Every kind of gun is flooding into Port-au-Prince. Haitians are blaming the US.

“All the guns here are from the US, everybody knows it. If the US wants to stop this, they could easily do it one month!” He pleads: “We are asking the US to give us a chance to live, just give us a chance.”

For a country that does not manufacture weapons, a UN report in January found every type of gun was flooding Port-au-Prince: high-powered rifles such as AK47s, 9mm pistols, sniper rifles and machine guns.

The weapons are fuelling the staggering surge in Haiti’s gang-related violence.

There is no exact number for how many trafficked firearms are currently in Haiti.

The UN report said some estimates put it at half a million legal and illegal weapons here as of 2020.

It reported that guns and ammunition were being smuggled in from land, air and sea from US states such as Florida, Texas and Georgia.

  • ours@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    8 months ago

    The US has a well-known loophole allowing people to buy guns without any check or registration by buying from a private citizen or at fairs.

    Switzerland has no such exceptions. To acquire guns, you need to apply for a permit and register them. Inherit guns? Same. Go to a gun fair? The cops are actually there so you can get an express permit if you had already been giving a valid one that’s less than a year old.

    Licensed dealers aren’t allowed to check anything: you bring the permit delivered by the police, they check that and your ID and have to file the registration on purchase.

    In Switzerland, there is no legal framework for gun self-defense and it states so clearly on the permit: it’s a permit to buy a gun (and related gear like ammo), you can keep it at home, take it (strictly unloaded including mags) to the range or an armorer and that’s it. Carry permits are only for professionals.

    Edit: Switzerland is actually more permissive in the type of weapons one can buy as long as one gets the right permits. Buying a fully automatic short-barrel rifle with a suppressor would be much easier and cheaper than in the US. The hassle would be finding a place to shoot it since taking a full-auto to a range requires an additional daily permit and the range to allow it.

    • Որբունի
      1·
      8 months ago

      I meant the checks by dealers are the thing in the US. And the “loopholes” for private sales and transfers aren’t everywhere and their federal laws are harsher than in most of Europe.

      If someone has traces of THC in their system they’re automatically a criminal if they handle a gun. If they downloaded a film and they’re a convenient target politically they can also get in trouble (unenforced laws are enforceable).