Blank Weapons Legal and Social Status Search Meeting

9:00   Registration

9:30   Opening speeches

Nazire Dedeman – Umut Foundation Founding Chairman

Muammer Güler – Turkish Republic Istanbul Governor

Prof. Dr. Beşir Atalay – Turkish Republic Interior Ministor

10:00   Law on the use of Weapons firing blanksand the social situation communications session

Moderator: Dr. Ayhan Akcan – Umut Foundation, Member of Management Committee

10:10   Council of State rulings on incidents involving use of Weapons firing blanks

Zeki Aslan -.  Yargıtay 8th official leader

10:30   The fear of crime and an overview of the draft law on Sound and gas firing weapons        

Prof. Dr. Timur Demirbaş – Umut Foundation, Member of Management Committee

10:50   Coffee break

11:00   The security dimension of the Draft law on the firing of sound and gas firing weapons

Tuncay Pekin – General Directorate of Security

11:20   Industrialists approach to use of Weapons firing blanks and the draft law

Cuma İçten – Chairman of Weapons industrialists’ organisation

11:40   Turkish parlaiment approach to “Draft law on firing of Sound and Gas firing weapons”

Turkish Parlaiment interior commission work period

Tevfik Ziyaeddin Akbulut – Chairman of interior commission of iTurkish Parlaiment

12:00  Legal evaluation of draft law on the firing of Sound and Gas firing weapons

Lawyer Fikret İlkiz – Umut Foundation Trustee and Member of Management Committee

12:20   Questions and Answers

13:00   Lunch

14:00   Meeting of Working Groups

(Law and Security working group, Social and Media working group)

16:00   Announcement of Working groups report and declaration of conclusions

17:30   CocktailPr

The Search Conference on “Juridical and Social Aspects of Blank Firing Guns” was held at Dedeman Istanbul Hotel.

The Search Conference on “Juridical and Social Aspects of Blank Firing Guns” was held in order to determine the legal and social status of blank guns in our country; to evaluate every aspect of this matter; re-observe the current legal arrangements; to determine the Articles which must be included in this law, to determine how the established perception of blank guns in our society can be altered and to determine the role of media and other social actors in this matter. 

The Search Conference held on Saturday, 12 January 2008 at Dedeman Istanbul Hotel started with the Opening Speech of Nazire Dedeman, Founding President of the Umut Foundation. 

The presentations made at the first part of the meeting before lunch, disclosed the situation in Turkey regarding blank firing guns in general terms. 

The following people made presentations on the following topics: Zeki Aslan, President of the 8th Division of Supreme Court of Appeals “Decisions of Supreme Court of Appeals on incidents in which blank firing guns were involved”, Prof. Dr. Timur Demirbaş “Fear of Crime and Evaluation of the Law on firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges”, Tuncay Pekin, Police Chief at Security General Directorate “Security Aspects of the Law on firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges”, Cuma İçten, President of the Association of Gun Manufacturers and Sellers “The Approach of the Weapon Industry towards the Law on firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges”, Tevfik Ziyaeddin Akbulut, AKP’s Tekirdağ MP & President of the Internal Affairs Commission, Republic of Turkey “The work process of the Internal Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey regarding The Law on firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” and Attorney Fikret İlkiz “Legal evaluation of the Law on firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” 

In the afternoon session “Law and Security” and “Social Status and Media” work groups discussed various aspects of the matter and issued a work report. 

As the Umut Foundation, between May and October 2007, we formed a commission to carry out the related work to create a common ground for the “Exploration Meeting on Legal and Social Status of Blank Guns” (LSSBG) and invited the related parties and shared information in this matter.

The aim of the exploration meeting is to compare the legal and the social status of blank guns in our country with the international situation and to improve it accordingly. The Commission Meetings have been realized to describe the necessary targets and activities to meet this aim in detail, to plan them and to put them into application.

The expectations from the Exploration Meeting and the Commission have been determined as follows:

1. To  carry out research on the current local and international laws regarding the legislation of blank guns and compare them,
2. To gather together the Decisions and case laws (if any) of the Supreme Court of Appeals on blank guns,
3. To prepare proposals of draft laws to eliminate the problem of conversion of blank guns into firearms, which is getting more and more dangerous, ,
4. To reveal the criminal acts committed with blank guns, their existence in the current crime map, who committed these acts, who and what are mistreated,   and the size of the unjust treatment,
5. To determine the reasons for obtaining a blank gun,
6. To investigate the government policies on blank guns and the role/ decisive influence of the sector,
7. To determine what the aims of those who obtain blank guns are and take measures to reduce/ prevent obtaining them,
8. To prepare a motto to draw attention once more to the dangers of blank guns within the framework of personal disarmament.

The following organizations took part in the Commission work to share this knowledge and experiences:

Istanbul Province Gendarmerie District Command,  Security General Directorate, Law and Order Department of Istanbul Security Directorate, Weapon Permits Department of Istanbul Security Directorate, Retailers of Firearms (Ümraniye, Sarıgazi, Samandıra), Üçyıldız Gun Ind., İçten Hunting Weapons, Association of Firearms Retailers and Manufactures...

As a result of (LSSBG) Commission Meetings, the conclusions and the suggestions on the status of blank guns are as follows:

