Weapons laws by country

Guide to categories
Prohibited refers to weapons that civilians are prohibited from privately owning under any circumstances.

May Issue refers to a licencing scheme where meeting the explicit legal requirements of getting a license is inadequate, the issuing authorities may use their own discretion to grant or reject licenses. They may demand that applicants have a "genuine reason" to obtain the licence and may reject an application if they feel that the applicant lacks a genuine reason or if said applicant isn't being genuine when giving the reason.

Shall Issue refers to a licencing scheme where meeting the explicit legal requirements of obtaining the license is enough to obtain it and the authorities cannot reject applicants who meet the legal requirements.

Background Check refers to a system where no licence is necessary to obtain a firearm, but the purchaser must pass a background check at the point of sale or show a recent copy of his criminal record before the firearm can be purchased.

Unrestricted refers to a system where the purchaser does not need a licence or to pass a background check to obtain a firearm. Often the only requirement is to show an ID card to verify the age of the buyer, if that requirement is present at all.

Registration Requirements
Registration applies to weapons which must be declared to the relevant authorities by the purchaser and/or seller so they can be placed in a central registry.

No registration applies to weapons that do not have to be declared to the relevant authorities. Sellers may still be required to keep a transaction record.

Guide to Categories
Felony Crimes Serious crimes resulting in lengthy prison sentences.

Misdemeanors Minor crimes resulting in fines or short prison sentences.

Violent Misdemeanors Violent crimes resulting in minor punishment, which may include domestic violence and battery.

Alcohol Abuse A history of alcohol use disorder, such as a formal diagnosis or a history of drunken behavior in police records.

Drug Abuse Anything from a minor drug offence to a history of drug addiction.

Medical Examination requirement Buyerss must pass a medical examination to confirm their mental and physical fitness to use a firearm.

Involuntary commitment Buyer may not have been committed to a mental institution or been placed in conservatorship for reasons of poor mental health or cognitive abilities.

Age Limit The age at which the buyer may legally purchase a firearm

References required The buyer must name references personally familiar with the buyer that can confirm that the buyer is of good character.

=Country Profile=

Gardarike
Gardarike has moderately strict weapons laws by Anterran standards. The Weapons Act of 1999 classifies weapons into Four categories. Airsoft guns, paintball guns, firearm suppressors, bows/crossbows, swords are not considered weapons according to the weapons act and are freely available to everyone over the age of 16.

Unrestricted Weapons are a category of firearms which the Gardic government does not deem dangerous enough to warrant a license. These weapons include all non-automatic smoothbore guns that do not feed from a detachable feeding mechanism, have a barrel length greater than 610 mm and do not hold more than three 89mm long shells. It also inludes air guns with a muzzle energy of over 20 joules. Such weapons can be purchased by anyone over the age of 16 that submits a recent and clean copy of their criminal record to a firearms seller. Firearms from this category are by far the most common type of firearm in Gardarike, predominantly Over-Under shotguns.

Permitted Weapons are a wide category of weapons defined simply as any weapon that is not prohibited, restricted or unrestricted.

To purchase a permitted weapon a Firearms Permit must be obtained. This permit can be obtained by anyone who is 20 years of age and of "temperate habits, sound mind and good character" Once a background check involving a medical examination, reference approval and criminal and arrest record check is passed the prospective permit holder must pass a written and practical firearms safety course. Once passed the prospective permit holder is issued his permit and may purchase any weapon not in any of the other categories.

Restricted Weapons. In addition to a Firearms Permit, a prospective buyer of a restricted weapon needs to obtain a waiver from the local chief of police. To obtain the waiver the applicant must write the chief of police an application for one explaining what the applicant intends to use the weapon for, why the applicant wants the weapon applied for and why an unrestricted weapon would not suffice for the cited purpose. The waiver is valid only for one weapon at a time, purchasing a second restricted weapon requires a separate waiver. The Chief of police may use his discretion when approving or rejecting a waiver application but may have to defend his decision in court.

Restricted weapons include all Handguns (defined as a firearm with a barrel shorter than 470 mm) and all semi-automatic, pump-action and lever-action long guns that feed centrefire cartridges from a detachable feeding mechanism or a fixed magazine that holds more than 10 rounds.

In practice, the issuing of restricted weapons waivers varies from county to county within Gardarike. In general most approved waivers are for target pistols and semi-automatic rifles designed for international sports events and large-caliber revolvers for wildlife defence. Waivers for self-defense against hostile persons are rarely issued.

Restricted weapons are the only category of weapons that are subject to registration in Gardarike.

Prohibited Weapons is a category of firearms which ordinary citizens cannot purchase for personal use under any circumstances. These include Fully-automatic firearms. Shells, rockets and other bombs containing explosives or noxious substances. Weapons disguised as non-threatening items. Switchblades, gravity knives, butterfly knives and other assisted opening knives and Brass knuckles.

Kironia
Kironian gun laws are considerably relaxed. It is the attitude of the license issuing authorities, that for "May Issue" permits and licenses, a legitimate need may not need to provided so long as a bribe is presented to the authority.

Koryeo
On the surface Koryese gun laws seem to be relatively lax, however firearm ownership in strictly controlled and regulated. While in theory a citizen may own almost any device, in practice this is all but impossible as a request for licence may be denied without reason, and even acquiring the required paperwork to be submitted may not be possible. In general in order to get a notional firearm and licence would entail At any stage it can be denied by the state without reason.
 * Acquiring and submitting relevant paperwork
 * Two character references (cannot be related)
 * Police reference
 * Background, criminal, and medical checks
 * Request for permit for notional firearm
 * Additional police reference and check
 * Evidence of need
 * Register firearm
 * Purchase of firearm