That’s how difficult (or easy) it is to get a firearm in the Netherlands | NOW
NU.nl recently asked you, our visitors, to choose between two news topics. You arise in part about how difficult it is to get a firearm in the Netherlands. That’s simple than you might think, but not easy.
Many Dutch people will remember that in April 2011 Tristan van der Vlis shot and killed six people in a shopping center in Alphen aan den Rijn. Such incidents are strange in the Netherlands, especially in relation to the United States, where daily mass shootings at. Despite (because of) the legislation, legislation in the Netherlands often makes connections to quickly and easily obtain an (illegal) firearm.
according to an research from 2020, in which the National Police, among others, participated, there may be more than 125,000 illegal firearms in our country. The police have been making themselves long to care about the continuing influx of illegal weapons to the Netherlands.
When asked, the police report to NU.nl that they are unable to provide a number of estimates of what is currently circulating in our country. However, according to the police, the advent of the internet has made it possible to obtain illegal firearms. This can be done, for example, via the hidden part of the internet (dark web) of chat apps, such as Telegram.
“You don’t just walk into a bar in Amsterdam to buy a firearm with a few notes,” says Dave Zoetmulder of the Association of Dutch Weapons Collectors. He worked as a weapons expert with the police for decades. Because of his knowledge of weapons and gun law, he has often been used as an expert during court cases. “You can come across people who can arrange that for you. Then you can get a weapon in a few days to a few weeks.”
Police are also concerned about the expansion of 3D-printed firearms. It is impossible to make them yourself, no transactions are needed to get the weapons from abroad. The trade in 3D-printed firearms is punishable, as is usual arms trade.
Weapons (including counterfeit weapons) seized by the police in the Netherlands:
- 2018: 5,621
- 2019: 6,394
- 2020: 6.472
- 2021: 6,422
General gun ban, but there are exceptions
In the Netherlands there is a general ban on the possession of firearms and ammunition. This means that in principle you are not allowed to use weapons and you are not allowed to promote actions with weapons. Possession of objects resembling “firearms or objects intended for explosion” in shape and size is also prohibited.
There are exceptions to the gun ban. Depending on the weapon and its use, there are four weapon licenses in the Netherlands: leave, exemption, recognition and permission. A firearms permit is made by the police. People who want to sell weapons (arms dealers) need a license from the police.
An exemption is a specific application to the weapons ban, for example for a weapon with which you can recreate a historical battle. This exemption must be requested from the Ministry of Justice and Security. A permit is a license to transport weapons bought in Europe by elders to the Netherlands.
Anyone who wants a firearms license must meet strict requirements. For example, someone must have a reasonable interest, i.e. a good reason to have a firearms license. In addition, the procedure must be at least eighteen years old and not pose a threat to public order and security.
Examples of interests for a (temporary) firearms license
- Participation in shooting sports
- To hunt
- Hobby collecting weapons
- Reenactment (reconstructions)
- Preserving historical military material
- Emergency signal device on a sea vessel
- Professionally stunning animals with a tranquilizer gun
- Killing broken loose or injured domestic or wild animals
- Giving the starting shot at sports competitions
- For each example, additional requirements are required for a firearms license
Most shooting and hunting licenses
An application for a license can be granted for various reasons. This is possible, for example, if someone has arrived earlier with the police or the judiciary. Even if they didn’t, the police can misuse someone’s gun license to distrust another.
A firearms license can only be requested during an application and the application can identify itself. A background check also follows and the applicant must show that there is a safe location where the weapons and ammunition can be stored. The break must be renewed annually.
Someone must also have three sponsors: people who already have a permit and can stand in front of you. Often these are board members of a shooting club, improvements of friends. The vast majority of gun permits are and people who want to hunt/or participate in shooting sports. Strict additional conditions apply to both, Zoetmulder explains.
Subsequently, several times a year, it is checked whether someone meets all the conditions. can apply for a small-caliber weapon of your own, you must have been an aspiring member for at least six months and a full member for one year.”
According to Zoetmulder, Dutch legislation is stricter than European legislation and much stricter than that of the US. “A firearm for self-protection is as good as approved in the Netherlands. For example, if a jeweler wants to have a fire for himself, they will come up with very good reasons. Firearms ownership in the Netherlands is subject to so many rules that situations such as in the US here are so easy. be almost impossible.”