1. The supervision of blank gun sellers and the sanctions should be improved. 
   There are no authorities bound by the terms of blank guns. The reason for this is the fact that there are no legal arrangements in this matter. Thus one of the most important things to be done is to determine the addressees of this matter.
2. The most important thing here is the absence of any legal arrangements related to this matter. 
   As there are no legal arrangements they can be obtained very easily and therefore commonly used in our society. Lack of inspection ant its widespread had fatal consequences; the blank gun can be converted into a real gun by replacing the barrel with a simple apparatus. 
3. The current draft law proposal is a well-intentioned attempt to fill the current legal gap. 
   However, it was determined that its scope should be extended and that a more detailed work should be carried out on it by taking social issues related to blank guns into consideration. This detailed work will be carried out during the exploration meeting by a work group consisting of experts in this field and lawyers; each article shall be examined and a new draft proposal will be created.
4. Blank guns do not protect but they kill! It was stated that the reason for obtaining a  blank gun arises from the desire to imitate and protection and that there is an increase in the sales of blank guns parallel to TV series. In this case the purpose of acquiring blank guns can be divided into two categories; due to innocent reasons (protection and security) and non-innocent reasons (easy to commit a crime with this tool due to lack of penalties, easy access, almost no punishment.
5. The members of the Security Directorate who took part in the commission meetings stated that the matter is related with security  and that the person who uses the blank gun he/she possesses “as if it is a real gun” to scare the person he is facing and to prevent him from harming him/her.
6. Blank guns are lethal and scathing and the necessity of including in the definition of firearms has arisen. Psychological tests must absolutely be carried un during the inspection of purchases and it should be made harder and to obtain a blank gun and restrictions should be implemented.
7. People in Turkey fear from being subject to violence from armed persons.  This rate cannot be brought under %30. There is a social public opinion resulting from this fear. This social public opinion always comes up indirectly with the news and with the crimes committed using these guns. Especially within the past five years, this fear rate has increased due to the increase in crimes committed against property.
8. According to the information gathered from the representatives of the sector; blank guns are mostly demanded in rural areas. The Black Sea Region is ranked first and Eastern Anatolia and Central Anatolia follow. The biggest reason for the demand from the rural areas is the fact that blank guns are commonly used for shooting in the air in regional weddings. The guns demanded by the large towns correspond to 30% of the guns manufactured.  Blank guns are not purchased for protection purposes; more often than not (especially in Anatolia) they are purchased for using in weddings and to give people the impression that “I have a gun”. They buy it thinking “Let there be a gun present at home”. Especially within the last three years there is serious demand from those who cannot get smuggled/ illegal guns or guns with permits. A person cannot protect himself with these weapons, quite the opposite; he hurts himself as the wad can cause serious harm. 
9. According to the members of the Security Directorate ban of blank guns in some way does not result in an inclination towards unlicensed guns. Precautions can be taken to prevent this by laws. It is necessary to tightly restrict the sales of real guns as well as the blanks.  In the first nine months of 2006 the incidents in which blank guns were involved in Istanbul is 2475.  33 people were killed, 566 people injured and 391 usurpation incidents occurred due to conversion of blank guns into real guns. The number of incidents on which blank guns were shot in the air in residential areas is 325. The number reached in gun flashing and threat cases is 229. If a person gets caught with a blank they are usually released without any charges as they will not face any penalties. Even if a man is caught with his gun he cannot be pressed with charges there are not restrictions to carry it. Only the invoice details can be questioned.
10. Every human being knows that if one draws a blank gun and if the person opposite has a real gun, he would get killed. This means that it is lethal.  Additionally it can be used in suicides. Those who commit a crime use the tool they are closest to. If a person has easy access to a gun, he commits the crime using a gun. Carrying a blank gun, keeping a blank gun and the places where the blanks can be sold should be restricted and the rules should be imposed by law. For example in Germany the penalty of carrying a blank gun is very heavy. Therefore the members of the Security Directorate, state that the draft law submitted by Gülseren Topuz and Internal Affairs Commission currently works on is –at least good- but emphasize that the conditions should be heavier. Penalties imposed on real guns should be implemented on blanks as well.  .
    Just a record of conviction should not be sufficient for acquiring a blank gun, those who have committed certain crimes should be banned from getting a blank gun. Taking a psychological test should be compulsory. For blank guns at least a document confirming “fitness for purchasing a gun” should be obtained from the psychologists. Record of conviction, psychiatric examination report and renewal of the permit/document every five years after the purchase should be obligatory. . A five-year fine is foreseen for conversions according to 6136. This article should be added to the draft bill as well, because conversion show that the person is not innocent and planning to commit a crime.
11. So-called Blank guns or gas guns should be subject to Law number 6136 if carried around the waist. When blanks converted into real guns are confiscated, the units of the Security Directorate should follow up the matter and find out where it has been converted. It is crucial to determine the places where these guns are sold illegally.
12. In the said legal arrangement provisions should be included to enforce the policies and to stop
13. The postponement of the penalties as well as provisions to make the penalties heavier. Therefore adding an article which to stop the postponement of the penalties to this new draft bill can be considered.
14. In the packaging of the guns sold, a sign indicating that the gun is lethal and the instructions for usage should be included. 
15. Blank guns have the properties of a tool of crime. Therefore first of all  the terminological definition 
    Of a blank gun should be determined. The definition of “blank guns” should be included in the “definition of weapons” in the 6th Article of Turkish Penal Code.
16. Provisions banning all campaigns and advertising activities that direct and instigate the citizens to purchase guns should be included in the bill. 

Distinguished guests,

First of all, I would like to thank you all infinitely for sparing your valuable time to join the Search Conference on “Juridical and Social Aspects of Blank Firing Guns” we organized in order to secure the safety of the lives of our citizens and due to our longing to build a society dominated by peace together.

In 2007, Umut Foundation founded a Commission on blank firing guns, which have been our concern and we have been pointing out their dangers for years. The said commission gathered 4 times between May and October 2007 and completed the framework for the “The Search Conference on Juridical and Social Aspects of Blank Firing Guns” and shared information by inviting the related parties. As a result of the Commission Meetings we presented our observations and suggestions on juridical and social aspects of blank firing guns as a report to the related parties: legislative bodies. 
Even though the blank firing guns matter has frequently been in the agenda of our society only for the past year; blank guns, which have been converted into real ones have cost the lives of many of our citizens. Quite opposite to what people think, blanks are not toys. They are very dangerous tools of violence that can end people’s lives. There may not be a toy version or an imitation of a tool of violence. Regarding blank firing guns as “toys”, as well as strengthening the wrong perception of guns in the society, also helps blank firing guns to become a commonly used tool of crime in the society. They can be easily obtained and are commonly used by our children, young people and adult citizens. Therefore we feel that it is very important that all sorts of preventive measures regarding blank firing guns as well as firearms should come into effect.

During the commission work, research carried out by Umut Foundation in this topic clearly show that there are no legal arrangements regarding blank firing guns in Turkey. The addressees of this matter should quickly be determined. On the other hand, we believe that the draft bill the internal commission has been working on is a very important attempt with good intentions, which will fill a very substantive gap.

However, in order to 
• create a law which would prevent people from obtaining these guns be and make the sanctions should be heavier 
• eliminate the wrong ingrained belief in the society that blank firing guns are “toys” and they are “harmless” 
• create the mindset that aggress there may not be a toy version or an imitation of a gun,
we feel that it is extremely important that people with various opinions and expertise and knowledge get together and carry out an indebt interdisciplinary evaluation of the situation.

This is why we are here together today. We aimed to gather here today and use our opinions and knowledge for the benefit of the society we live in, in order to discuss every aspect of the matter by reaching everyone who has and opinion or who is knowledgeable in this subject.

