What Does the Invasion of Ukraine Mean for European Private Firearms Ownership?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 มี.ค. 2022
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One of the interesting implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the potential for expanded legal civilian ownership of firearms, particularly rifles, in many of the smaller countries in Europe. We saw the Ukrainian government jump to legalize civilian arms ownership immediately after the invasion, recognizing its utility in countering the Russian attack. The idea of rifle-armed civilians fighting off jet aircraft is often derided, but in reality invasion and occupation require boots on the ground - and those boots are quite vulnerable to rifle-armed civilians. The US has certainly experienced that fact in several major military endeavors, and Russia has periodically rediscovered it in Finland, Afghanistan, and now Ukraine.
For a small country unsure of whether they would actually receive backup from NATO or other allies, the idea of a widespread civilian competency with rifles could be a significant deterrent to invasion - and a means of resistance should invasion happen anyway. It is also something that requires no government expenditure - simply allow people to own rifles and encourage martial style competition like the SRA matches in Finland (and elsewhere) and people will pay for their own arms, ammunition, and training.
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In Poland interest in firearms definitely increased in last weeks. People are learning how to get gun permit and also put pressure on politicians to have new, more robust and streamlined gun law. New gun law project that was abandoned in 2020 is being brought back to life.
100% sure the laws wont change for the better. They'll probably make a minor good change, and fuck up everything else, as they usually do
@@RSpecnaz I think the laws will change permanently and for the better, Russia is in the hands of a madman with the ambitions to form an empire. Civilians practicing firearms handling, improving fitness and health together with a relaxed atmosphere of competition will serve the national defense greatly.
Public interest in the issue aside, I think the PiS government is going to invest in OT (territorial defense forces) or civilian marksmanship programs run by the military/police. I find it unlikely they'd find it comfortable to arm the general populace, given their monthly wakes used to be protected by snipers on rooftops for (AFAIK) no reason whatsoever other than paranoia.
I had a feeling that I'll see your comment if I scroll far enough.
It's not getting through, sadly. "Piss" party is not going to let the civvies get armed. And they hold the majority.
In Czech Republic, we already started it before the invasion. We already have over 350.000 gun owners which EU wanted to stop. So we added options of government approved training courses and joining the state defence. And we added silencers and waivers for high capacity magazines for everyone who asks.
Greece needs to be more like you guys
Poland should do the same, but we have too many hoplofobes in government and parlament.
@@RIFF0RAFF And we have hopolo-idiots in addition to that (not just afraid, simply ignorant people who just no nothing about them), yet they get to pass legislations. That goes without saying for hunting laws too, although I should say restrictions for we can only use shotguns with a restricted capacity of up to 2+ one in the chamber. All rifled barrels are illegal outside competition (you can still buy them, but mostly for comp. shooting) and the 1/1000000 chance you get a carry permit.
You gotta love Greece.
Edit. May not be completely correct, I'm 18 and need to be 19 to hunt and buy most guns, range is from 8+ btw.
@@RIFF0RAFF Poland has just said they'd be happy to host US Nuclear weapons if asked. If they are feeling threatened enough to do this, I can see large scale civilian gun ownership as something coming down the line for Poland.
One thing that the Ukrainians have done by giving anybody who wants a weapon just that and the Russians know everybody is shooting at them and keep crying about it in phone calls home
The fact that Ukraine has been at war with Russia since 2014 and still held back on private gun ownership and did not cultivate more into a gun culture like Switzerland or USA until the second day of the big invasion is mind boggling
it's because Ukraine was trying to join the EU, which has strict gun laws. This war happened because of the EU and NATO having requirements that would make Ukraine vulnerable when trying to meet them and having no flexibility to transition into compliance after joining.
In politics there are always work arounds . Look at Poland , Germany private gun ownership is still attainable. There may be more paperwork than America but it is not impossible. Even cultivation of state funded marksmanship competition for civilians like how Switzerland operates would've been a way to do it .
Ironic as the e.u wants to ban guns but this conflict will now sway many citizens to reconsider their views on the topic
I get what you are saying, I think though up until the US said Russia was going to invade, the general consensus more or less was Russia wasn't going to invade. That they would be crazy to do so.
Plus throw in they were trying to get into the EU and NATO, get the separatists regions back under their control and everything else going on.
>implying ukraine wont confiscate the ak74s they handed out once this is over
@@brettalexander220 >implying Ukraine would have the manpower necessary to disarm its populace after having just fought a massive, costly war - even after skipping the part where you ask why they would want to given they'd still border Russia
Im from Lithuania. I completely agree with what you said, we need to arm our population. We actually were very concerned with Russias actions since 2014 and we improved our armies a lot since then. But now our concerns went to the different level.
@Chidis Skaniukas Žiūrėsim kaip čia bus.
That would just make enemy soldiers kill all civilians on sight. If you want to defend yourself join the reservist army
@@mariusdragoe2888 The Russians have no problem killing citizens now. So why join a reservist army.. other than to get training?
aren't you lucky bastards now allowed to purchase and own automatic ak's if you join the military ?
in fact, the firearm itself (iron stick) is not so important as the physical preparation of the fighter. If you are a fat man weighing 120 kg and can not run 100 meters, then ultra-modern weapons will not change anything.
"The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable." -Sun Tzu
If you desire peace prepare for war.
@@gullepomp That is like the motto of a US submarine supply ship (for nuclear weapons) :
We serve to preserve peace.
one of these days imma have to read that damned book. fuckers a gods be damned prophet
Remember that after Sun Tzu wrote the Art of War: China lost a whole bunch of wars
The video actually reminded me of an old parable I heard a very long time ago about how a king regularly held archery tournaments and even made it compulsory for all able-bodied men to participate. Basically made archery such a huge sport in the city that when the city came under siege the attackers were easily repulsed on account of the fact that most of the city population are lethally skilled archers.
As with most things, education is the answer. Having a population that understands how guns work, and how to use them correctly and safely is a far better idea than just "here you go, figure it out, good luck." I think you're right on the money Ian, and hopefully we do see the renaissance you're describing.
I don't know how I could agree with you more. Education is the cornerstone. What some folks when it comes to any subject is that understanding the fundamentals is what gives you the best results. Gun people in the USA like to point to people like the Swiss or Fins who have lower gun crime and yet high rates of ownership. This is because they are educated to respect the concept. But what the folks in the USA and even other more restrictive countries is there are laws and rules that those people have to follow. The gun culture here is dominated by this mentality of any law is a bad law. That's not how it works. We need laws and rules that are sane and well thought out that then at the same time promote the safe ownership and use of guns. Freedom to own a firearm is great but it doesn't mean you ain't stupid and dangerous. I loved hearing about the classes for kids in Idaho or Montana that were teaching kids as part of the curriculum.
@@TheBitter73 I completely agree! Very well said. Gun ownership is a right, but it's also a responsibility.
Yes true
In the uk there is so much dislike for guns in the media and they only show fools with illegal guns and never push training for the population
We need this now
That’s i been thinking 🤔 the same , is always to have civilians really, mentally , physically , educated about guns for self-defense and against an invasion 👍🏿😎
Do you think that gun violence in the US could be reduced by raising educational standards?
Two decades ago I was an instructor in a military setting. My main area of instruction was marksmanship. If I had to pick one thing and one thing only out of all your great points it would be:
Shooting under stress is the key to not suck and die faster than you should.
This can all be achieved under the guise of sporting competitive spirit, as you've said.
I wish I kept up with practical marksmanship but life took me elsewhere.
Cheers, Ian!
Not entirely sure about the rest of Eastern Europe but what I can tell you is that in Romanian gun ownership is frowned upon by government so much so that it takes any opportunity to take away any gun from their owners for the silliest of the reasons.
We are told that we civilians (I myself have completed the mandatory military service when that used to be the norm) have no business owning and handling firearms unless we use them for hunting and/or target shooting. Getting a license is not easy and every possible hurdle is in place to stop honest people from getting a gun.
The crackdown on guns also has a more subtle and perverse way. In my hometown there were 3 stores where you could buy ammo. Now there's only one which is part of a bigger network. Mind you, is a fairly large town, the county admin centre. Most of the small town have never and will never have an ammo store.
Short barreled guns for personal protection are only allowed if you are a policeman, magistrate or MP. You may still buy one as a collector but will be next to impossible to use it in any meaningful way.
All of these while the government laments they have no basis for military reserves because the last guy that had mandatory military service is close to 50 years old. There very few shooting ranges and only close to the largest cities. Public ranges are only in our dreams.
The gun laws will not change because of the Russian invasion. Our leaders are either too dumb or ill-willed to allow such a level of personal freedom to occur. As they say, we need not worry, there's somebody watching for us. Old communist habits dye hard, my friends.
So, whomever has the right to own guns, guard that right carefully.
We will. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us all.
Amen brother!!!! Thanks for posting this! Unfortunately, there are far too many fools (most democrats and liberals and all so-called "progressives") in this country (the US) that have absolutely no idea of the importance of our Second Amendment and are, at heart, cowards who would cower and grovel if we were ever invaded or if our government became tyrannical. But, I believe that there are more than enough brave, knowledgeable patriots who would fight for their freedom and maintain this great nation for our children. God bless those who fight for liberty in the Ukraine, Poland and wherever else in the world that freedom is held sacred. FJB!!!!
In the US we have some states whose laws are similar to what you have described. But now, we are on the verge of having these gun-control states change because of the court cases that are pending.
"The gun laws will not change because of the Russian invasion. Our leaders are either too dumb or ill-willed to allow such a level of personal freedom to occur." It is the latter. They're not dumb.
Maybe it’s because of level of corruption in Romania your government is afraid not to end up like Caucescu. Here in Slovakia level of corruption is not on par with Romania but heck, quite huge too. Somewhat Luckily we don’t have any oil fields.
“That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.” George Orwell.
Laborers cottage? Orwell fought in Spain. Uk is restrictive now on most gun ownership.
@@kennkid9912 Yes and? That was in the early 1930s. 90 yrs ago.
The kind of unmanaged and stupid gunownership in the US will do jack all to prevent this. What is holding the line in the Ukraine are trained troops. Period. The second ammendment is an archaic relic of a bygone time and has zero relevance today. If you want to look at effective militia type deterrents look at switzerland. I hope we Germans move to such a model now.
Zo... Komraden.. when can we expect you to invade the US?
We will be waiting with glee.
Everybody will be drawing tickets just like opening day of varmint season.
Like the Swiss.. the winners will shoot twice, collect the the ears, the gear and stand on your corpses for photos.
It appears that you have forgotten how it turned out the last 2 times you faced Americans. Tsk tsk tsk. What.. you a school dropout? Nein? History not taught in der Deutschland anymore?
@@GunnerAsch1 I could use some more ammo. AK or AR is fine. I have both. the EU guys can bring their air rifles. Dont forget your tomahawk.
You've handled this topic with FAR more professionalism and nuance than any other YT firearms channel.
As expected.
Ian stands out as a beacon of reason and sobriety in the raging sea of gun fetishism on youtube.
Seriously. Good job.
Not surprisingly. Ian is a gun nerd. You can just feel how passionate he is. I once listened to an hour long lecture Ian gave on clips. Yeah...clips.
Ian, as always, is tremendously diplomatic and nuanced when it comes to political matters. And that’s a big part of his very-well-deserved reputation as a credible person in the space.
Particularly in the US cultural context, so much of the general firearms-related discourse inevitably polarizes into two extremes; and the pro-firearms side in particular does itself no favors whenever it plays directly into exaggerated stereotypes by… well… kinda actually _being_ those exact stereotypes in many cases.
