Uninspected arms sales at alarming level

A Turkish man “saw and liked” a gun and wanted to buy it. The salesperson told him they did not have it in stock but they could order it online.

The price of the rifle was 1,800 Turkish Liras and it could be purchased with a credit card in installments up to nine months.

What about the license? Is there anyone even inspecting or imposing a restriction?

After buying the rifle, he went to a school and waited outside. What comes next is unfortunately inevitable.

At the age of 17, Helin Palandöken was killed by the gun violence that is ignored by everyone.

She became another victim of the “systematic” murders of women; almost every day at least one woman is a victim.

Do not forget that 298 women were murdered in the first nine months of this year.

If I had not come across an excellent news story by the young reporter Burak Dursun on daily Milliyet on the sales and delivery of guns just a week ago and had not kept it in mind, I would’ve been surprised that the gun that killed Helin was ordered and bought online with a credit card and that a license was “not really necessary” when buying it.

A few days before Helin was killed, we read a news story published on Oct. 10 that arms sellers were swarming the internet.

You can buy a pump-action rifle for 375 liras or an automatic rifle for 550 liras, including free delivery and cash on delivery and with the opportunity to pay in installments with credit cards.

When a seller was asked by the reporter whether a license was not necessary to purchase guns, he said: “It depends on you to acquire a license or not. We have many guns and can give you whichever one you want. We buy these guns directly from the factory. There are no middlemen. Therefore the prices are also affordable. You can buy any type of bullet you want. Besides, we give three-year warranties for our guns.”

It is that simple.

Recent reports on individual armament show the severity of the situation.

According to figures announced by Umut Foundation, there is a firearm in every one in two households, and 85 percent of these guns are owned without licenses.

While the rate of gun ownership increased by 10 times in the last decade, it is claimed that there are almost 20 million gun owners, 17 million of whom own them without licenses.

“According to the Security General Directorate 2017 personal armament report, 250 gun licenses were given in the last two and a half years. In the report, it was mentioned that in the last 10 years, 25,000 crimes with licensed firearms and 159,000 crimes with unlicensed firearms were committed,” one news story said.

The famous quote by Anton Chekhov: “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired,” which he said about theater, can also be applied to real life.

In this country, there are so many guns in houses, stashes and glove compartments, at the waists of gangsters and at the fingertips of those who are angry.

If the sales of these guns are not inspected properly, in other words, if they are allowed, those guns will definitely be used.