Gun Laws in Ireland by Ruben Rubio

In Ireland, “it is illegal for any civilian to use, carry or possess a firearm or ammunition without a valid firearm certificate which correctly specifies the owner, the weapon, the ammunition and its maximum permitted quantity.  Applicants must prove ‘good reason’ for ownership of the firearm applied for, and the [“Garda Síochána” (the Irish police)] must be satisfied that the applicant can be permitted to possess, use and carry the firearms ‘without danger to the public safety or security or the peace.' If the ‘good reason’ for firearm possession is target shooting, the owner must belong to a police-approved rifle or pistol club.”  (http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/cp/ireland)  I find it interesting that ammunition has to be registered in Ireland along with a firearm.  In the U.S. I have purchased ammunition from gun shows, gun stores, and gun ranges separately, and I also registered my two firearms without registering ammunition.  Furthermore, in Ireland not all police officers are qualified to carry a firearm.  The “Garda” are routinely unarmed, with only 20-25 percent qualified to deploy a firearm.” Those officers that are allowed to carry a gun must carry an authorization card that shows proof that they have completed a weapon training course and earned a certificate as proof of their competence in handling a firearm.  The “Garda” has 15,355 sworn officers and out of those officers approximately 3,000 have an authorization to carry firearms while on duty.  (http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/cp/ireland)  Gun homicide in Ireland is low.  For example, 84 homicides were reported by police in 2007 and 18 involved guns.  I wonder if the low homicide rate in Ireland is due to the strict civilian and police gun laws combined.