The aim of our Search Conference is to determine the legal and social status of blank guns in our country by evaluating every aspect of this matter; to determine the Articles which must be included in this law; by re-observing the current legal arrangements to determine how the established perception of blank guns in our society can be altered and to determine the role of media and other social actors in this matter.

With the presentations until noon time, our aim is outline the situation regarding in general terms. After lunch we would like our “Law and Security Work Group” and “Social Status and Media Work Group” to get together and work together for about 1.5 hours and then share with us their report. In order to listen to the reports of work groups and develop them during discussions and to prepare a Final Declaration which will reflect our joint opinion; we will meet in this room at 16:00 once more.

After we determine the Final Declaration, which we will make known to the public and the related parties, we will have the opportunity for a chat at our cocktail in the lobby.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, my valuable friends, who are here today to make a presentation or to join the discussions and I hope that we will have a fruitful al pleasurable day.

With hope for tomorrow!

Period: 23
Legislation Year: 2

Grand National Assembly of Turkey   (Number of pages: 54)

Draft Bill on firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges and Internal Commission report (1/437)

TO THE ATTENTION OF GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TURKEY

“Draft Bill on firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and agreed to be sent to your Chairmanship by our Ministry on 26/2/2007 and its justification is attached.

For information and further action

          Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

   Prime Minister

GENERAL JUSTIFICATION

Also called blank firing guns, firearms with percussion and gas cartridges are not included in Law no: 6136 for the Firearms and Knives and Other Tools and Law No. 2521 on manufacturing, transactions and possession of the hunting rifles, knives and target shooting rifles for sport due to their characteristics. As there are no legal arrangements on them in other legislative provisions, producing, selling, transportation or carrying these does not require a permit or ant documentation. In addition, as well as being produced in our country, these guns can be imported from abroad in accordance with the general provisions.  Recently according to our observations, by taking advantage of the fact that these are almost identical to guns that require a permit, these guns are used in crimes such as usurpation, robbery, burglary, mugging, threats, kidnapping, getting to sign a bond by force etc., and the courts accept that these crimes have been committed with a gun and select the punishment accordingly. However, as these guns are not considered as firearms subject to a permit, as it is not legally forbidden to carry them and as people can easily obtain them, it was determined that their use has become more widespread and this situation has a negative effect on the peace and safety of the society. Therefore in order to prevent crimes committed with these guns, which come quite often into the agenda of public debate, it became a necessity to make legal arrangements that will fill the current gap. Up until today various actions were taken to put these guns under control. in order to make the imports of blank firing guns subject to permission, attempts were to include the said guns under materials which require documentation conformity to general security and order and it became compulsory to get a permission for importing these guns. Once make the imports of blank firing guns became subject to permission, work has been carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the participation of Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Industry and Trade to make legal arrangements in terms of their production. Ministry of Defense informed us that their Ministry has not given any permissions fro the production of these guns and this is not included within the scope of its duty and Ministry of Industry and Trade informed us the production permission for these guns is given by evaluating criteria such as the production documentation given to these industrial organizations that produce these guns, capacity report for the related Chamber of Industry/ Commerce, the industrial record from the Ministry, job creation, value added and export potential;  no examples of such a precaution in terms of banning the production of these guns was seen in other countries including EU countries and the issues related to this matter arise from imports, possession and carrying of these guns. We were informed that that an attempt to the Ministry of Justice was made to include the blank firing guns under the Turkish Penal Code number 765, which is now obsolete and this Ministry stated elements of crime in the first paragraph of Article 526 of Turkish Penal Code number do not apply  to firearms with percussion and gas cartridges, for carrying and possession of which there are no provisions in Law Number 6136 and production and sales of which are  allowed; in case these guns are used outside their purpose, it is  possible to apply the provisions of Turkish Penal Code; it was possible to pursue a criminal remedy using administrative measures in matters which are legislated by law. In order to prevent possible incidents from occurring, not to harm the public security and that a crime for which there are no sanctions is constituted, governorships brought restrictions possession, carrying and firing of blank firing guns with percussion and gas cartridges based on the 11^th Article of Provincial Administration Law number 5442, local courts took legal action against those who do not act in accordance with these restrictions according to 526th Article of Turkish Penal Code number 765. When appeals were made, the decisions of local courts were sent to Supreme Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Appeals nullified the conviction decisions on the basis that firearms with gas cartridges do not constitute a crime and there are no legal arrangement on carrying, sales and possession of them and the restriction decisions made by governorships became void. The Ministry of Internal Affairs issued circulars at various point of time stating these guns shall not be sold to anyone under eighteen; all guns sold shall be reported to civilian authorities; the sales of these guns shall be subject to inspection, in order to fill this current legal gap. However as crime and punishment should be legislated by law, the administrative actions in this field had no sanctions. Legal experts were consulted to find out what sorts of action can be taken within the scope of the general regulatory provisions, ant we were informed that no administrative restrictions can be made with regard to these guns and as any restrictions are removed by the judicial authorities, in case of their use outside their purpose legal action should be taken according to general provisions and in case they are brought in the country without a permission, legal action should be taken due to the crime of importing good using illegal methods. According to a study by the General Security Directorate, there are 356.218 registered  “so-called” blank firing guns in our country as of 2004 and between 2002 and July 2004 11249 crimes were committed using these guns and 4283 crimes were committed in which these guns were indirectly involved. Considering these guns, on which there are no  legal arrangements, both in terms of appearance and the noise they make when they are fired due to the nature of their cartridge they cannot be distinguished from real guns unless studied closely; also considering that they are used by many ill-intentioned people in various crimes, and they are used to fire in the air during weddings and sport contests  in fact considering that they are given to security personnel even though real guns are used, and considering that this situation has a negative effect on public security and fear and panic is created among members of public, and also considering by modifying the barrels of these guns they are converted into real guns , it becomes inevitable to make legal arrangements in this matter. With the bill, in light of the above justifications, it was aimed to make legal arrangements on the production, imports, carrying and possession of firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges also called blank firing guns, on which there are no arrangements in legal provisions.

JUSTIFICATİONS OF ARTICLES

Article 1- In this Article it is stated that the aim is to fill the current legal gap on   firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges, which are used in various crimes due to their similarity to real guns that are subject to a license and which are found to harm public peace and security and on which there are no arrangements in legal provisions.

 Article 2- In this article the scope of the law has been determined. In addition, the definition in this article clarifies the term firearms with percussion and gas cartridges and includes the handgun called “blank firing gun”, in order to remove any doubts and accomplish common practice.  

