MPs pass reforms on internal security

ANKARA

The Turkish parliament has enacted critical reforms addressing internal security, with heightened penalties for carrying unlicensed firearms standing out as a pivotal measure.

The legislative body approved a comprehensive law late on Nov. 21, notably increasing penalties for the possession and trade of unlicensed firearms.

The minimum prison sentence for individuals found carrying, purchasing or possessing such weapons will be increased from one year to two years, while the maximum sentence will rise from three years to four years.

Severe sanctions are also prescribed for those who import or trade critical firearm components, such as barrels, slides or firing pins, with imprisonment ranging from five to 12 years.

Additionally, repeat negligence in the form of losing or having a firearm stolen three times will result in the revocation of the individual’s license. These individuals will be barred from obtaining a new license for firearm possession or carriage for a period of five years.

Incidents involving individual guns, the majority of which were unlicensed, resulted in the death of a total of 2,500 people in Türkiye last year, according to a report prepared by an NGO.

Only 4 million out of more than 40 million firearms in Türkiye are licensed, with one in every two people possessing a gun, the report noted.

With approximately 36 million unlicensed guns in Türkiye, incidents of armed violence increase by 5 percent every year.

Stressing that the people owning guns belong to the young age group on average, the report noted that 70 percent of people who own guns are under 40.

Young adults around the age of 25 are the primary users, with gun-related suicides rising to the second most common cause among teenagers, it added.

Under the new provisions, individuals operating vehicles with unauthorized emergency lights will face a 30-day suspension of their driver’s license, accompanied by the impoundment of the vehicle for the same duration.

An equally consequential clause empowers neighborhood watchmen to conduct external pat-downs on individuals and visual inspections of vehicles in cases where there is sufficient suspicion of firearm possession.

While these watchmen are classified as state officials, they are hierarchically subordinate to police and gendarmerie officers, with their primary mandate limited to overseeing and monitoring neighborhood safety.