I really wish our pro-firearms contingent here in the US could be less about no-compromises absolutism type stuff, and more willing to engage in nuanced discussions. (I’m sure it’s partly just that the loudest voices are what you hear the most, of course.)
So as one possible example, more engagement in discussion about the “well-regulated” verbiage in the 2nd Amendment: maybe making a bigger deal about encouraging practical training for firearm owners; or perhaps proposing a compromise argument along the lines of, if we had something resembling the system in some European countries where buying a gun goes hand-in-hand with a certain amount of required basic training, that there would then be less for the other side to be worried about in the first place. (As opposed to firmly insisting on what ends up basically being an all-or-nothing argument where there’s no possibility for consensus or compromise.)
Perhaps I’m just naive, and that won’t ever happen. But I just wish the general public discourse didn’t almost always have to involve rhetoric that makes me cringe with embarrassment, is all. 😕
I love guns, but I dislike most of the political opinions that are expressed either by guntubers or their fans. As you say, this is refreshingly different.
The sad fact is though, it doesn't matter what pistols/rifles or whatever a person may have, if any modern armour starts rolling through your countryside, it's next to useless anyway.
Thank you, Ian for your help! Not only are you a top professional who is very pleasant to listen to but your heart is in the right place. Ukrainians are grateful, Sir. 🤝
I am from Poland and tried to buy 9 mm ammo this week in Warsaw. The store run out of it and I bought only rimfire ammo for a sport pistol. I asked about rifles and they said that only short barrel ones are left. The interest in marksmanship greatly increased in last weeks. The politicians have already started discussions about liberating access to small firearms.
I started to reload 5 years ago and could not be happier. Anytime I had spare money I bought at least few tens of thousands of primers, bullets and appropriate amount of powder.
Getting a Dillon 650 from a pal who was moving to 1100 was great think too.
Now I just shake my head when I see the prices of 9 mm or .223 in stores while I fill magazines with smile on my face.
Sadly reloading .22LR is not possible and 12 gauge doesn’t make any sense but I shoot those just for fun few times a year.
@@ishitrealbad3039 that’s only worsening situation which was bad anyway before the war. Due to covid (most copper and zinc comes from China, as well as most of the lead) and also, due to BLM. 10 millions of new gun owners in USA has to make a difference in ammo availability if even each one of them wants to get no more than 1000 rounds. That’s 10 billions of rounds to make, package and send over to sea, 10 billionsoth of volume of material (metals mostly) to be produced and shipped over the sea, 10 billions worth of powder and primers to be produced.
My wife is Bulgarian and there's already been talks about this. The important thing that is never mentioned is up until 10-15 years ago most of the region had mandatory military service. So the majority of the rifles went to people with some training. It's the younger generation that hasn't and like my wife they believe the EU guns are bad rhetoric. Firearms were a issue in my marriage until my mother in law came to visit. She actually was a competitive shooter and still remembered how to break down an AK and had studied the AR/M16 platform during her service. She hadn't shot a gun in almost 40 years but still was a great shot and my wife has done a complete 180 on firearms and now wants my girls to learn responsibly.
This brings a tear to my eye. Even better than my liberal wife showing off my pictures of her shooting a suppressed MP5 while wearing a sun-hat and colorful, socially-conscious recycled-sari skirt.
That is actually a really awesome story man, you could do worse for a mother in law
your mil single?
The coolest mum in law???
If only the same could happen for me.
Around 1912 the Kaiser visited Switzerland and made a comment along the lines of "my army is 500k men your civilian militia is 250k what could you do to stop me invading?" a Swiss officer replied "shoot twice and go home". Defence is a national duty not just a governmental one.
That is such a badass quote :P
A modern "then we will fight in the shade" for sure.
Lol
Brilliant answer ..
hahahahhahaha..............I had a project in Switzerland, so been living there for a while, this spirit is still alive there !
Yeah it's unfortunate that many politicians, including here in the USA believe only the government has the right to defend a nation until they're invaded.
I had an argument about exactly this at work 3 or 4 days ago. I would love to see Australia introduce the Finnish National Service, Reserve Service & ongoing civilian SRA type of defence mindset. My friend couldn't see any reason for anyone to own a firearm, unless they were involved in security or vermin extermination as a profession. I pointed out that it creates a "Defence in Depth" &, should we ever go to war, it allows the Government to send more of the active regular & reserve military to the primary combat zone (preferably not in Australia) knowing that there is a significant cadre of people left at home willing & capable of defending it, should the need arise. His response was "So, you don't care if there are more Port Arthurs?" It was at that point I knew I couldn't win & just shut up. The act of the psychologically disturbed Martin Bryant at Port Arthur in April 1996 has had a long & deep impact on the psyche of Australians when it comes to "guns" & it is the weapons, not the individuals using them, that are seen as the culprits in firearms offences.
Well, at least this old fart will be ready!
As an Australian, I grew up with not just the rifle, but a RESPECT for them, their mechanical use, storage and maintenance and especially a well developed attitude they were to be used with. If it weren't for a certain negitive elements and attitudes in using firearms within our societies, I would 100% support complete implementation of blanket civilian / reserve / cadet style training, but broardly, attitudes need changing from the criminal element to the anti and pro gun sectors plus all in between. Australia is a large country, with defence being many natural geography that in 1941 would have been well in our favour. The best ally for a physical invasion is a very large coastline and in lower population areas and areas away from defence forces. This is where a citizen " army" would be benifitial. Switzerland and Finland have very high firearm ownership rates, with relatively low gun crime, if Australians took on this attitude, then sign me up.
wow, they're still squirming about that one off event?
@@samboheena Australians are very feeble minded people generally and LOVE rules and being told what to do. (I am one myself and i dont hate us just pointing out some flaws after living overseas for many years now) a good example is you hop in a car with one and they all start yelling at each others driving and berating each other in traffic and basically anytime a kid or teenager is seen on the street or hanging out everyone automatically assumes they are there to causes trouble and need to be locked up etc etc. If you want an interesting conversation with one just ask what they think about electric vehicles and you will get woodside and santos naughty list of why ev tech sucks read word for word to you. You have the even regulate when and where and how much they drink. You have to regulate what medicines and vaccines the have to take. Its wild when you step back and take a look at what has happened to our society since the 90s.
Civilian marksmanship is often deeply unpopular - until it’s actually needed. The Swiss understand this at a fundamental level and have actively supported participation in shooting sports. Also low gun crime in a well armed population. I shot the Swiss program for about 10 years with some modest success in another country. We were limited to the K31 rifles due to the countries firearms laws. At 15 in the 1970s I started with the NRA and learned to shoot at extreme distances. The club badge had “defence rifle club” on its logo and we were in no doubt as to its original purpose. Also run and taught by WW2 veterans at that time, with a smattering from later conflicts. Oddly enough it never made me want to go out and gun people down but I suppose they were different days when the government trusted its citizens and to some degree the reverse also applied. Not so much now.
"low gun crime in a well armed population" is just a talking point not supported by the evidence. After all, intuitively you get less gun crime in countries with fewer firearms. The better question is probably "what should gun laws look like?"
Not unlike Norway, skilled marksmen halted Germany's advance many times due to this back in 1940. Landsskytterstevnet (National shooters competition) as it is called is still going strong with both civilian and military competitiors.
Ed, there’s ample evidence to support this assertion - as it applies to the Swiss. If you’ve spent any time with the Swiss you’ll understand why it works. I’m also pretty confident that there is a process in place. However what works there isn’t necessarily a good model elsewhere and I’d be pretty unhappy if unrestricted access to firearms was available to some of the meth-heads I encounter, so I’m in agreement with you on the need for workable solutions.
@@ThreenaddiesRexMegistus I glossed over that part, sorry. Yeah, it's difficult generalizing some lessons elsewhere!
@@edherdman9973 no. The intuitive thing is that you get more crime when there's a higher disparity in the amount of harm a criminal can do and a civilian/potential victim. The more an average 'victim' could harm the attacker back, the fewer random acts of violence and fewer indiscriminate murders/robberies happen. When you're liable to get yourself shot if you fuck with someone, you don't do it without a pretty huge reason.
Plus, with an armed populace, these career criminals will die and be unable to commit more crimes with their guns (an armed criminal is unlikely to commit only a single crime with their weapon, unless killed during that first crime). I am firmly in the camp that we don't need a death penalty, and that we can reduce the prison population with more civilian gun ownership. Let them get themselves killed. If you're a rape victim and you don't carry a gun, you're just dumb. If you're anything but a professional wrestler, and you don't carry a gun, you're just dumb. Carry a gun. Shoot the rapist, the home invader, the arsonist, the murderer. _then they can never reoffend_
America: A rifle behind every blade of grass
Finland: A rifle behind every snow covered pine tree
Ukraine: A Javelin behind every wheat stalk
UK: all guns confiscated in a scrap truck behind a smelting plant while the woke elite clap their hands with joy. Unfortunately.
@@chrisabraham8793 Ah, but we have a superior weapon in ready supply: Cricket bats.
UK - a single knee pad with every rainbow flag badge
France: A baguette behind every cheese wheel.
@@chrisabraham8793 what are talking about. The 1988 and the 1997 acts that basically made it impossible to own a gun unless member of rich shooting club passed under rightwing governments. Hell one was under Thatcher herself. Now I presume never lived in the English countryside but lords and such very easy to acquire firearms actually for shooting deer pheasants etc. So 7.62x51mm nato rifle is member of rich gentlemens shooting club quite easy actually. This entirely law favouring rich elite and crews over the average person.
Yet when travel to french countryside since I'm a duel national I see plenty working class people doing spot hunting in there spare time with shotguns or rifles. Maybe look who passed what law when?
Anecdotally, but a friend in Germany who works for the city mentioned that he's received more gun permit applications in the past month than he did in all of 2021.
@@Blubbstock so basically you are going to experience the American gun owner frustration of 2020 in Germany now (ammo and gun prices spiking due to being bought off the shelf the moment it gets on it). It was only till late 2021 when prices (at least in the Orlando region of Florida [where Disney world is]) started to become reasonable again.
Menschen öffnen ihre Augen👀
@@Blubbstock Professional Hunter from North Germany here. Classes spiked since years, but this year the course i'm a teacher in gone up from 14 people average to 30.
And yes ammo prices are as frustrating as refueling your car right now. Good thing i stockpiled a fuckton of .308.
@@AkiSan0 Why do you say that ? It's pretty easy to get guns legally in Germany, here is Joerg Sprave explaining the rules : th-cam.com/video/q0-J2pYLCvI/w-d-xo.html
When I moved to Wisconsin about about year ago and applied for my CCW permit, the lady told me that they had had a similar unprecedented demand since the pandemic.
It's interesting to see that people quite readily understand the need for firearms when some kind of civil disruption happens.
Arguments against civilian gun ownership have been proven to be short-sighted. There is no reason to assume that peace is some kind of permanent state. Nobody knows what the world will look like 100, 50, or even 20 or 10 years from now.
Shame that people's sense of, "I need to defend myself and what's mine" doesnt come out until it becomes "I HAVE to defend myself and what's mine." A lot of the people now invested in obtaining a gun should have been so for quite a long time
Why? European countries are much safer than the US, so there is much less fear, which means people don't think they need a gun. It's better to have safe country where everyone who wants a gun and is mentaly fit to own one owns one but only a portion of population does, than country that is not safe, where almost everyone is expected to have a gun. When police stops you in Europe, it's generaly chill (Sure, there was an incident in Germany where it went horribly wrong). Officer is not in fear of getting shot at, civilian is not in fear of getting shot at when he makes rapid movement. Europe is one of safest places on Earth, and massive ownership of weapons could change that and turn it into a US in some ways.
