Greeks on the warpath

Greeks are on the path of war. How else could one explain the fact that more than 1 million guns are currently circulating in the country?

Of course, these are not hunters, as the declared hunters amount to no more than 200,000. This leaves a big question as to why the state grants permission for gun ownership to all and why people buy them and keep them at their homes.

"The upsurge in crime and the fear that people may be faced with a Kalashnikov makes them resort to the solution of the shotgun. Statistics show that in recent years the shotgun market has been booming, while the number of registered hunters has remained the same," a source from the Citizen Protection ministry reveals on protothema.gr.

Registered weapons do not include the 3,500 licenses for carrying and possession of guns issued to citizens on security grounds, let alone the thousands of illegal weapons arriving in Greece from Albania and other European countries.

Police Officers stress that the existence of so many weapons in the hands of untrained people, coupled with fear and the upsurge in crime, create a dangerous combination. "Think about could happen if each mini market or kiosk owner, or bookie, hid a weapon under their counter in order to protect themselves from a possible invasion by robbers."

So how easy is it for someone to buy a shotgun and have it home legally without being a hunter or practicing target shooting? The process is very simple, outdated for the current times and essentially confined to a purely bureaucratic procedure.

Licensing and buying is easy

Practically, the State gives everyone the right to legally buy a gun and carry it around. "Whoever wants to buy a rifle or a double barreled shot gun goes to the police station in their area, fills in a simple declaration, receives an opinion from a doctor that they do not have any psychological problems, buys the gun that can be declared to the police, which in turn checks on his police record," an officer says.

And via this simple process thousands of Greeks have acquired a dangerous object, which of course they don’t know how to use.

On a daily basis, citizens of every age, profession and financial standing submit an application at police departments across the country to receive a license to own and carry a gun.

"There are no official statistics on how many applications are pending at this time; estimates say several thousand. However, few of them will manage to get a license for personal safety reasons, although all the applications cite the risk arising from the upsurge in crime," another officer reveals. The increase in crime in recent months has also caused an explosion in applications for licenses. About 3,500 people have managed to obtain a license from the police to own and carry a pistol or a revolver