Article 3- With this article Production of guns covered by this Law is subjected to the consent of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and procedures and principles concerning production shall be defined by the regulation to be issued by this Ministry, provided that opinions of related institutes and authorities are taken. The aim of this arrangement is to make the production of these guns subject to certain standards and to get the related associations and organizations to contribute to these arrangements.  In addition, it is made compulsory to manufacture these guns in such way that they cannot later be converted into type of guns that are subject to a license. The aim here is to prevent the use of these guns, which are cheaper and easier to obtain, in crime as real guns.  On the other hand it is stated in the article that import and export procedures of these guns covered by this Law are performed according to general provision and the approval of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Industry and Trade is required for the import of these guns. Thus an inspection mechanism has been formed to check that the guns imported are of the same specifications as the guns produced here, especially in the sense that they are manufactured in such way that they cannot later be converted into firearms.

Article 4-  By forbidding carrying of guns covered by this Law and selling them to and those under the age of 18, it was aimed in this article to fill the legal gap in this matter. It has been encountered that these types of guns which are almost identical to guns that require a permit are often used in crimes such as usurpation, robbery, burglary, mugging, threats, kidnapping, getting to sign a bond by force etc., by exploiting this similarity and this situation has a negative effect on the peace and safety of the society. Thus this arrangement is very important to prevent crimes committed with these guns, which come quite often into the agenda of public debate, before they are committed. The clause that state carrying these guns is regarded as a crime by itself and the clause on the transportation of these guns in boxes such way that use of them shall not be convenient at any moment and that they cannot be easily reached aims to prevent people from carrying these guns and use them in crimes. In addition, this article enables the sale of these guns in places licensed by governorships for selling projectiles, hunting ammunition or shotguns only and makes it obligatory for dealers selling these guns and those who transfer such dealerships to and from third people and those who newly purchase them to make a declaration in local civilian authority within 1 month, and therefore puts these transactions under inspection.

Article 5- Article 5 imposes heavy penalties for those who produce guns covered by this Law without permission and/or those who convert them into real firearms. The second clause of the Article subjects those who modify the guns covered by this Law in an effort to turn them into guns requiring licensing to the provisions of Law no: 6136 on those who produce firearms without a permit.

Article 6- In this Article, the sanctions for those who carry firearms with percussion and gas cartridges without permission or sell them in violation of the listed prohibitions is defined.

Article 7- According to thisArticle, procedures and principles regarding the features, production, import, export, and sales of, obtaining, possessing and carrying firearms with percussion or gas cartridges covered by this Law, as well as permissions, registration and approval procedures in respect to such guns are specified by a regulation. 

Provisional article 1- This Article aims to necessitate those possessing guns covered by this Law to register them. It also has a clause stating that it is not necessary for those factories and mills which manufacture guns or shotguns to get a new license as long as they document that their production is in accordance with the conditions set forth by this Law and their permission from related authorities. It necessitates all gun manufactured before this Law enters into effect and all guns produced after it enters into effect to be registered in order to keep an industry inventory on the production of these guns.

Article 8- Article on enactment of law.

Article 9- Article on execution of law.

22nd Period Internal Commission Report

Grand National Assembly of Turkey

    Internal Commission       09/05/2007

File Nr.: 1/1319,2/964

       Decision Nr.: 63

TO THE ATTENTION OF GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TURKEY

The “Draft Bill on Firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on 07.03.2007 and presented to the President of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the “Proposal submitted by Istanbul MP Gulseren Topuz on Firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” have been sent by your Presidency on 12/03/2007 and 07/03/2007 respectively to our Commission as the main Commission and Justice and Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and technology Commissions as the secondary Commissions. On its 51st meeting on 18/04/2007 our commission discussed the draft bill and the proposal as part of its agenda and as it regarded them both of the same nature it decided to combine them and take the text of the Draft Bill as the basis. Our Commission decided that a Sub-Commission should be formed in order to develop the combined draft and the proposal further. The elected member so f the Sub-Commission, Şevket Gürsoy, MP,  Adıyaman; Muharrem Tozçöken, MP, Eskişehir; Mehmet S. Kesimoğlu, MP, Kırklareli; Veli Kaya, MP, Kilis; Seracettin Karayağız, MP, Muş and Mehmet Kartal MP, Van voted Seracettin Karayağız, MP, Muş as their President and started their work.  Representatives of Ministries of Internal Affairs, National Defense, Justice, Finance, Industry and Trade took part in the Sub-Commission meetings. Having observed the Proposal and its justifications, the Sub-Commission completed its work on 26/04/2007 and presented its report and the text to our Commission. Our commission reviewed the Sub-Commission report and the text on its 52nd Meeting on 09/05/2007 in presence of representatives of Ministries of National Defense, Justice, Finance, Industry and Trade and settled the case. The attempts to fill the legal gap on production, imports, sales, carrying and possession of firearms with percussion and gas cartridges, also called blank firing guns.

The following amendments were made on the draft bill by the Sub-Commission:

1. The 1st article which defines the aim of the bill and the 2nd article, which defines the scope are interrelated and they repeat each other. Therefore these two articles have been combined in one article entitled “aim and scope”.

2. The 3rd Article of the bill regulates production, import and exports of blank firing guns. The second paragraph of the Article beings forth the provision that they should not be later converted into type of guns that are subject to license according to the conditions set forth by the Law no: 6136. However as the aim here is to prevent the conversion of blank firing guns into guns covered by law number 6136, regardless whether they are licensed or not, the phrase “subject to license” has been removed from the tect of the article. On the other hand, it was found necessary to place a mark on the blank firing guns during production, in order to make them clearly distinguishable from a real firearm and thus it was made obligatory to put a mark that on blank firing guns that distinguishes them. What this mark will be is to be determined by the regulation.

3. The 4th article of the bill bans carrying of blank firing guns, distinguishes the difference between transportation and carrying and regulates its sales. The Sub-Commission rephrased this article as it was thought that relating it to the 53rd Article of the Turkish Penal Code was not necessary. The sub-commission by distinguishing the difference between committed crimes covered by the Law no: 6136 and crimes committed using firearms, rewrote these to situations separately within the same text.  Though a proposal was made by a member of our Sub-Commission to  include the fact that those who do not have any obstructions to buy a blank-firing gun should be determined by obtaining a Criminal Record from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, it was decided that thee is no other way to go about it. However it was stated that determining whether the criminal record causes an obstacle to buy a blank firing guns is not easy and that it should be compulsory to present this document to security forces. As it was decided that it would be more appropriate to include the details of this topic in the regulations and thus no insertions were made to the article.