Different thing is (and we will most likely agree on that) that people should learn how to use weapons in case of emergency or war. Not that they need to have rifle and ammo at home at all times. That would make the country much more defendable against outer threat, without making inner threats bigger.
@@TheHatori1 The EU is safer than the US? Ah... thats not quite accurate. In fact.. the Us with the largest armed population on the planet.. is right in the middle of the homicide stats for All nations. In fact.. the nations with the strongest bans on firearms have a higher homicide rate. You might not get shot in Some of those nations..but being hacked to death is all too likely. Mexico only has (1) gun store in the entire country. Yet mass shootings..axings..macheting.. stabbing..grenading..etc etc all are greater in number than ever in the US.
@@TheHatori1 ahem. i got robbed in France as a tourist at knifepoint.
@@GunnerAsch1 To be frank, we are talking about developed countries. Mexico and the rest of central and south America cannot really be considered developed in same sense as USA, Canada or Europe. Sure, you can compare USA to Mexico or South Africa, or even Somalia, but that really makes no sense. It can be argued that higher homicide rate of USA is partially caused by proximity of Mexico, but more statistics would be needed to show how much.
@@MrNajibrazak You're right that Robbery rates in France are much higher (Almost twie as much) than in the USA. But homicide rate is almost 5 times lower than in the USA, and the percentage of people murdered by weapon is also much lower. It's true that my main criteria for safety was number of murders, which is not exactly correct. But since we are talking about firearms, it still seems to me that it should be the most important criteria.
As a trained reservist from a very small country bordering the RU: IMO the key is to have a large pool of people with military training. You get that with compulsory military service. Having firearm proficiency is a very important part of soldiering but there´s a lot more do it. Sure, many will hate the conscription, BUT once the bombs start falling in your old high school, your views may rapidly change.
The way service is carried out is also important. minimum downtime, maximum training. Finland is doing it right, Russia isn´t.
As a gunsmith currently living and working in Poland I do indeed see a sudden rise in the number of people interested in weapons and shooting sports in general. Just in my shooting club, over two thousand new members joined during the last two weeks. Also, from the direct insight of working in a gun store, we have so much going on that we barely manage bringing in new merch. All guns of AK platform that we had in stock were sold out in the first two days of the war, along with a huge stockpile of surpluss ak magazines, that we've been trying to sell for nearly a year. Ammo prices have skyrocketed, sometimes 4x the usual price, and some calibers, like 7.62x39 are nearly impossible to obtain right now. Bulletproof vests, plates and helmets are almost worth their weight in gold, and we are unable to keep up with the demand.
We are also doing our part in charity, by collecting donations in all kinds of tactical gear like tactical vests, boots, camo clothes etc. that we ship straight to the Ukrainian civil defense organisation.
In general, the interest in firearms ownership seems to be rising in Poland, but I don't really think the politicians are going to change anything regulation-vise. Our current rulling party Is strongly anti-gun, and I wouldn't believe in them having any good intentions towards the laws concerning firerms ownership, no matter what they say right now to gain publicity.
Anyway,
Slava Ukrainie, Be safe guys, protect your homes, and come back home alive.
2000 new members in 2 weeks!? That's really incredible.
Hopefully in the face of this, the ruling party won't remain the ruling party for long.
oh my god it's christmas!
@@Dr_Mauser "...no country can be well governed unless its citizens as a body keep religiously before their minds that they are the guardians of the law and that the law officers are only the machinery for its execution, nothing more." Mark Twain.
Welcome to what happened in the US in 2020. Same symptoms, different reason. Then again, Brandon's (lack of) work is definitely responsible to the crisis in the East too.
I'm from Poland and before Russia has invaded Ukraine I thought that while the gun laws are way too strict over here I thought that at least some form of law regarding ownership is a good thing but to be honest now I feel like a fool who'd NOW want to acquire some sort of firearm it is practically impossible over here unless you have a seriously valid reason for example for hunting or sports or if you're an owner of a jewelry store or stuff like that and now my opinion has turned a complete 180 and I think that in the grand scheme of things the right to bear arms is a good thing, unlike Ukraine we'd be totally screwed today if Russia invaded our land and I think given the current situation the gun laws HAVE to be changed here.
outstanding
100% of the time, without exception, gun control laws are nothing but a demonstration of how the government does not trust the citizens.
Governments have murdered more human beings than every criminal in history combined. Yet governments demand the power to determine who can and who cannot be armed.
Anyone who supports "gun control" supports mass murderers being the only ones armed; some are just too ignorant of history to understand what they're supporting.
Hey! At least here in Poland there we can own suppressed SBRs with vertical foregrips without additional paperwork ;-)
It is unfortunate that it is taking the invasion of Ukraine to cause people in a Europe (especially Eastern Europe) to realize the importance of armed citizens. For Poland… shame on the younger generations for not learning of the mass murder of their citizens by Nazi Germany during WW2 and by Russia/USSR during and AFTER WW2.
@@kmieciu4ever lmao I live in the Philippines and suppressors are cheaper here because they aren't regulated. America ironically has some of the most unnecessary restrictions on gun accessories, probably because it's the next best thing since the Democrats can't just ban guns. In a sense, the constitution makes it more expensive to cut your damn barrel, and gives you dumb laws like a stock making a short barreled rifle more dangerous apparently.
But the price for our lack of accessory regulation is our president banned rifles and ammo intermediate cartridges and up because he feared they'd be used by terrorists in the south. What a fucking idiot, they get their weapon imports from outside illegal sources, not legitimate civvie weapon shops. At least just ban it in Mindanao, why tf do I have to care as a Visayan?
I've always been a fan of how Switzerland deals with guns and making sure it's populace is properly educated on how to use them, and this just reinforces that. Hopefully more countries will adopt a similar model. Seems like a good middle ground between being to restrictive and being to reckless with gun control laws.
"A gun is a tool, not to be feared, but to be respected. It is the definition of personal responsibility."
You can quote me on that.
Not bad man
God created men. Mr. Colt made them equal.
An irresponsible gun owner wandering around in public, on the other hand, is terrifying.
Nope, personal responsibility comes from PEOPLE, and not many have it.
Respect is for people, not inanimate objects. You word you're looking for a discipline, and not many people have that either, as your mindless platitude demonstrates.
@@MrFelblood It sure is, I'm with you. Tbh I already get really scared when an officer in germany comes to me just to ask me a question while holding a mp5. I'm not used to it and I never will.
I propose civilian ownership of NLAWs 😅
Less gun laws, more NLAWs.
Every home should have atleast 1 and a rifle 😅
Hail Saint Javelin, may her blessing be delivered from on high to my enemy's BMPs
@@ElitePreferredSpecies the only NLAW I can get behind
@@aPoorsPerspective make your inlaws outlaws with nlaw 😁
Having an armed (and gun savvy) civilian population is also part of the Swiss national defense strategy.
@@McCaroni_Sup You mean like when they supported both sides of WW2 while claiming to be neutral? theu sent medical supplies to nazis and helped them hide their stolen gold and artwork while turning around and lying to Churchill about not supporting Germany
After seeing war footage from Ukraine, it is clear that the right to bear arms must also include anti-tank weapons, armed drones, and anti-aircraft missiles.
@@widehotep9257 it usually doesn't matter. In America you can own those with permission from government and extortion charges for tax stamps. But after that they would be hundreds of thousands of $$$ to purchase. So it usualy doesn't matter simply due to such a high cost of entry. I want a full auto rifle. But I would rather have another safe full of regular handguns and rifles. Just can't get myself to buy jump on the nfa train yet. $60,000 for one really fun gun. Or a new safe completely full of regular firearms lol.
Cheaper way is to get ffl licensing. Open gun shop. Get sot licensing and explosive licensing then you can make destructive devises, grenades, suppressors, full auto weapons, etc yourself. Now guided rockets would take some know how and probably some extra schooling with a tech degree or engineering degree to just get knowledge on how to actually make them.
@@dip30ful Swiss people are allowed to buy almost anything with the proper license, fullautos being fairly "easy" to obtain (usually requiring X amount of years of gun ownership and Y amount of guns in your posession). Grenade launchers and RPGs can be bought, too. Its the ammo thats tricky.
To give a bit of context: not just anyone receives weapons in Ukraine on the street, volunteers are being organized into territorial defence units outfitted with barebone command structure and embedded into already established system, they're not hapless completely isolated units, they cooperate quite efficiently with Ukrainian Armed Forces and Ukrainian National Guard. Thank you for your support!
In Switzerland, every adult male (and I imagine a lot of females too) is either in the military or a reservist. Every reservist keeps his or her government issue weapons, ie a SIG assault rifle , and I believe a service pistol, at home ready for call up if required. A good reason not to try invading Switzerland.
Firearms ownership done well.
As far as I know, they don't keep ammo. Reservists have to go collect their ammo from a depot or something if they get called up.
@@sevensicilies If true, that defeats the whole purpose of them having guns at home in the first place.
Thanks for mentioning Lithuania 🇱🇹 - there are so many changes in past 2 week. Our gun laws were quite relaxed compared to Western Europe in the first place. Now we have discussion in parliament to allow members of territorial defence and paramilitary organisation to have fully automatic weapons at home. We increased military spending from 2% to 2,6% GDP for this year and raising it to 3% in later years. All AR15 and similar rifles are sold out and there is no way you could find 223 rounds. Everything is sold out. Thousands are enrolling in paramilitary organisation (militia - Lithuanian Rifleman Association which is run by armed forces). Goal is to have 50k trained civilians with personal guns as additional help to army.
Moreover, LT just ordered Javelins for 40M€. It would be crazy time of beefing up military and militia.
God Bless lithuania
Jau būčiau domėjęsis, gerai kad radau tokį komentarą. Atrodo visai praktiška dabar nusipirkti kokį Mosin Nagantą, žiūrint kad dažniausiai naudojami kalibrai išpirkti.
@@martynaskerdokas8438 tai manau užveš dabar daug civilinių karabinų. Va su amunicija sudėtinga. Galėtų GGG dirbti 24/7 jei tik žaliavos turi.
hey that's fantastic to hear
Estonia has a similar reservist system as Finland and also a "militia" of people who are trained and equipped by the government to serve as a home guard. The people in it have regular jobs and lives but also take part in more frequent military games and training than the regular reserves that just get the compulsory training and a once every few years refresher.
@Mäkirannantörmä Britain got itself a Home Guard after the expeditionary forces were ejected from France without their heavy weapons or all of their rifles.
The Home Guard had to make do with a few old training rifles.
@Mäkirannantörmä Oh, I knew they were very different but thank you for the extra information.
Dude, Finland literally fought on the side of Axis during the war, wonder why Soviets wanted to disband military organisations in Finland...
@@ZealothPL This could get complicated.
Just as Poland was invaded by Germany, the east part was invaded by the USSR.
However, Finland was able to get modern fighter planes from Germany to help them withstand the invasion from the USSR.
It is complicated indeed. At that time the USSR was viewed in the UK as a baddie. Then came operation Barbarosa and it was 'poor Mr Stalin, we must help him' with some very dangerous supply convoys.
Of course he continued his invasion and occupation of Finland.
@@ZealothPL They fought on the side of whoever was willing to help them. The Soviets wanted them conquered, the Western Allies didn't want to piss off Stalin, so the only one left who was willing to help was Hitler. In war, you take what you can get.
As a Czech guy, the war helped me make up my mind and go for the gun licence.
