Gun laws in Malta

Maltese law allows possession of various types of firearms on shall-issue basis. With approximately 28 civilian firearms per 100 people, Malta is the 18th most armed country in the world.

Number of registered arms in Malta by year (in thousands)[1][2][3][4]

History

In 1931, the "Arms Ordnance" was enacted under British colonial rule which allowed firearm possession on may-issue basis.

In 2005 new firearm law was passed and went into effect in 2006. The law removed police's discretion in granting firearm licenses.[5] In 2013, the law was amended once again changing some firearm categories, for example requiring a license to own blank-firing guns and eliminating license requirements for harpoons.

Current law

Maltese law divides firearm licenses into following categories:

  • Target Shooting License A;
  • Target Shooting License B;
  • Collection License A;
  • Collection License B.

To get firearm license one must join a shooting or collectors club for training, which will issue a recommendation letter for the police, after which applicant must pass knowledge of firearm safety and the Arms Act. After successfully completing every step one will get license. Carrying loaded firearms outside of hunting grounds or shooting range is illegal. Fully automatic firearms are allowed only if they were produced before 1946.

Firearm ownership

There are 102,610 registered firearms (or 22 per 100 people) in Malta, including 56,000 shotguns, 10,553 pistols, 7,856 rifles, 5,369 revolvers, 501 machine guns, 477 submachine guns, 633 combat shotguns, 22 cannons, 11 firearms concealed in walking sticks, seven humane killers, three mortars and two rocket launchers.[3]

See also

References
  • Cocks, Paul (12 January 2017). "Over 100,000 weapons - and one rocket-launcher - in private hands". Malta Today. Retrieved 3 October 2019.

Footnotes
  1. "Small Arms Survey 2003" (PDF).
  2. "100,000 arma tan-nar irreġistrata mal-Pulizija – żieda ta' 3,500 f'sena". April 15, 2016.
  3. "Over 100,000 weapons - and one rocket-launcher - in private hands". Malta Today. January 12, 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  4. "20 guns for every 100 people". March 5, 2009.
  5. "Changes to the Arms Act". Association of Maltese Arms Collectors and Shooters. February 26, 2013. We felt that the 1931 Arms Ordnance was past its sell-by date as it granted the Police far too much Colonial-like discretion. This was a tough nut to crack. But crack it we did with much effort, negotiations and long hours of hard work.
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