Subparagraph (c) was added to the first clause of the Article to include selling of those that are manufactured in violation of procedures set for manufacturing in the ban and thus sanctions apply to those who sell illegally manufactured guns.

The “governorship” phrase in the second clause of the article has been removed as it was no need for it, and so that it does not cause any legal problems the phrase “transfer of ownership” was corrected as “those who transfer ownership and sell” and “transfer of ownership by buying”   

In the final clause of the article an attempt is made to define the difference between transport and carrying.  By adding the phrase “in an empty state” to the clause, it was made compulsory to transport blank-firing guns without bullets in them and those guns captured loaded are not regarded as being transported.

4. The 5th and 6th Articles of the Draft bill regulate penal provisions.  Therefore these Articles have been combined under one article and the title has been changed as “penal provisions”. Those who manufacture them in violation of procedures set for manufacturing described in first clause of the 5^th Article shall be subject to imprisonment from 1 year to 3 years. It is stated in this article that procedures in respect to such guns are specified by the regulation. According to this, it is anticipated that the punishment for the crime is regulated by the law, but the crime is regulated by the regulation.  As this arrangement is against the legality principle of crime and punishment, this arrangement has been changed and the contradiction has been corrected. In the new arrangement those who manufacture them in violation of procedures set for manufacturing shall be subject to monetary fines and in case of repetition of this crime the monetary fine shall be heavier. On the other hand in case of manufacturing in violation of procedures set for manufacturing, not just the producers but also the sellers face these sanctions and thus an attempt has been made to prevent production which does not comply with the standards.

In the second clause of the 5th article it is stated that the punishment in the 12th article of the Law number 6136 shall be applicable to those who make modifications, in order to prevent conversion of blank firing guns into guns covered by the Law no: 6136, During the discussions of the Sub-commission if blank firing guns are included among the guns covered by law number 6136, the provisions of law number 6136 shall apply and no other provisions shall be necessary. However it was said that a sub-clause stating “The provisions of Law number 6136 are reserved” would not leave room for any doubts in the application and thus the clause has been amended this way.

5. The three month period allocated for the issue of the provision was considered to be too short and this period has been extended to six months.

6. The provisionary article includes provisions which allow the owners of blank firing guns and the producers to adapt to the new situation once the new arrangements come into effect. However as the provisions regarding application will be determined by a regulation which will go into effect in six months time and therefore the time granted to the producers should start after the date on which new arrangements come into effect. The Sub-Commission rephrased the Article in consideration of the above.

7. As the numbers of Articles in the Draft Bill have been reduced from 9 to 7, the order of the articles was remade.

Our Commission adopted the text by the Sub-Commission in principle and made two amendments on it. The amendments are as follows:

1. We did find it appropriate to include a sub-clause stating “The provisions of Law number 6136 are reserved” so that there is no room for any doubts in the application as suggested by the Sub-Commission. It is obvious as stated in the Sub-Commission Report the provisions of law number 6136 shall apply and no other provisions shall be necessary, if the blank firing guns become one of the guns covered by the Law no: 6136. Our commission therefore removed this sub-clause number (2) from the text of the article.

2. The provisionary article 1 attempts to overcome any incompatibilities which may arise once the new law comes into effect. The duration in the second clause start after the regulation comes into effect. However, even though a one year period is given in the first clause, the duration starts once the law is published. Our commission corrected this incompatibility and extended the duration in the second clause to one year after the regulation comes into effect.

The rest of the Articles in the document of the Sub-commission have been adopted as they are.

We would like to present our Report to the General Committee.

Best regards,

Internal Commission Report

Grand National Assembly of Turkey

    Internal Commission       12/11/2007

        File Nr: 1/437

       Decision Nr.: 4

TO THE ATTENTION OF GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TURKEY

The “Draft Bill on Firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on 07.03.2007 on the 22^nd legislative period presented to the President of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey has been discussed by the Internal Commission and the Commission report has been issued with order number 1415.

The report, which is in the Agenda of the General Assembly, has not been discussed in the 22nd period o the General Assembly and became void in accordance with the 77th Article of the internal regulations.

The Government renewed the said draft bill on 10/10/2007. The Draft bill sent to your presidency on 22/10/2007 with file number(1/437) was resent to our Commission and in its 3rd meeting on 7/11/2007, our commission reviewed and discussed the Draft Bill in presence of representatives of Ministries of Internal Affairs, Finance and Justice.

As a result of the discussions on the whole of the bill, the following views and requests were shared:

l The monetary fine foreseen by the draft bill is not sufficient, it should be increased

l The administrative monetary fees are not aversive due to their nature and penal sanctions under Turkish Penal Code should be applied

l Advertising of the guns covered by the Code, which encourage guns, should be banned 

l The provisions regarding blank firing guns should not be issued as a separate law, they should be covered by the law 6136 for the Firearms and Knives and Other Tools dated 10/7/1953,

l The periods given in the provisional articles are too long

l It should not be sufficient just to get a criminal record in order to obtain a blank firing gun, report confirming that the person is healthy as a result of a psychiatric examination is also necessary,

Following the discussions, all of the draft bill and its justification were found to be appropriate by our Commission. Before the discussion of the articles, with the proposal of a motion in accordance with the 77th Article of the Internal Regulations, the text of the draft Bill which as accepted by the Internal Affairs Commission on the 22nd period was adopted as it stands.

We would like to present our Report to the General Committee.

TEXT PROPOSED BY THE GOVERNMENT

DRAFT BILL ON FIREARMS WITH PERCUSSION OR GAS CARTRIDGES

Purpose

ARTICLE 1- (1) Purpose of this Law is to arrange procedures and principles regarding firearms with percussion or gas cartridges.

Scope

ARTICLE  2- (1) This Law covers procedures and principles regarding the features, production, import, export, and sales of, obtaining, possessing and carrying firearms with percussion or gas cartridges, as well as permissions, registration and approval procedures in respect to such guns. 

(2)  Firearms with percussion or gas cartridges referred in this Law imply firearms that are also known as “blank firing guns”

Production, import and export

ARTICLE 3- (1) Production of guns covered by this Law is subject to the consent of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Procedures and principles concerning production shall be defined by the regulation to be issued by this Ministry, provided that opinions of related institutes and authorities are taken.

(2) It is obligatory that the guns covered by this Law should be manufactured in a way that they should not be later turned into type of guns that are subject to license according to the conditions set forth by the Law for the Firearms and Knives and Other Tools, dated: 10/7/1953 and no: 6136.