But would love to see Ian make a video with some summary of ambidexterous/lefty-friendly guns, since I am lefty too.
And I would love to hear Ians opinion on Kel-Tech RFB, since that looks like a great rifle for lefty+urban combat with sufficient precision and energy
I have been shooting for so long a right handed bolt action that can't even process the moves on a left hand bolt anymore, so I would say TRAIN an avoiding any bullpup??
With the pistols I needed to triple the shooting with the right hand.
Your gun laws are AMAZING, by thr way
So american lefty here it's worth noting that while you may be left handed and shooting handguns left handed may feel natural you may find shooting long guns right handed as a non-issue at least that's been my personal experience which makes it really nice because unless a firearms designed ambidextrous entirely it tends to get expensive finding left hand configured rifles however the AK is a great platform for lefties for the major factor that you can work the action while still maintaining a left handed grip on your pistol grip and work the action with your right
Isn’t it sad that a Czech man has to ask for a license? I feel sorry for all of Europe
@@ragnardanneskajold1880 It isn't sad, if you know something about this. Czech Republic have one of the best firearm laws in the whole friggin world. We have plenty of liberty for each citizen which goes hand in hand with responsibility as well. You have to have clean criminal record which restricts access to weapons for convicted felons. You have to be reliable, which restricts access to weapons for addicts and other people that shouldn't have access to weapons. You have to be medically eligible, wich restricts access to weapons for people who have severe mental illness which means they shouldn't have access to weapons. You have to pass the theoretical exams showing you have knowledge of the laws related to firearms. You have to show you are profficient in safe handling of firearm. You have to show you are able to hit the target at 10 or more meters. Then you are basically free to get any type of rifle, pistol etc. (aside from the fully-automatic military weapons) as long as you stay a law-abiding citizen. You are also required by law to have the firearms and ammunition safe from potential theft, misuse or loss. The United States could learn something from our firearm laws. There would be much less dead children and mass shootings. But i know it isn't going to happen since there are only two types of people - Gun-grabbers who want to restrict everything and NRA-members who don't to make any single step towards making the laws more strict in fear they give inch and they'll take a mile (which is understandable from our recent experience with EU gun-grabbers...).
@@StanislavCech - my friend if you think all of those same laws, except having to take a test are applicable in the US then you are sadly mistaken. My point was that it’s sad that you must obtain a license, which is in effect State permission in order to exercise a right.
As for the school shootings: what changed between the 1980’s and the 2000’s in regard to school shootings, when in the 1980’s kids in rural America brought guns to school often as they hunted before and after school. What changed? After the columbine shooting the medias response has ensured there will be never ending repeats as it creates notoriety for lunatics that get their hands on guns.
Lastly, freedom is dangerous as everyone has rights and can exercise them and abuse them at anytime- I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ps- your notions about the NRA are very uninformed, there are several organizations far more effective than the nra like the NSSF.
I live in Croatia - a few days ago a Russian drone fell out of the sky some 20 meters from a college dorm. There has been a lot of talk of this very topic - the video is on point. We're about a 1000 km away yet here we are, prehistoric drones buzzing around. Our war ended just 27 years ago and many people still have rifles, guns, hand granades hidden in some basement or a closet.
We have a gun in the house, legally, it's hidden in the back of a drawer in the garage, but we know where it is. I don't have any official military training as I was battling cancer at the age guys usually went to serve. The most "experience" I have is through airsoft, where I used a replica of an M24 rifle and "served" as a sniper. Making camo out of canvas bags and all.
I'm not a violent person, I really like snipers for the skill, engineering, precision, camouflage - not to kill people, just shooting at targets and getting good at something. But I'd rather be prepared and know HOW to use weapons than to fall prey to a lunatic dictator sending kids to kill me.
I've had many friends die in the war, my age (I was 8 to 13 yo during the war) and older, some were tortured in camps, our houses were destroyed - most of what I felt wasn't fear, it was helplesness. You meet a soldier at a barricade, you become friends, you chat every day for a year, then he gets sent away and you're left with a cap he gave you for good luck - and he never returns.
You want to save the people you love, so you make wooden rifles our of planks and aim them at enemy soldiers as they pass by, you make "bazookas" out of PVC plumbing pipes you find at the wreckage of another house and you pretend to shoot down the jets when they bomb the area.
It makes you not want to kill people but you also know what happens if you can't defend yourself. Right now, kids in Ukraine don't cry over math homeworks, they use sticks as rifles to learn to shoot, together with their grandma. Everybody should be trained in basic use of weapons - men, women, everybody, through some peaceful activity such as competitions and marksmanship events. It would help promote gun safety, self control, violence awareness, friendship and, if it comes to that, defence.
That's why I love this channel, it doesn't promote gun nuts. I'm planning on getting a licence and going to the range cause, well, a month ago we lived in a very different world and I didn't plan on hitting my 40th birthday in the middle of a potential WW3. But, I'm optimistic. I wish everyone here a good life and I hope you guys never meet War at your doorstep.
Here in Switzerland, nothing much will change. Automatic weapons are still issued to young shooters and they are still trained in marksmanship at 300 meters (I have one downstairs). People seem to be more interested in polishing their talents than a few weeks ago. I have a couple of others as well. Just as backup.
I like the confidence
Thank you Switzerland for condemning the barbaric invasion and doing sanctions! It seems like a big step for a neutral country.
Based
@@justanothergunnerd8128 our neutrality only means that we dont enter military alliances and offensive wars. Other than that, we can (and have in the past) sanction whoever we please
@@justanothergunnerd8128 Not a neutral country anymore.... Over 500 years of neutrality out the window
Living in Brno, my local shooting range is providing free training/firearm familiarization to Ukranians. Lots work here and many are returning to fight. Firearm ownership and practice is quite popular here and in Slovakia. I'm sure this is a trend that will increase. Slovakia in particular has the type of terrain (mountains) to make the kind of startergy discussed in this video viable
There are similiar initiatives in Poland.
Well I repeat my main comment, we cannot trust 20% of my fellow citizens so t will get more difficult to get licence and availibility of firearms will decrease.
What do mean by trust as in they will do something stupid?
Hello I'm in Brno as well. I would love to be able to get a gun permit but as a American its impossible unless I get permanent residence and go through the bureaucratic nightmare which is like everything else here. I wish they had a better system here. My father inlaw is a hunter and has lots of rifles but to even go hunting with him would be a mountain of bullshit to climb over.
@@Svveet69 Once you have your permanent residence permit, the bureaucracy for a gun permit is actually refreshingly light. I don't think there is a provision for taking the test in English though. Only Czech.
The greatest thing coming out of the tragedy of the Invasion of Ukraine is the possibility of European nations of relearning the importance of a well-armed and well-trained populace. Europe would not have survived the Middle Ages without armed populations contributing to the many wars against foreign invaders.
Yamamoto was essentially correct about invading the US. Even today, if you get outside the cities, many people are well armed and well practiced, despite some political opposition. Theoretically, if every household had firearms, an aggressive country would be less likely to consider an invasion.
As a Romanian, I can tell you there's no conversation about loosening our highly restrictive gun laws (which practically make it impossible for you to own guns for self-defense) and popular sentiment about a possible war is to run west rather than stand and fight, mostly because in 32 years of democracy our leadership has been crap and working only in the interest of politicians lining out their pockets.
Your politicians are about to be too busy with slap fights over refugees to do anything else.
Sounds like normal democracy.
@@Matt-xc6sp Not likely. We aren't a hot destination for Ukrainians. Our southern border with them is crap, requiring a boat ride since there's no bridge there and general infrastructure in the area is lacking. Meanwhile our northern border is in close proximity to their Polish border (which also has a much quicker connection - due to better Polish infrastructure - to Germany and the rest of Europe). People who come here do so because they know people or have family here.
@@chubbycatfish4573 I assume your from the states. Imagine the corruption in Mexico times 3. The Balkan countries are really bad as well.
As an American, I feel confident in saying: Sounds like your democracy is working as intended.
Seriously, democracy is ugly even in the best of times. The key is having a civilian population that can step in and change it all at any time...that acts as a kind of psychological check on politicians when they know the ultimate power actually resides in the hands of (literally) the common people.
Nationalism is another ugly but necessary requirement for a Republic or democratic government. If no one cares enough about the whole shebang to defend it, it can't last long.
Here in Finland we just have too much of useless requirements that doesnt save any lives. Semiauto guns are seen very dangerous compared for example bolt action hunting rifles. 1.5 years of paperwork doesnt save anyone. We have to remember that the only reason Simo Häyhä was so good was because he trained from young age. Release the markets!
I feel that's a part of the British gun laws that is kinda pointless too as they ban centrefire semi autos.
Someone could buy a pump shotgun, marksman rifle, semi auto .22 or sporting pistol and wreak havoc if they chose to (not that high ownership will cause that, just that bad people will pick the easiest tool available), but not having access to shooting sports and the associated education in safe and responsible handling would be a major issue if we did need civilian defense forces to take up arms .
I think the ranges where one can borrow or store their own sporting guns would be a good middle ground for peacetime sports and training , without the associated risks of them coming to hand during arguments etc.
We also have shit self defense laws, I don't feel access to a firearm at all times in peacetime is the best idea as mentioned above, but having access to pepperspray or tasers may mean more lightly injured attackers than victims.
really? semi-auto is prohibited for hunting? Being in Estonia and just recently finished my hunter's course (completely unrelated initially with Ukrainian war), i know that in Estonia semi-auto is absolutely allowed, with only limitation that you need to have a physical restriction of 2 rounds in a mag - meaning 3 rounds max for a rifle. for a smooth bore, i believe there is no restriction, so a hunter can use a 10 round pump action smoothbore for example. Of course, actually getting the state license for your first gun is....tough :D psychological and psychiatric examination, 16h medical course, a theoretical exam in gun safety, law (incl self-defence) and medical topics as well as shooting exam (10 shots with .22 i believe for hunters, pistol for self defence)
@@esuelak you can use semiauto in hunting with same restrictions as you but getting one is pain in the ass.
@@taisteluimuri4893 ok, dont know about bying yet, in the beginning of that process still :D
@@esuelak Self defense in Finland is outright banned. You can smack house invader with baseball bat and get sent to prison for assault. Get firearms and shoot home intruder who charges you with a knife or has illegal firearm and its you who is boned ether way. Even accusation of verbally saying about getting firearm after bar fight and while drunk to high heaven, while your guns are in another city locked in safe, essentially out of any reasonable reach and you loose your firearms license, happened to buddy when some asshole reported him out of spite of getting him self knocked out. 10 years of hunting and target shooting hobby down the drain cause of one malicious accusation.
Further more there was order from police high command to drop number of pistol licenses. Nothing to do with safety of the people, but corrupt politicians pushed this move when they were doing moves that can be counted treasonous, selling Finland to EU and money laundering public funds to companies that their relatives and friends owned that were based in immigration business, while pushing illegal immigration HARD.
Thankfully even though gun laws are getting tighter and tighter, to point where there soon wont be enough hunters to keep moose etc population in check, corruption flourishes there is still healthy blackmarket so getting equipment wont be issue. Invasion will just increase demand and price, but there will be enough stuff for those who want it. Old folk didnt trust Russian promises so there is ample storages all over the country case Russian invasion and guerilla warfare that would ensue after that even if military and government would fall. Though maybe we should let Russia bomb ever living shit out capitol and only after that start defense war. Would solve several issues at once, but then again corrupt politicians will be first to flee so Russia would need to surround the capitol with in a day and block off any underground tunnels there is. And we know that wont happen.
For defense it self, yes each country should have American 2A in their constitution and populous should be well armed. This would deter both tyrants well as would be invading countries, long as populous keeps firmly their guns from being taken from them and challenge any attempts of infringement. Also Northern defense alliance would have solved Russian issue out right, no need to join NATO if Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Iceland would band together to keep north at peace against any aggressor what ever Russia or USE United States of Europe
It reminds me when I spent a short time working in europe a few years ago and I talked to many people about civilian firearm ownership. I would say about 20% were extremely jealous of US gun laws, and the rest were completely puzzled by why people would desire to own firearms or of what use they would be to anyone in the 21st century. Well we sure found out this month.
All kind of shooting sports are fun too. I started Olympic recurve archery last year. Now I'm looking in to SRA-shooting Ian talked about and I also joined Finnish Reservists Association when the Ukraine-Russia war broke out. Been 11 years since my conscription but I'm in reserves for another 30 :D
It's that most Europeans feel much safer than Americans, so they don't feel like there is a need to have another dangerous object in their home or car, much less on them. I would love to be able to have fun with firearms as people do in the US, but if it means that my life would be less safe, as it would be in the US, than it's not worth it. Knowing how to use firearm when needed is another thing, but different from owning one.
@@TheHatori1 Most firearms owners in the US do not own it for personal protection. The vast majority of America is very low in crime despite the impression that people get from media stories. Most of the violent crime is isolated to urban cities.
@@someguy325es Thank you for insight with the reason of ownership. I don't consume US media, but statistics doesn't lie. And statisticaly, murder rate is 5 times higher than in the rest of the developed world, majority of it is commited by firearms. And that is what frightens me much more than chance of someone invading my home.
@@TheHatori1 no doubt the murder rate is much higher in the US than in most other countries but there are also other countries that have very liberal firearms laws that don't have the high rates of homicide. We need to figure out how to find the balance that other countries have. My opinion is that it is the lack of social safety nets in the US. Most violent crime in the US happens in impoverished areas, which seams to be a pattern around the world.
I live in Lithuania and there's been a huge surge in gun ownership since the invasion of Ukraine started. The cost of guns and ammunition has gone through the roof!
I'm also in the EU. Just curious how you guys over in Lithuania feel about the ECHA lead ban that is being planned? This will kill sports shooting as the alternatives to lead are expensive, abysmal or just simply there are no alternatives. It will have to be voted on in the EU parliament but I believe it will be rubber stamped into existence. My MEPs will vote for the ban because they are a disgusting disgrace (a couple of them anyway). Is there any sense from you that the MEPs from the central and eastern European states will vote against the ban, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine? Thanks.
In Czech Republic interest increased a lot, personally I had couple request in last days to do licence preparations as instructor. Also demand especially for ammunition absolutely skyrocketed, currenly all of most standard ammo - 9mm luger, 7,62x39 and 5,56x45 is completely gone, sold out.
The same goes with applications to join the army's Active Reserves, as well as with more people wanting to take part in introductory military courses.
The state-accredited self-defence shooting courses (MV-101 to MV-1-500) that the Interior Ministry authorized last year are also taking of nicely, and I've heard from people taking them at various providers that they're very useful, practically oriented and professionaly conducted.
@@msh5215 Yes, absolutely, the overall quality and lead of courses is very good, usefull and professionaly done. I personally recommend, if nothing else, to at least do some oriented on first aid, because lets be honest, its more probable one would need that, than CQB rifle fighting.
You Czech are the exception to the rule. Heck, you even bought the Colt brand!
Welcome to how things were in 2020 in the US
any tips for an expat in Czech Republic who's Czech sucks?
Here in Poland it is practically impossible to obtain a firearms license for personal protection. The only way is to "pretend" to be a sportsman, to be a hunter or "collector" of firearms. The problem is the bureaucratic route and the cost of obtaining a license for weapons for such purposes. The best way is to obtain a sports firearm license. It is currently the most popular method in my country, but obtaining and maintaining a license is time consuming and frustrating. But there is one advantage because there is a regulatory loophole that allows you to carry a loaded gun (pistol hidden under clothing) if you have a sports license. To sum up - the regulations on firearms in Poland are a bit of a mess and are too demanding.
@@bocefusmurica4340 Unfortunately, I know that... 😕 Our history and geographic location are very unfavorable. And yet Poland is one of the most disarmed (civilians) countries in Europe. I'm pissed at our politicians.
That’s only half truth - yes, getting a gun for personal protection is practically impossible, but at the same time getting a gun permit for sports use is easier than getting a drivers license, and sport permit doesn’t restrict what you can have. Polish gun law is one of the most relaxed ones in Europe, but many people just assume that “it has to be complicated”
@@KiloSierra213Sierra Well... Actually, I have a sports license myself, so I say it from this point of view. The situation is not what it should be or it is not what I wish for myself. And yes, obtaining a sports license is actually not that difficult but it takes too much time and in my opinion maintaining a sports license is frustrating - I have to "pretend" to be a sportsman but I don't like competition, I just want to have a gun 😉
You'd think Poland would have the most American-like gun laws in Europe considering their entire history of being invaded by everyone. XD
The bright side is, that hunting is fun and a great skill. And so is collecting guns. Just so happens those guns will do for personal defense.
Fundamentally Ukraine was invaded because it conceeded to getting rid of its "arms" Nuclear Weapons (the only nation to do so. This underscores the importance of arms as a deterrent to violence. Its very hard to measure the deaths avoided by arms deterring violence, but Ukraine shows us how tens of thousands or more are killed because someone gave up their arms. This works on a small scale (individual arms) as well.
Good idea. Let´s then give out nukes to Mexico, Cuba, maybe some african countries as well, preferably the oney ruled by "the religion of peace" how about that ?
Or does your logic only contain "friedly" countries ?
They had weapons that couldn't maintain. It's not like they did not want to, but Ukraine was and still is among the poorest countries in Europe and couldn't afford to keep operative old Soviet warheads. Most of the would have been out of service by 2014 anyway.
@@sierraecho884 Surely you realize that many countries (USA, Russia, China, UK, France, Israel, Pakistan, India, North Korea) do have nuclear weapons? I guess it's ok for Russia and China to have them, but not ok for Ukraine? And somehow it is Ukraine that gets invaded. Here goes you "logic"...
@@sensuscommunis2526 No it should not be okay for even more countries to have them. After the sovjet union fell it was a really really really tough situation because people like the taliban could all of the sudden obtain sovjet nuklear weapons and use them agains the US and EU you do realize that don´t you ? Do you want to leave even more hardware to the talibs ? Maybe the US gov didnt give them enough equpment as it is huh ?
Ugh why am I even writing with you, you come from a place where every person whos IQ is barely as high as room temp can buy a gun, there is no point in arguing I guess, Its like talking to a Taliban dude why women also have certain rights´it´s just pointless.
One minor point, South Africa had nukes and dismantled both their nukes and their records of how they built them, prior to the end of apartide. See "Twilight of the Bombs" by Richard Rhodes
In Ukraine you could own a semi auto carbine ar-15/AK type prior the war. There were over a million registered civilian firearms. The issue is that most active civilian shooters run ar-15. In our territorial defence unit we are issuedwith ak-74s, but if are deployed will run civilian ar-15 with military ammunition because this will be more effective setup for our specific unit.
It frustrates me that the term "militia" has been co-opted to mean a right-wing paramilitary/terrorist organization, rather than its intended meaning of a pool of able-bodied, drilled, and prepared people available to be called up to protect or provide emergency response in times of great public need.
Then don't let them take it away from us. You give the left too much power.
Absolutely. The "militia" mentioned in the 2nd amendment and roundly ignored in DC v Heller is today known as the National Guard. Laws of the time allowed the banning of weapons in all forms, but didn't necessarily provide for arms for the Continental Army as it was composed in its day, of state militae (currently known as National Guard units). Political wrangling at the highest echelon has perverted the meaning of 2A.
@@jansenart0 no. National guard are government organizations. The militia mentioned is non governmental. Its private, and such things existed privately all the way through the Civil War.
@@SW0000A and you sw are a perfect example of the op complaint...
False, the American militia is explicitently stated as being all able bodied males 16+ in the United States.
It is not the national guard. Nor was it ever the equvilient of the national guard. And anyone trying to pretend it was isbliejg through their teeth.
I am not American FYI. I just know how to read.
Furthermore, we have letters from the times of the writing of the ammendments explicitly stating that the people were supposed to have atleast equal weapons capability to the army.
Dear Ian,
Your historical videos about pre-WW2 weapon development in Poland was most educational. Sadly, it appears Ukraine (and Poland) have not learned from history. They are still largely disarmed.
Sadly, exactly the west, namely the US had disarmed the entire ex-soviet bloc, Central and Eastern Europe... I can only compare it to the post WW1 arms and conscription ban... We are at the point we have nothing and we have nobody who would join the national armies. I can have an answer why, but it's a completely non PC opinion.
As we see in Hungary, only the Polish army is what seems to worth something, as a fighting force, still a national patriotic army, unless all of western Europe... there it is most important to recruit women and gender-force, and to weed out national feeling ("far right") from governmental employees
@@mickvonbornemann3824 You heard something? Would it be a secret "Molotov Ribbentrop" between the Poles and Russia??
@@bracoop2 Who? Where?
The good thing is it brought a whole slew of illegal guns not meant for criminal activities. There are bit more guns in Poland than everybody thinks there are. Nobody will find it, no police, no secret police, no hostile force, nobody.
I joined The Finnish Reservists' Association the day the war started. I'd like to start SRA-shooting in summer but I've heard almost everything has been booked full, there is understandably a lot of interest in national defense right now. After conscription I lived in small town with no reservist activities so interest kind of faded for a long while. Also the few school shootings in past decades made lawmakers toughen up gun laws and made it harder to get started. I think current Finnish laws around these topics are pretty good but there is a lot of variance on how they are implemented based on municipality you live in. Shooting as a sport and hobby, outside of hunting, should get more attention and funding in Finland. We can't own automatic rifles. You can get license for semi automatic rifle after 1 year, handgun after 2 years of SRA-shooting. Maybe they could allow automatic weapons after 5 years of SRA?
I started Olympic recurve bow shooting last year and I'd like to add firearms to the mix too. I used to shoot and hunt a lot with my dad growing up.
Automatics or we call them in USA machine guns have little to no purpose even in combat, yes there is a place and time but as far as USA military ideology, well placed semi automatic fire wins 99% of the time! Even if I had the money to get a machine gun here in the USA, I wouldn't want one for combat.
Thanks for bringing this matter to light, Ian. As a long-time viewer of your channel from Ukraine, seeing you cover this subject is very heartwarming. Russians are bombing our cities, targeting civilian targets specifically, hoping to terrorize the population into submission. Russians did not expect so many people to rise up to the invader instead of running away. There is no shortage of volunteers.
What we do need from NATO is AA equipment, to stop Russian air raids on our cities.
I will be praying for you and your countrymen.
Stand strong. Go ukraine.
I would like to point out that AA equipment would do little to stop many stand-off cruise missiles and ground-based artillery. I hope stingers and javelins will be sufficient.
And may you get it (AA) soon.
@@shadetreemech290 hope you're right.
Is King Nicholas of Monte Negro decree all men must own a Gasser Revolver still in effect?
In the United Kingdom, section 11(4) of the Firearms Act 1968 is meant to facilitate developing marksmanship skills for exactly the reasons set out here. Specifically that provision exempts operators of shooting galleries/ranges from certain regulations, provided the rifles used don't exceed .23 caliber. That measure was originally introduced in 1920, based on lessons learned in The Great War(WW I).
