This video was filmed on November 23, 2021.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region parliament is considering a new law that will impose tighter regulations for obtaining a gun license in order to bring gun violence, that has been on the rise in Erbil, under control.
“The law would enforce a long period of imprisonment and investigation, which includes investigating who is given permission to open a store that sells guns and pistols,” Shakhawan Rauf, head of the interior committee of the parliament said on Tuesday.
Under the current law, anyone arrested with a gun without a government license will be jailed for a maximum of one year, but the Kurdistan Region parliament is currently considering a law that would sentence non-licensed gun owners to imprisonment for up to three years, and require them to pay a fine of 500,000 to one million dinars.
The Ministry of Interior reports that despite the armed forces, 19,000 people have gun licenses in the Region.
Gun violence is high in the Kurdistan Region and the government has struggled to bring ownership under control. Firearms, including sniper rifles and machine guns, can be purchased on the black market. An estimated 70 percent of people in the Kurdistan Region own weapons.
“The security forces - especially the police, Asayish, and the Peshmerga forces - should not allow their armed members to take the weapons back home after their duties. There are armories in their workplace where they can put their weapons, and go back home without them,” Erbil mayor, Nabaz Abdulhamid said.
In May, Interior Minister Reber Ahmed said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) plans to tighten its gun control laws, but cannot promise a complete end to gun markets.
Sulaimani police in July launched a campaign to crackdown on illegal gun ownership and unregistered vehicles.
Family clashes in the Kurdistan Region are common. Three people were killed and several were injured in an armed clash between two families in Erbil province’s Harir sub-district in October. The feud led to further deaths.
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
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