            (3) Import and export procedures of these guns covered by this Law are performed according to general conditions. However, for import of these guns, approval of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Industry and Trade is looked for.

Carrying, sales and transportation

ARTICLE 4- (1) Concerning the guns covered by this Law,

a) Carrying them, and

b) Selling them to those sentenced to prison for at least 1 year for intentionally committed crimes even though time intervals mentioned in Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code have passed, those who have been found guilty of crimes committed with fire arms and those under the age of 18 is forbidden.

(2) Sale of these guns shall be accomplished in places licensed by governorships for selling projectiles, hunting ammunition or shotguns. Dealers selling these guns, those who transfer such dealerships to and from third people are obliged to make declaration in local civilian authority within 1 month.

(3) Guns in question may be transported in boxes in a way that use of them shall not be convenient at any moment and that they cannot be easily reached. Transportation of these guns in any other way, as not mentioned in this paragraph, shall be deemed as ‘carrying’.

Penalties on production without permission

           ARTICLE 5- (1) Those who produce guns covered by this Law without permission and/or those who manufacture them in violation of procedures set for manufacturing them shall be subject to imprisonment from 1 year to 3 years and judicial monetary fines from 100 days to 500 days.

(2) Those who modify the guns covered by this Law in an effort to turn them into guns subject to license as covered by the Law no: 6136 shall be punished according to the conditions set forth in the first paragraph of Article 12 of the Law no: 6136.

Carrying, possessing or sales without permission

ARTICLE 6 - (1) Those in violation of prohibitions listed in Article 4 of this Law shall be subject to judicial monetary fine of 500 YTL. Moreover, it shall be decided that the ownership of the gun is transferred to the public.

(2) Local administrative chief is authorized to decide on giving judicial monetary fine and transfer of the ownership of the gun to the public according to the conditions of this Law.

Regulation

ARTICLE 7- (1) Procedures and principles regarding the features, production, import, export, and sales of, obtaining, possessing and carrying firearms with percussion or gas cartridges covered by this Law, as well as permissions, registration and approval procedures in respect to such guns are specified by the regulation to be jointly issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Industry and Trade, taking also the opinion of the Ministry to which Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade is attached. 

Declaration and permission

PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 1- (1) Those possessing guns covered by this Law shall not be subject to any penalties, in case they make declaration at the civilian authority within 1 year.

 (2) Those who manufacture such guns by the date this Law enters into effect are obliged to get necessary permissions according to procedures and principles specified by this Law. Those who manufacture guns or shotguns in accordance with the conditions set forth by this Law, getting permission from related authorities, are not obliged to get extra permission to produces guns covered by this Law until the date this Law enters into effect, provided that they inform such related authorities of the amounts of any types or models of blank firings guns they produce.

(3) Those who import and/or export guns covered by this Law are obliged to inform related authorities, within 6 months, of amounts of guns imported and/or exported until the date this Law enters into effect.

(4) Criminal action shall be taken, according to Articles 5 and 6 of this Law, against those who do not make such declarations and/or get necessary permissions within specified periods.

Effectiveness

ARTICLE 9- (1) This Law shall take effect on the date of its promulgation.

Execution

ARTICLE 10- (1) Conditions of this Law shall be executed by the Board of Ministers.

SIGNATURES:

Several countries recognise the need that replica firearms need to be treated in almost the same manner as other guns.

Canada

The import, manufacture and sale of replica firearms is illegal. (Firearms Act, 1997)

This regulation is aimed at precision models made of wood, metals or moulded rubber that are made to look identical to the firearm they represent.

Exceptions:      

• replicas of antique firearms

• most toys, when they are made of brightly coloured plastic and cannot be mistaken for real firearms

• replicas are allowed for certain uses eg for police training

Owners of replicas bought before the Act came into force do not need to register the replica, nor get a license, nor store safely.

Australia

National

To import a replica firearm, written police permission must be obtained. (Customs Regulations, 1956)

The definition of replica includes ornaments and computer game controllers that resemble firearms.

Penalty: up to $275,000 or 10-year imprisonment, or both.

But this law does not apply to sale or ownership.

Deactivated guns are not treated as replicas for import, instead being considered as ’normal’ guns ie must pass safety requirements, but it is not clear that police permission required.

New South Wales

All imitation and replica firearms are prohibited unless approved by the Police Commissioner (New South Wales Firearm Act 1996)

Includes replica pistols, blank fire pistols and shortened firearms.

Western Australia

Imitation firearms are controlled weapons, ie prohibited to possess or carry (WA Weapons Act 1999, WA Weapons Regulation 1999)

Penalty: $4000 or 1 year imprisonment or both.

An imitation firearm is an article that has the appearance of being firearm but is not capable of discharging a missile – unless it is clearly a toy.

UK

Manufacture, import, and sale of a ‘realistic imitation firearm’ is illegal. (Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006)

A ‘realistic imitation firearm’ means an imitation firearm which has an appearance that is so realistic as to make it indistinguishable, for all practical purposes, from a real firearm.

Exception: Deactivated guns are not included within the gun law, although on 10 January 2008 the home Office announced it would seek to ban all deactivated guns by the end of 2008.

USA

New York City

Sale and possession of replica firearms is illegal. (New York City Administrative Code)

Exceptions:

• brightly coloured or transparent replicas

• marked clearly with label of a recognised toy manufacturer

• sales made only to customers outside New York City

• non-firing antiques of pre-1898 firearms

• miniature jewellery (within strict size limits)

Penalty: $1,000 or 1-year imprisonment.

Iansa (International Action Network on Small Arms)
 

Introduction

2007 can be reviewed as a striking year in which many lives ended due to conversion of blank guns in to real guns; blank guns were used in acts and criminal acts which neglected the supremacy of law and endangered social peace and order and thus showed the legal gap in Turkey in terms of juridical and social aspects of blank guns. The bloody raid in Malatya Zirve Publishing House can be shown as the latest example to this situation; because the accused persons had purchased 3 Smith Wesson branded blank guns before the incident from Malatya Hunting Market and got a single invoice of 20 YTL, as if they only purchased one gun.  Looking at these crimes which have been committed using a blank gun, it is not possible to say that blank firing guns are just toys and they do not threaten people’s lives. The Commission work we, as the Umut Foundation, carried out on blank guns -which we took into consideration for many years and pointed out its dangers- in 2007, clearly show that there are no legal arrangements in Turkey related to blank guns. The related parties in this matter have not been identified. Blank guns can be easily obtained, they are commonly used in criminal acts and they can easily be turned into real guns and there are no legal arrangements and standards to prevent this, whereas abroad they are produced in such was that they cannot be converted into a real gun. Additionally blank guns are commonly perceived as “toys” and all those views which describe blank guns as “toy” strengthen this perception.

Despite all negative matters, the fact that a “Draft Bill on Firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” is the agenda of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, is a promising development. Therefore, we as the UMUT Foundation think that our “Search conference on juridical and social aspects of blank firing guns” will be very useful for reviewing the bill before it is legalized.

I. Fear of Crime XE "Suç:Korkusu"

The feeling of insecurity in the society caused by crime is called “fear of crime”. Fear of crime damages and decreases the social interaction in the society and it destroys the pleasure of lining in general terms. Due to the approach of the means of mass communication to crime, the fear of crime increases in size and in many cases the crime presented to the public is unnecessarily exaggerated[1].

The studies on comparative fear of crime have interesting results:[2]:

The study on comparative fear of crime and prognosis of becoming a victim

  In the public opinion study, carried out in 2004 by the Law students at Bahçeşehir ve Bilgi University on 734 people, using the method of face to face interviews, the answersgiven to the “If you fear of crime during which time of the day and where is this fear is more intense?” question are striking, in terms of establishing the serious fear of crime in Istanbul at night:

   a) fear at night, 65.14%

   b) all day long fear, 24.66%

   c) fear at home, 10.20%

As there have not yet been any studies on Fear of Crime in throughout Turkey, it is not possible to establish the opinion of the public on this matter.  However the public opinion survey carried out in Izmir in 2002 and in Istanbul in 2003 and 2004, the answers to the “What kind of crime do you fear of being committed against you?” question established the following result[3]:

It is strikingly interesting that the rate of those who were worried that they would become a crime victim in 2002 in Izmir were 52.57%, whereas this number was 57.99% in 2004 in Istanbul (50.62% in 2003).

In this subject, the study which was the basis of the PhD Thesis entitled “Fear of Crime” by Sociologist Mine Özaşçılar at Forensic Institute of Istanbul University, carried out in 2005 and defended by herself in December 2006 should especially be touched upon. 374 women and 180 men of the 18-25 age group took part in this study in December 2005.[4]:

Those who stated that they were very afraid of someone breaking into their house when they are not at home, consisted of 27.2% (152 people) of the work group.  63.5% (354 people) stated that they had a high amount of fear.

48% (268 people) stated that they were very afraid of someone breaking in to their house when they are at home.  Only 8.8% (49 people) replied to the sama question that they were not afraid at all.  73.4% (410 people) of the group stated that they had a high amount of fear.

55.7% (311 people) of the work group stated that they were very afraid of being subject to rape or sexual assault. Only %15 (84 people) of the group stated that  they were not at all of being subject to rape or sexual assault.

47.1% (263 people) of the group stated that they were very afraid of getting killed. Only 13.3% of the group stated that they not at all afraid of getting killed. 65.7% (367 people) of the group stated that they were highly afraid of getting killed.

40.5% of the group fear of being attacked by an armed person very much. 68.5% (382 people) of the group stated that they were a highly afraid of being attacked by an armed person,

Those who are very much afraid of getting robbed or assumed in the street make up 32.6% (182 people) of the group. 72.5% (405 people) of the group stated that they are highly afraid.

Those who feel a little bit safe from a crime at night while they are at home make up 40.1% (224 people) of the work group. 28.9% (161 people) of the group feel very safe, 22.6% (126 people) a little unsafe, 5.6% (31 people) feel very unsafe.

In the study, the rate of women’s fear of crime is 68.12%, and the rate of women’s fear of crime is 52.85. Women’s fear of crime is higher than men’s. The fear of women becoming a victim of a crime against a person is higher than men. The fear rate of men and women facing a crime against property is quite close. The high level of fear women have of sexual assault and rape affects their fear of becoming a victim of a crime against a person negatively.[5]

II. Problems Caused by Blank Firing Guns

1. The Report of the Commission on Juridical and Social Aspects of blank firing guns

We, as Umut Foundation, formed a Commission between May and October 2007 to carry out the ground work for “the search conference on juridical and social aspects of blank firing guns” (KSHSD), we invited the related parties of the subject and mutually shared information.

 
(KSHSD) The most important conclusions and resolutions adopted by the commission during the search conference on juridical and social aspects of blank firing guns therein:

   1. The supervision of blank gun sellers and the sanctions should be improved. There are no authorities bound by the terms of blank guns. The reason for this is the fact that there are no legal arrangements in this matter. Thus one of the most important things to be done is to determine the addressees of this matter.

   2. The most important thing here is the absence of any legal arrangements related to this matter. As there are no legal arrangements they can be obtained very easily and therefore commonly used in our society. Lack of inspection ant its widespread had fatal consequences; the blank gun can be converted into a real gun by replacing the barrel with a simple apparatus. 

   3.  The current draft law proposal is a well-intentioned attempt to fill the current legal gap. However, it was determined that its scope should be extended and that a more detailed work should be carried out on it by taking social issues related to blank guns into consideration.  

 Just a record of conviction should not be sufficient for acquiring a blank gun, those who have committed certain crimes should be banned from getting a blank gun. Taking a psychological test should be compulsory. For blank guns at least a document confirming “fitness for purchasing a gun” should be obtained from the psychologists. Record of conviction, psychiatric examination report and renewal of the permit/document every five years after the purchase should be obligatory.

   4.  Blank guns are lethal and scathing and the necessity of including in the definition of firearms has arisen. Psychological tests must absolutely be carried un during the inspection of purchases and it should be made harder and to obtain a blank gun and restrictions should be implemented.

  5. Blank guns have the properties of a tool of crime. Therefore first of all  the terminological definition of a blank gun should be determined. The definition of “blank guns” should be included in the “definition of weapons” in the 6th Article of Turkish Penal Code.