Current public interest in that sort of shooting remains low in the UK, and I think the exemption is rarely used in practice.
It's there. Use it
I'm from UK. In wartime it's good to have lots of people trained and owning guns for civil defence. This happened in WW2, with the Home Guard etc. However in peace time the problem with this is that some of those guns end up being owned and misused by mentally unbalanced people e.g. the Hungerford Massacre in 1987 (16 killed) e.g. the Dunblane Massacre in 1996 (17 killed). These events are why gun ownership by civilians in UK is basically banned. So we have a highly trained professional army that knows how to use guns.
@@DrewWithington Yet you don't hear of such shooting in Switzerland or Finland. What makes the UK prone to shooting incidents like these compared to other countries and how can we replicate that special sauce so to speak.
@@DrewWithington Apparantly no one told my county police force that guns are "effectively banned" in the UK when they issued firearms certificates to both me and my wife.
@@jamesj2509 There are 156,000 firearms certificates issued for a population of 60,000,000 i.e. 0.26% of the population have a firearm certificate. Not exactly the Wild West!!
Thank you, Ian! As a Ukrainian I'm so glad to hear your position about the war. I'm so happy I found your channel several years ago! Stay safe ;)
The second amendment was born from this concept of of the people being able to repel unjust government control. Lessons learned from the revolutionary war must never be forgotten, despite incidences of miss use by local criminals.
Given the popularity of realistic video games and guntubers on TH-cam, mainly Tarkov and Forgotten Weapons, there are many EU citizens that are gun enthusiasts, but have never even touched one, because of the restrictive laws. If the laws ever change, I can see a significant gun community suddenly pop up across Europe.
De jure getting most rifles isn’t that hard in most of europe. Most of the time it’s somewhere between a mild inconvenience and a bureaucratic nightmare. Main problem however is that you usually need some disposable income, iykwim.
I do agree, gladly i live in a country that isint really restrictive on firearms, getting one might not be as easy in the states but its not really hard here either
@@GartenhausLP True, most people never think about owning a gun, and others don't even bother checking the requirements. Gun enthusiasts find ways to legally get guns, if they really want to.
I'm not too sure the laws will change any time soon, most people I know that come under that description above are very much in favor of restrictive gun control laws. Myself included truth be told. Even if columns of Russian tanks were charging through the Fulda gap, I still doubt there'd be any appetite in weakening those laws. Plus if you really really do want to get more hands on experience, there are always ways. Such as joining the Reserves or go through the laborious process of joining a gun club. (My perspective as an Irishman here in Ireland, very much open to correction if there are any lads and ladies out there with more experience on the matter)
@@marceelino Grow up and go live in the real world, child.
Eastern European countries may relax ownership laws but the West will probably double down.
Why would they double down now
Yup. Western governments are just as evil as eastern and dont want middle class or especially lower class people have any power or potential for power whatsoever. Only people who shoud be armed according to government are the government and their soldiers.
@@RrRr-or5tw history
@@RrRr-or5tw mostly due to misinformation. Here in Britain the media portrayal of firearms and firearm holders is horrorific at best. No one bothers to actually research anything they just accept the BBC summary of "gun control = good. Guns bad"
Kinda like the orange man bad meme
@@RrRr-or5tw Because Western governments are more afraid of their own discontent citizens than of foreign invaders.
Ian, I love your show and I love you like a brother. I’m a Vietnam Vet who was drafted (a conscript). Since then I’ve watched many wars and conflicts started by dictators and bullies. In my mind it’s pretty safe to throw money at these problems, but if people want to help then grab a weapon and stand the post.
Thank you very much for pointing out our fundraiser for the military and humanitarian needs. You are the man! 🙏
I hope that we will see less restrictions in places like here in Spain. The "military caliber" ban is dumb
Spanish gun laws are bad even for European standards. But then, that can be said for all Spanish laws
Military caliber ban isnt as dumb as you think.
It was put in place due to the large volume of lost surplus arms after the world wars. It stopped the continued supply of ammo to unregistered guns. Its the best option if you wanted gun control after WW1/2 and don't want to try the "taking my guns" option.
A hunting caliber is usually bigger than military, the smaller the round and cartridge the more you can carry.
x@@s.marcus3669 Verry interesting.
the military caliber ban in Italy has generated a lot of solutions like 9x21 (as substitute for 9x19) or .45 HP (instead of 45 ACP)
Well, improving gun laws is a job for pro-gun organization. You cannot keep it solely in hands of bureaucrats and politicans.
My finnish relatives convinced me that taking up biathlon as a sport would be an excellent option as well. Not just to improve your health and marksmanship, but as a German citizen, proving that you are active in that sport (for longer than 6 months at least) would also make the process of getting a license for guns much easier.
Plus they told me I got a bit too much on the chubby side since Covid-19 started. Ah well, family, you gotta love them :)
Your body is the weapon a gun is merely a tool. Personal fitness should definitely be at the top of every gun owner’s priority list
/golfclap
Your last line is very relatable.
An underappreciated sport in the USA.
So being active in biathlon makes it easier to get a license for guns in Germany. Good to know. I plan to move to Germany in the future. I've considered taking up sports shooting as a way to get my foot in the door with firearms training over there and make it easier to get a license.
Do you need a permit or license to compete in sports shooting in Germany? Or can you just join a sports shooting club?
Well said, sir.
I am personally in favor of compulsory firearms education and training appropriate to the age of the student culminating in compulsory firearm ownership upon graduation. Such a curriculum would of course be incomplete without training in arms maintenance and first aid for gunshot wounds. I would also provide for electives related to firearms, first aid, emergency preparedness, and other areas fostering differing forms of self sufficiency and personal management.
I believe that doing so would cut down on violent crime (less would rob their classmates' homes while knowing each is armed and proficient), would further the safety of children around guns (as they would be learning about basic safety from a very early age thus teaching good habits and demystifying guns), and would all but ensure there be no abuse of the people by any power foreign or domestic.
In the US at least, the government pays for the exercise of perceived rights not guaranteed in the constitution, so it seems all the more so that it should fund this right which is there enshrined with such firm language.
The thing is, if you look at USA, it's the most armed country in the world and yet it has unbearably high murder rate, 5 times the EU. It doesn't seem that it's making the country safer, quite the oposite.
Ian, this is why I love your calm voice politely addressing serious subjects. I often refer to myself as "pro-responsibility" and have noted Switzerland's attitudes regarding ownership. I'll see your perspective on this and raise. I'd like to see a more proactive approach from the U.S. government to not only train civilians on firearms, but also artillery, logistics, and aircraft. Not only to be ready in times of war, but to instill a notion that we are capable of much more than we think.
Our societies do a lot to hammer that we are only capable of certain things or what society expects of us. Some tell me things like "This is the only job I can do... I don't do computers... I can only drive. All I am good for is..." We even see this with people going to vlogging, muck banging, etc for income when there are fields desperate for warm bodies to help out. Programs, like what you're mentioning are a great way to instill confidence, even in fields not related to guns or the military.
Thank you kindly for everything you do.
In *Czech republic* we have new official government-acredited training programs (taught by private training companies, like CZ or HardTask) specifically for civilians. Training for *various* things:
*MV101* - (Defense Basics) First aid, calling the police after a defensive incident, legal considerations, everyday situational awareness/avoiding conflict
*MV102* - (Shooting Basics) shooting basics, shooting and movement, FXSimunition training
*MV 201* - (Situational Basics - civilian context) Active shooter response, preventing/stopping a terrorist attack
*MV301* - (Situational Basics - military context) 300M long range shooting, ballistic vest use, team tactics
Only requirements are a weapons license (which is about as difficult to acquire as a regular driver's license - so not great, not terrible)
The government then sponsors fully-trained individuals with yearly ammo donations, forever.
We established these programs about 6 months ago, so not because of Ukraine - but now more countries will join...
OK, that's awesome
MV101 should be a must-have for anyone who carries a firearm for self-defense.
Those courses should be mandatory for graduation from High School in America. Not that they ever will be. How many American High Schools teach how to manage credit cards?
This needs to happen in all of Europe
Super. I hope you folks would be accepting someone hoping to settle in Czechia. The only difference between where I currently live and where I hope to live is same taxes and the feeling of being a peasant and only being valued as a cash cow by my current government. You folks actually seem to think of your citizens as actual people.
I highly doubt belgian gun laws are going to change. The belgian government is unwilling to upkeep a standing military of any reasonably size or capability, which I've seen leading to a rather large marginalisation of gun owners. While the law is much more lenient than I expected, its incredibly unclear as to what is and is allowed and is written in a way that almost discourages ownership. Law enforcement sites also provide very little clear information as to what is or isn't legal. (E.G. a ban on "military calibres" but apparently Mosins in 7.62 long Russian are allowed? Also .308 is a hunting calibre as well as military, no?)
Besides that, my generation (around 20-25) has, in my experience, become cripplingly pacifist. They despise guns, wars, police carrying guns, the army, everything that has to do with a firearm. If this is the generation that's about to decide politics I fear no loosening up on ownership, as much as I hope it does become clearer and easier.
Yeah. Gun laws in Belgium won't change (I mean in a good more open way, because it's actually changing very often but always towards more rigid and difficult laws) because of the war in Ukraine. Too many parties hate the idea of citizen being able to own firearms (mostly parties from the left side obviously).
That being said, we shouldn't complain too much in Belgium because compared to most other European countries, the situation is not that bad.
We actually can own almost anything non full-auto.
As for the "military caliber ban" it really only applies to 5.56 and 5.7 I guess. And if you want an AR-15 style rifle you can get it in .223 which is virtually identical.
So getting a firearm legally in Belgium can be a tedious and long process but it's possible and not actually that difficult.
@@gifthorse3675 There is no common law across European countries on gun ownership, so your comment is not very accurate. There are actually not that many guns we can't own in Belgium for exemple.
But yes, a lot of cool guns are manufactured in European countries.
All gun laws are written to discourage ownership. The government wants the people weak and subservient
Add Russian to your language repertoire if the EU doesn’t change their gun laws.
Thank the lord we could own pretty much any firearm where I live!
@@AxLWake I think he was talking specifically about FN Herstal
Щиро вдячні Вам за підтримку! Вистоїмо, переможемо!
I'd imagine Eastern European politicians particularly will have a hard time justifying restrictive gun laws.
Arming your citizens during an invasion is like fastening your seatbelt during a car crash.
Not really. Depending on the country they had been actually steadily liberalizing them over the years.
Pretty much all Eastern European states have quite relaxed gun laws as it is right now......some of the biggest gun owner numbers per population in Europe are in fact in Eastern Europe (Czech Republic and Latvia being in the top places), so this is nothing new. There are armed militia organizations in all of them as well, if you as a citizen want to help defend your country there are already plenty of options for you to do so. How Ukraine situation was different is that Ukrainian state legit started giving out full auto AK's to random citizens out of a truck right there in the middle of the street, now that is radical move that hasnt happened since like pre-war era.
Politicians world over fear an armed citizenry. They fear the citizens may remove them from their criminal lives.
I may be mistaken, but I believe that this was one of the reasons the the Civilian Marksmanship Program was created here in the US; and continues to provide with promotion of shooting sports and the distribution of (relatively) low cost retired service weapons.
I did that as a teenager. It was great. The return on investment is huge.
That is exactly right.
Great organization.
They still do, and make it fairly easy to procure the rifles. The weapons are of good quality also.
Oh wow I had no idea that existed. That civilian marksmanship thing sounds cool
Also the NRA was created in the post civil war era because they found the Federal troops couldn't shoot for shit. Sadly the NRA of 150, or even just 30, years ago is but a faded memory in this era of executive greed and capitulation in the current NRA.
