Ono Scholar Addresses the Possibility of Increasing the Number of Gun Licenses Following a Wave of Terror in Israel
Following a week in which 11 Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks, the government is considering loosening the restrictions in place limiting civilians from receiving gun licenses. While many Israelis were trained in the use of weapons during their military service, Israel’s policy on allowing civilians to carry a gun is quite strict.
Members of the governing coalition have suggested loosening the licensing criteria in response to the violent incidents, a number of which were ended by civilians using licensed weapons. In practice, applications for new weapons’ licenses rose 2500% percent since the start of the wave of violence.
Adv. Dikla Totian Zeid, a Lecturer at Ono Academic College’s School of Law, addressed these new circumstances in an interview on the program “On the Agenda” broadcast on the Knesset TV channel. She expressed her belief that increasing the number of weapons in civilian hands would make Israel much less safe. She worries that these weapons will more likely be used against Israeli civilians than against terrorists. She discussed the case of Margarita Lauten who was enjoying a day at the beach with her family when she was killed by a stray bullet in a gun fight between two criminals. She presented data from Israel’s Ministry of Health indicating that guns are frequently used in fatal suicides or incidents of domestic violence.
The full interview can be seen here:
