State to ensure public and individual safety.