Yes! I also recommend getting 50,000 anti-tank, anti-air and drone weapons each and training the reserves to use them. Finland, Sweden, the Baltics, Poland and Georgia should all be placing orders for tens of thousands of Stingers, Javelins, AT-4s, TB2s, etc. An anti-tank missile behind every blade of grass.
You're preaching to the choir. In Finland, we've prepared for Russian invasions since forever. We have AT weapons in plentiful supply and every reservist knows how to use one, too. I do wish we'd been more generous in gifting some of them to Ukraine, because every tank that is destroyed there can't be used against us. I can't help but smirk at the fate of a Russian elite unit stationed near our northeast border, the 200th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade. It has suffered badly at the hands of the Ukrainians in Kharkiv.
Like Switzerland. Someone said once, Switzerland doesn't have an Army, Switerland id an Army.
I agree, by the way. Civilian interest in fire-irons shouldn't just be an American thing.
For the record, this practice has a deep history at least in the Scandinavian countries, where during the "red scare" and general unrest from the 1890's onwards civilian paramilitary "rifleman unions" would spring up, typically with a conservative bent. However I'm not entirely convinced that our governments (outside of the perpetually based and also bordering-Russia Finland) would consider the current situation a preamble for arming the populace. But we'll see. We certainly have our fair share of hunters, and even if our combat capacity is lower than soldiers', snipers are still a nuisance to deal with.
Modern Scandinavian countries are absolutely cucked
Seeing snipers are nuisance to deal with certainly detract from the importance of the American Minuteman with their " rifled" rifles instead of smooth bore muskets. And that's what you needed back then cuz every shot you took was putting food on the table and keeping your family alive so the more accurate you shot the longer your family lived. This kind of a situation I believe it's still applies. In as much as keeping your family alive goes
.
In Germany at gun ranges it is even forbidden to wear any military or camouflage clothing while practicing.
It's completely forbidden to train any type of "combat shooting" like shooting from a cover or shot while in motion.
Even shooting at man shaped silhouettes is a firm no-go.
Several shooting clubs even don't let you practice with AR15 style rifles. How about that?
Unfortunate, but one who practices under those conditions is still better prepared than one who scoffs and stays at home.
well, even Russia has had school shootings regardless of all the restrictions to gun owning
Same in France in a lot of places, maybe except for the camo.
Prepared for what? Dying in an air strike?
or getting rolled by armour?
Skilled marksmanship has nothing to do with garb ! One shot ,one kill .
I live in Latvia, on the border with Russia and i can confirm that the goverment is seriously considering teaching civilians military skills, we have a military learning class in school called VAM, where we learn such skills. Im 16 and learning how treat, handle firearms, learning dissiembly of AK-4 (G3) and M16s. There were talks of making it VAM manditory for all students but nothing yet.
I've always talked about the necessity of at least something like that. Granted the danger of an invasion in Portugal is really low, but you never know.
@@almerindaromeira8352 dosent matter if the conflict is far, i think people should atleast have a really basic understanding of firearms and self defence overall, not force people if they dont want to but atleast have a easy option for learning it.
ROTC (reserve officers training corp) was once a common high school course here in the usa. we were taught basic drill, chain of command, some tactics and weapons handling, including marksmanship.
at my school, once a year we held a turkey shoot, modeled after a traditional rifle competition with prizes offered, a frozen turkey being the reward for best shot.
i remember standing in the high school parking lot with s hundred or so other students, all carrying our privately owned .22s and ammunition waiting our turns at the on campus rifle range. pick up trucks with rifle racks in the back window were common.
fifty years fly by in the blink of an eye.
@@jessebianchi2631 we still have active JROTC units at a few of the high schools in my city. Only a handful of the cadets participate in air rifle competitions tho.
Don’t forget about CMP clubs, it may seem “old fashioned” but I guarantee you will learn great fundamentals.
@@jessebianchi2631 sounds dope, nice to have an option like that
When I saw rifles handed out to anyone and everyone, my first thought was: Oh boy, European organised crime is going to have a hell of an arsenal for the next 20 years. A lot of those rifles are going to go "missing".
I agree though, having a culture of responsible and sensible firearms ownership may contribute to deterring a would be attacker. Or lead to an "I'm not going in there, shell it to the ground" mentality from the attacker. Russia clearly chose the latter.
Back to rifles give away: for Russian people it looks like absolute barbarity. Taking into account Ukraine is post-soviet republic as well as Russia, we can clearly say not many common people there have weapons culture, thus the guys taking the guns are either bandits or future corpse.
@@IHavAnAkimbonr
Nationalism is not patriotism
@@IHavAnAkimbonr Remember it was from the perspective of Russian media.
Hmm, I don't see my original answer here.. Looks to me TH-cam allows only one point of view. And it is expected.
Or may be it is gone because original post has been edited 🤔
Ian, Thank you so much for taking a stance with Ukraine's fight freedom. This means a lot for your Ukrainian viewers, thank you!
I’ve seen multiple posts and news articles from people in Eastern Europe that basically all say the same thing - there are no guns left to buy. People realized that they live in a bubble and that it could burst one day
I am a recreational shooter (pistol and rifle) in Austria and ammunition is now becoming scarce to the point that 9mm and 223 is almost gone or only sold in small amounts. But ever since covid began the number of gun licenses has gone up dramatically.
Sounds like the US.
The arabs are doing their things.
Join the club
Same here in Czech republic
Ammo shortage is everywhere. Not just the USA during Covid, it was in Europe too.
The situation you outline was experienced by the UK during World War one. The general public didn't normally have access to firearms. The government found that the eager military volunteers' had no idea how to aim or handle any firearm, as well as generally being of poor health. Certainly not fit enough for the trenches. Training these recruits took an enormous amount of effort. Post WWI the government encouraged and funded the establishment of gun clubs for the public. The idea being that the transition from a target small bore rifle to a military one would take a lot less training. Also that an armed civil population would deter an aggressor. When the survivors of the war began to demand a fairer share of the countries wealth and communism took a stronger hold in Europe, the government decided that an armed population may not be a desirable situation.
I'd wondered about that.
The donation options choice is PERFECT!
Thanks for knowing the subject matter!
The ideas are obviously sound too.
In 2014 (when the war started with the occupation of Crimea) there was only 11% of people who supported the ownership of firearms. It even became a symbol. Turned out we were right, unfortunately (but obviously).
Thanks for making this video and for the support links. "Self defense is a human right," is something I've always believed, even as my views on civilian firearm ownership did a 180 in the last several years. I'm now a firearms owner and train whenever I can. Regardless of your political perspective in the US, "a rifle behind every blade of grass" is an effective deterrent. Keep up the good work. Much love to the people of Ukraine.
When a finnish journalist was in Ukraine just before the invasion, about every ukrainian brought up how Finland won the defensive war against Soviet Russia and were very excited about it. After that detail I am not at all surprised how fiercely they defend their independence now.
A ton of people have inquired about how to become a reservist after the invasion a couple of weeks ago. Even people who did civil service are now interested.
TAL! VI! SO! TA!
Did they really win, though? I wish they'd managed to hold all their territory, but part of what was once Finland is now Russia. They signed a really harsh peace treaty in hopes of dissuading Russia from taking them over entirely. None of this is to diminish the very impressive defense Finland put up against the invaders. I'm just not so sure you can call it a win when you lose so much land.
@@reliantncc1864 In technicality yes it was a loss for finland. But consider this stalin most likely never had the intentions of ever just taking a small part of finland he most likely was gonna roll over finland and make it a soviet state. So considering that yes i think we won.
I'm an Ukrainian officer and I'm surprised that it's very difficult to join the Ukrainian army now. My civilian friends without combat experience entered recruiting offices without results. My friend who served in artillery some years before the invasion was also rejected because there were no vacations in the combat units.
I'm an Ukrainian officer and I'm surprised that it's very difficult to join the Ukrainian army now. My civilian friends without combat experience entered recruiting offices without results. My friend who served in artillery some years before the invasion was also rejected because there were no vacations in the combat units.
An armed society is a polite society.
Thank you for your support, Ian!
A Ukrainian who just got demobilized from National Guard.
I wanna thank you, Sir, for this immense support of my country 🇺🇦 I always loved your channel, but now it becomes my favorite!
Once again, thank you very much, Sir!
Slava Ukraini !!!! Respect to you and all Ukrainians
@@lindasanson3094 geroyam slava! Thank you very much, ma’am!
@@TheASSedoTV dwa khokhla podsosaley druk drku. Sailor uroniley
Over here in Italy, owning a firearm is fairly easy (there are some restrictions on size/ammunition but nothing major) but we lack a proper training regimen - though you do need to go to the range every once in a while to keep your license.
When I finally get my license I'll start training right away. After all, the constitution explicitly says that "defending the Homeland is the sacred duty of the citizen"...
Now in East Poland is a gunprohibition😁 all private guns must be in safe closed. No gun selling, no hunting, no training and no ammo buying
bloody good for you mate! wish my government'd see sense but they're trying to ban yet more legally-owned guns.... :-(
Italian here, out of curiosity, who do you think is about to invade us, considering we are a part of NATO as well? I don't think you need to justify your passion for guns with "defending the homeland" stuff, leave that to the Americans XD
@@lucamazzantijovicevic4478 well, San Marino has a couple of swords and a truck...
@@lucamazzantijovicevic4478 That's an attitude that a "crazy man" in charge of an army loves to see!
Thank you for supporting Ukraine!
It only takes one aggressive dictator to remind people of the need to keep and bear arms...
Here in Germany the only law that prevents civilians from owning a gun is; apart from a background check, only the one line of legislature: Necessity. So being a hunter or an active sports-shooter counts as necessity. But now I feel that every german citizen has the necessity to own a gun since our chancellor stated in light of the Ukraine invasion, that our Military is not equipped to defend the country. I do hope, that the german pro-gun groups will achieve some sort of legal precedent, so that lawfull german citizens will be able to equip themselves to defend our families, our neighbours and our country against threats from the outside or the inside.
A change will most likely occur when it is too late. As we have seen with the i raise of the military budget.
The underfunding was well known, but no politician in the last 20 years had vhanged it, only made it worse.
I expect the same for gun laws.
@@leinadreign3510 me not. the politicians are afraid of their citizens i am sure. only when foreign troops would stand on german soil, we would see something like the vollssturm in 1945. the german state wants to control the guns of its citizens.
I might just start to learn russian. The Bundeswehr cant protect us and we as civillians are not allowed to defend ourselfes so maybe just accept it when the time comes.
@@coolT21323 I started learning русский two weeks ago with an app. And ordered a gorka suit. You never know
@@leinadreign3510 I fear that is true. Our Military is not that underfunded just not funded well enough as a percentage of our GDP. The Bundeswehr has the same budget as the french military. It is just burocracy that burns their funds.
We live in a dangerous world and the affirmative right of self-defense has never been thrown into greater and more stark relief than by the invasion. There are limits to the protection the state affords us. I am an advocate of lawful behavior and peace. I pray for it. I am not going to be anyone's victim. Preparedness is, to me, a concomitant of enlightened citizenship.
"an unarmed citizen is a peasant" really struck a chord with me
Very true
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
@@angrydragonslayer That's the way it always used to be, the modern era not so much.
However the modern era can very quickly slip away before one even realizes its happened.
