By Ben Hartman
A gun lovers dream or a stringently controlled police state that would make a National Rifle Association supporters blood boil? In recent days, following the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 26 dead, including 20 children, Israel has been mentioned as a country awash in guns yet still free of such random massacres. Many have pointed out that the difference between the countries is not in the prevalence of guns, but the regulations that accompany them.
According to Yaakov Amit, the head of the Public Security Ministrys Firearms Licensing Department, the difference between the gun laws in the US and Israel are as clear as night and day.
There is an essential difference between the two. In America the right to bear arms is written in the law, here its the opposite... only those who have a license can bear arms and not everyone can get a license.
Amit said gun licenses are only given out to those who have a reason because they work in security or law enforcement, or those who live in settlements where the state has an interest in them being armed.
He added that former IDF officers above a certain rank can get a license.
Anyone who fits the requirements, is over age 21 and an Israeli resident for more than three years, must go through a mental and physical health exam, Amit said, then pass shooting exams and courses at a licensed gun range, as well as background checks by the Public Security Ministry.
Once they order their firearm from a gun store, they are allowed to take it home with a one-time supply of 50 bullets, which Amit said they cannot renew.
The gun owner must retake his license exam and testing at the gun range every three years. As of January, Amit said, a new law will go into effect requiring gun owners to prove that they have a safe at home to keep their weapon in.
More: Israeli gun control regulations 'opposite of US' - The Jerusalem Post