Tuesday 30 October 2007

Bearing Arms

Everyone in the countryside can bear arms and most are out and about banging away at the local fauna early and late. Many officials carry guns too, from parking police to forestry guards and, certainly, the carabiniere.

The pile of documents needed to join in ( I am going for the permission to bear arms for sport) includes:
formal request on stamped (10 euros) paper, tick;
medical certificate on headed paper from the local Health Office giving a view on the physical and mental health of the applicant, tick;
an authenticated photocopy from the town hall of the completion of military service, no military service, cross; but a substitute document can be obtained from the provincial offices of the National Target Shooting organisation certifying ability to shoot, yet to be obtained as not yet able to shoot, still cross;
a statement of the make-up of family membership (presumably so they'll know in the first instance who is likely to have shot whom), tick;
copy of certificate of residence (and they'll know where to find me), tick;
were arms being borne to shoot animals then there is an examination in animal shooting required, to be taken under the auspices of the provincial Hunting Association, however, not applicable;
two photographs, one authenticated, tick;
receipt for 60 euros paid to the Tax and Concessions Office, Rome, that can be done after the ability to shoot is certified by the National Target Shooting organisation;
2 euros to the local town hall, ditto;
a copy of my tax paid receipt as a self-employed professional from the local collector of taxes, teeth-gritted tick;
all and any other relevant document or certificate that shows the need to go about armed, (this is the catch-all, what can they want? There is no need, except that everyone else is armed , to go about armed), ignore;
a certificate from the town hall of not being a conscientious objector (there is low blow - the only grounds for refusing military service if called are health - determined by military examination, and previously registered conscientious objection; so if you won't fight you won't need a gun, will you? Sorry about the sport and the hunting but 'thou shalt not kill' is taken as seriously by the state as it is by you. Nowadays women would be called up too, but this doesn't really apply to women as they were not in the past. If required to serve a moral and properly constituted democratic state, I would serve and so accept the discipline of service and so perhaps would have to kill. Not a conscientious objector, registered or no, then, virtual tick;
If requiring to extend the permission to bear arms for sport to bearing arms for personal defence then documentation is needed to demonstrate the ownership of land or a firm, tick;
its whereabouts, tick; and a statement of what kind of gun it is intended to carry and its matriculation number. As Mr HG has ruled no Uzi, not applicable.

The only thing standing between the locals and an armed Hatfield Girl is the instructor at the local branch of the National Target Shooting Association, and practising there is a very interesting way to pass these newly dark evenings.

3 comments:

lilith said...

Wow! Guns are only for the literate with organised paperwork in Italy? Fantastic! I am envious (that you can lay your hands on all that paperwork as well as learning to shoot a gun. Not that I want to kill anything.)

hatfield girl said...

It all began, Lilith, one evening at dinner (as these things do), when an argument was put for national service on the grounds that we must all be ready to defend what we believe in, that in the last century this meant taking up arms, and that the ability to use arms must not be only in the hands of the Right - in Italy Right means very hard Right indeed. Then it became a sort of worry that there were all these weapons in the building including a carbine which no-one can lay hands on, just the case, which is still secreted somewhere.
Everybody being armed made me wonder also how difficult it is to get permission too. It's actually very difficult and thorough and sensible, based on who are you? why do you need one? do you conform to the pattern of hunting/sport/etc. gun owning ? can you shoot?

I'm not planning to kill anything either, imagine the horror of taking the examination in killing animals for the hunting gun licence.

I wonder if a licence in the EU covers all member-states?

lilith said...

I totally agree with you HG. I encouraged my daughter to learn to shoot. Fortunately she went to a sensible school where it was taught to 11? 12 year olds and her Grandpa had a pheasant/duck shoot, so there were guns and gun sensibility all around. Protocol was always observed. But there were lessons too. A friend of her cousin was shot by his father. Hunting accident. You never know. I am going to make enquiries.