That's what a lot of super anti-gun people don't really seem to understand.There is zero guarantee that their way of life and the worlds current state is going to last forever and that humanity will continue on an upward climb to a Star Trek future. That is a rather naive and unlikely outcome. Human history has shown itself to be fairly cyclic, and the world doing a complete 180 and regressing is not as unlikely as one might think.
Citizenry having tangible power is a large part of what helps to ensure that the government stays on track, and that someone like trump can't just decide we aren't having elections anymore and he's president forever now. He tried all that, but fortunately America is not Turkmenistan. >__>
@@Christian--- precisely so.
Great stuff, Ian. Thanks.
Thank you for supporting Ukraine!!!
As a young Italian who's already applied for an hunting license, and who's gonna apply for a firearms license later on, I'm too very interested in the current evolution of the European situation in regards to Russia and it's threats to Europe and my country directly, and I hope it's gonna be like you said, Ian, and that we'll see a spike of interest in firearms, and firearms competition.
We already have access to a large variety of military pattern weapons, but easier access would be nice.
Anyways, last year we got a huge win for the firearms competition community, as the ban on 9x19 was finally lifted on handguns. Hurray!
Hopefully, more civilian access to firearms without having to fight off Putin.
To be fair, in Italy we have very relaxed gun laws. I own an ar15, a socom16 and a Beretta 9mm. After you've declared you have them to the government, there isn't much else you have to do.
@@Teenar99 but no military calibers, right?!?!
@@KommBat By law, yeah. But there's civilian equivalents for those calibers, and they're literally identical (e.g. 5.56 is forbidden, but you can use .223, same for 7.62x51 nato and .308, and up until a few months ago, 9x19 and 9x21)
@@Teenar99 oh, that’s nice. Thought that you had to use .222 or so
These lessons (and others on asymmetric warfare, infrastructure resilience and media/social affairs work etc etc) should be extremely important for Taiwan's defense and deterrent capabilities.
Taiwan has one big distinction to Ukraine- the Chinese can't just walk/drive there. Their full focus needs to be on fending off boats, as well as establishing air-superiority and nailing their ground-to-air combat. If the Chinese can't land, Taiwan can't be conquered.
@@GreifvogelSGE yeah the PLAN is pretty 💩 so I'm not even worried
@@WaterZer0 actually no, I think he has a point, as Ian said, it should, in theory, not cut into their naval and air defense spending since it is civilian based, and imagine how much more trouble China would have occupying Taiwan if most of the civilian population was armed.
@@DarthCody700
Not really, that much more. Tiananmen Square showed that the Chinese have zero problems with gunning down civvies. Now if the civvies have RPGs, anti tank mines, ground to air missiles ETC they might pose a problem. A bunch of AR15s will count for jack and squat.
@@GreifvogelSGE Yes that is correct too. But in the struggle for existence, everything needs to be part of the mix. Being an island has its pros and cons - it's relatively easy to cut off from resupply and reinforcements hence every domestic resource needs to be explored and utilised to the max deterrent.
As always a great watch, thanks
Hi, Ian, I’m from Latvia, and I agree with the idea, that it is beneficial for the defence of a country to have an armed populace. And I would love to be able to own my own rifle, that I could practice shooting with, but the problem is with the ethnic composition of Latvia, we have a lot of Russian speaking citizens(i think about 1/3 of the population), and most of them are either neutral or have a pro Russian stance on the conflict in Ukraine. Why? It’s beyond me really. But the point is that, yes we could arm the populace, but it would result in the arming of unloyal citizens, who would love to start some kind of seperatist movement, which again, is beyond me, because the living standards and peoples rights are better here for an average citizen than in Russia.
I think the only safe way for it to be implemented is that people could join Zemessardze(Latvian National Guard) and receive basic military training. Why the military training? Because unloyal citizens would be less likely to want to go through with this training and even if they did, they might meet some people that could change their stance on our country through the help of camraderie experienced in the basic military training. After this basic military training they could sign up for a license that would allow a person to buy a military rifle that you could keep at home and use at a shooting range. Also to keep the logistics of it simple, it could be made so that you can only have rifles that use NATO standard cartridges.
These are the only ways I could see it being implemented, because of the complicated ethnic situation here.
Tavs arguments ir dzirdēts bieži, arī kad cilvēki runā par obligato militāro dienestu (''nedrīkst, jo redz krievus ar tur apmācīs un viņi savējiem iešaus mugurā or something''). Cik es zinu, šim argumentam īsti nav vērtības, jo arī šobrīd piemēram gan profesionālajā armijā gan arī Zemmesardzē ir daudz krievu un cilvēku no krievu-valodā runājošām gimenēm, un viņi ir lojālaki pret Latvijas valsti nekā daudzi ''tīrasiņu etniskie latvieši'' (tie džeki reāli brauca karot uz Irāku un Afganistānu, kamēr daudzi ''etniskie latvieši'' pameta savu valsti lai nopelnītu vairāk naudas lasot zemenes Īrijā). Plus atceramies, ka mums vēsturē ir bijis arī daudz visādu Latvijas nodeveju, kuri paši bija īsteni etniskie latvieši (tas pats Alfrēds Rubiks, Jukums Vācietis un tā tālāk). Nav tā, ka redz ja tu esi latviski runājoš tu būsi lojāls, un ja krievs tad tu nelojāls. Tas viss ir atkarīgs no konkrētā cilvēka
There have been Russ-ethnic militias trained by combat veterans with smuggled/stolen/borrowed military weapons in the backwoods of your own and neighboring countries for years.
@@crabyman3555 Es Tev pilnībā piekrītu, man arī ir zināmi ļoti lojāli cilvēki, bet neskatoties uz to, kad ieraugi datus, ka vairums tomēr nezina, kuru pusi atbalsta, tas mazliet rada šaubas. Man, diemžēl, tomēr ir šīs šaubas un neuzticība, jo nevienu vien reizi Rīgā ir bijušas situācijas, kur redzi krievvalodīgo, kas izrāda savos uzskatos un uzvedībā lojalitāti KF, visi tādi, protams, nav un piekrītu, ka ir arī pietiekami latviešu nodevēju. Mūsu valstī šī etniskā situācija ir sarežģīta un mums ir jābūt piesardzīgiem. Un ja vispār ir runa par obligāto dienestu, uzskatu, ka to vajadzētu atjaunot, ja pareizi tas viss tiek noorganizēts, ļoti noderīga lieta cilvēka izaugsmei.
@@WeedNuke67 Igaunijā piemēram joprojām ir tas pats obligātais dienasts, un viņi tur sauc arī krievus. Un nav dzirdēts, ka tur ir bijušas problēmas ar ''nelojalitāti''. Plus šīs lietas var arī pirms tam izpetīt pirms dot cilvēkam rokās šaujamo vai pirms viņu kaut kur iesauc dienēt valsts labā (drošības dienasti un armija jau ar nav lohi kuri neko nesaprot, nesen vienu latvijas youtuberu apcietināja)
Unfortunately I don't see a major shift in European policy regarding the matter. There's a disconnect that people are missing here. Most people who want very gun control already see this as an ideal situation for civilian use of guns. As in, those guns are government property. They regulated, maintained, and authorized for use by a higher authority. It's a stupid disconnect, but that's going thought process as of now.
Yup, I've noticed a similar sentiment in plenty of comments when discussing this. I honestly see the situation in Ukraine working one of two ways for those in favor of gun control:
Situation 1: Ukraine is able to repulse the invasion of Russia. In this situation they'll state that it's obvious private firearm ownership wouldn't have helped in the lead up to the invasion, because the firearms that were handed out by the Ukrainian government was enough to push the Russians out. When the time comes the state will provide you with the tools and you don't need access to them before that point.
Situation 2: The Russian invasion/occupation is eventually successful, in which case they'll say that all the firearms handed out to civilians in defense of Ukraine didn't help win the war so therefore there's no reason for private firearm ownership because they're useless against an invading army.
It'll be spun whatever way they can to justify their stance regardless of the facts
Stupid describes most of modern thinking.. Not just firearms policy.
@@ZRaddue and option 3) The war ends, a big chunk of those unregistered rifles end up in the black market. Some horrible crime happens with one of them, more restrictions on law-abiding firearms owners...
Exactly - it's reminded me of when I see US gun rights advocates quote George Orwell about maintaining the right to keep a 'rifle on the wall', when what he was specifically talking about was the Home Guard - and those rifles are government owned property issues to government trained men, armed to defend that government, There's a difference in being proficient in smal arms and being trained to defend your country and being allowed unfetted access to firearms.
It wont happen in the UK unfortunately. The aim of our government is to minimise private firearms ownership and they make the regulations harder every year.
Better than letting Dunblane happen again.
UK has way bigger issues than that. Clearly russian influence on the pm and ruling party. So perfectly happy that easy for rich to own guns keep peasents down. Why I'm leaving.
just 3d print one) single shot disposable derringer is a must have nowadays.
@@bjiornbjiorn except dunblane happened because a deranged child predator was allowed to run amok for years without conequence. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that people could own handguns on a firearms licence. Guns and gun owners were scapgoated by the media and the government banned them to make it look like they were doing something to shut the mob up. Even though their own investigation advised against a gun ban.
The whole aftermath of dunblane was utterly farcical.
@@bjiornbjiorn yeah our kids get stabbed on the way home from school or blown up going to see music concerts. We’re much more civilised now
Well said! I was thinking along these lines since I saw the Ukrainians passing out the AK-47's. You can't just depend on your government to come to your rescue!
Excellent video, Ian. Thank you.
I don't know specifically about the gun parts, but here, in Lithuania, there's rumors that we ran out of bureaucrats due to the massive amounts of people joining the Riflemen's Union. Jokes aside, there's definitely an influx of people and increased interest in guns and civil defense.
Lesson:
Si vis pacem, para bellum - Therefore let him who desires peace prepare for war.
During the Cold War, I was heavily in “civilian marksmanship” in Canada which historically has proven as one of most effective military training.
Basic rifle marksmanship is directly transferable to Carl Gustav recoilless gun and most weapon systems since aiming is aiming!
No one in Europe who advocates for "gun rights" really wants any of that. They just want to be able to carry pistols and have insane castle doctrines.
if you want to promote marksmanship, do that, instead of letting every dipshit get a glock
@@ZealothPL Lol you have terrible opinions.
@@TheTrueNorth11 im sorry truth makes you uncomfortable
In Poland you can own fully riced out assault rifles on sportsmanship licenses and do things like 2GAM.
But "gun rights" people still whine about not having the right to basically shoot anyone they don't like (insane castle doctrines)
@@ZealothPL The truth? No.
People with dumb as fuck opinions make me uncomfortable.
Go educate yourself.
Crazy how often then name Carl Gustav is used. My Carl Gustaf is a swedisch Mauser bolt action Cal. 6.5x57 built 1937. 25 years ago a fried told me to buy one because the day will come when i have to defend house and family. Sad but true.
good info Ian! Thank you!
Great video presentation, Ian. Although the statement is somewhat apocryphal, as an American, I take great pride in knowing that during WWII our armed citizenry (and it's proficiency with rifles) was somewhat of a deterrent to potential Japanese ideas of invading areas of our West Coast. In my 20s, I participated in the Civilian Marksmanship Program and have since considered it my duty as a patriotic citizen to remain armed in a suitable manner to help defend my country - not just from foreign threats, but also possible threats of domestic origin.
Watching the tragedy that is happening in Ukraine and the determined, courageous defense it's military and citizenry are putting up against Russian aggression, I so hope that Europe will take note and, as you suggest, look to measures taken by countries like Finland, Switzerland, (and Taiwan as well) to train and arm their citizens to make the idea of invasion by an aggressor less palatable.