2. Blank firing guns in Judicial Case Laws

As firearms are described as;

“ 1) Fire guns

2) Explosives

3) All kinds of cutting, piercing or injuring instrument used for to attack or defense oneself;

4) Other instruments which are suitable to use in attack or defense although actually not manufactured for this purpose;

5) Burning, corrosive, harmful, suffocating, toxic nuclear, radioactive, chemical and biological substances which cause unrecoverable disease;” in article 6/1 f of Turkish Penal Code blank guns are not legally categorized as firearms and thus not included in the case Laws of Supreme Court of Appeals. And the 8th Circuit of Supreme Court of Appeals stated in its decision number 4460/8684 on 29.11.2006; on a suit which was filed against the accused for firing an arm at a residential area which could cause fear and panic that “the act of shooting a so-called “blank firing gun” which is not categorized as a firearm, in the air does not constitute a crime which involves a firearm, as described in Article 264/7 of Turkish Penal Code Law Number 765 and Article 170/1-c of The Turkish Penal Code Law Number 5237 and it is necessary to overrule the written conviction decision on the accused” (Y.8.CD. 22.2.2007, 1043/1481; Y.8.CD. 13.3.2002, E.2001/12824, K.2002/2978);  whereas the 4th Circuit of Supreme Court of Appeals stated in its decision number E.2002/27434,K.2003/10566 on 3.11.2003 that  “is possible according to objective measures that the drawing of the toy gun, which is of intimidating quality, by the accused, without saying a word to the victim from close by could constitute one of the crimes of drawing a gun for threat or intimidation purposes” (Y.4.CD. 1.2.1993,7631/8439; Y.4.CD. 3.3.1998, 1429/1691).

We think that these differences in case laws of Supreme Court should be overcome with a decision to combine the case laws or blank guns should be included under the Article 6/f of Turkish Penal Code.

III. Draft Bill on Firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges

 “Draft Bill on Firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” prepared on the 22^nd term of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 07.03.2007 and presented to the President of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the “Draft Bill submitted by Istanbul MP Gulseren Topuz on Firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” have been combined together taking the draft bill by the Internal Affairs Commission as the core document and it was decided that they will be discussed. In the new legislation period, this text adopted by the Internal Affairs Commission fills the legal gap to a large extent.

The first article of the Draft Bill entitled “Purpose and Scope” states “Purpose of this Law is to arrange procedures and principles regarding firearms with percussion or gas cartridges. This Law covers procedures and principles regarding the features, production, import, export, and sales of, obtaining, possessing and carrying firearms with percussion or gas cartridges, as well as permissions, registration and approval procedures in respect to such guns. ”

The second article entitled “Production, import and export” states

(1) Production of guns covered by this Law is subject to the consent of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Procedures and principles concerning production shall be defined by the regulation to be issued by this Ministry, provided that opinions of related institutes and authorities are taken.

(2) It is obligatory that the guns covered by this Law should be manufactured in a way that they should not be later turned into type of guns that are subject to license according to the conditions set forth by the Law for the Firearms and Knives and Other Tools, dated: 10/7/1953 and no: 6136.

(3) Import and export procedures of these guns covered by this Law are performed according to general conditions. However, for import of these guns, approval of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Industry and Trade is looked for.

The second article entitled “Carrying, Selling and Transportation” states

(1) Concerning guns covered by this Law a) Carrying them, b) Selling them to those found guilty of crimes committed with firearms or because of crimes which are covered by the Law no: 6136, those who have been sentenced to prison for at least 1 year for intentionally committed crimes, those who are not understood to be healthy on the report of their psychiatric examination, or those under the age of 18, c) Selling those guns that are manufactured in violation of principles and methods set forth in the regulation is forbidden.

(2) Sale of these guns shall be accomplished in places licensed for selling projectiles, hunting ammunition or shotguns. Dealers selling these guns, those who transfer such dealerships to and from third people, and those who buy and sell these guns are obliged to make declaration in local civilian authority within 1 month with their criminal record which they will get from Public Prosecution Offices. Any type of campaigns and advertisements which encourage, promote or incite purchase and use of such guns is forbidden.

(3) Guns in question may be transported in boxes without cartridges in a way that use of them shall not be convenient at any moment and that they cannot be easily reached. Transportation of these guns in any other way, as not mentioned in this paragraph, shall be deemed as ‘carrying’.

In this article we feel that 2 inserts should be made: First of all the psychiatric examination report of the buyer should be included in the terms of sale; thus we suggest that the last sentence of subparagraph (b) of Paragraph 1 of Article 3 of Draft Bill is amended as “…, those who are not understood to be healthy on the report of their psychiatric examination, or those under the age of 18.”In addition, we  suggest that Article 3 of the Draft Bill is amended as follows, by adding the line “Any type of campaigns and advertisements which encourage, promote or incite purchase and use of such guns is forbidden” to Paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the Draft Bill as the last sentence.

In Article 4 entitled “Penal Clauses”, there are two arrangements, namely judicial and administrative: For crimes that are subject to Turkish Penal Code the foreseen judicial punishment in Article4/1 should be for the following “crime”, “Those who produce guns covered by this Law without permission and/or those who manufacture them in a way that they can later be turned into type of guns that are subject to the conditions set forth in the Law no: 6136 shall be subject to imprisonment from 1 year to 3 years and judicial monetary fines from 100 days to 500 days.”

In Article 4/2 of the draft bill,  “Those in violation of prohibitions listed in Article 3 of this Law shall be subject to judicial monetary fine of 500 YTL. Moreover, it shall be decided that ownership of such guns is transferred to the public.” ve m.4/3’de, “Those who manufacture such guns covered by this Law in violation of procedures and methods set forth in the regulation shall be subject TO judicial monetary fine of 5,000 – 20,000 YTL. If the action is repeated, the judicial monetary fine shall be doubled.”  These acts are described as petty crimes and an administrative fee has been foreseen. As we all know, theMisdemeanors Law number 5326has broughtdetailed arrangement on petty crimes. As a result of this, on draft bill 4/4, it was regulated as Local administrative chief is authorized to decide on giving judicial monetary fine and transfer of the ownership of the gun to the public according to the conditions of this Law.

In terms of punishment policy, it was not appropriate to regulate Article in such way; i.e. it is not possible to understand the grounds for accepting the act of  those who sell blank guns which are produced in such way that they can be converted into guns which are subject to the Provisions of Law Number 6136 as a petty crime whereas the act of those who produce such guns are accepted as being subject to the above law.  In case such thought is acceptable the act of producing drugs would have been a crime but selling drugs would be a petty crime.

It is suggested that Article 4 of the Draft Bill is amended as follows, by adding the expression “or sell” to the Paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the Draft Bill, just after the word “produce”.

The article 5, entitled “Regulation” , procedures and principles regarding the features, production, import, export, and sales of, obtaining, possessing and carrying firearms with percussion or gas cartridges covered by this Law, as well as permissions, registration and approval procedures in respect to such guns are specified by the regulation to be jointly issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Industry and Trade within six months, taking also the opinion of the Ministry to which Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade is attached.

In the provisional article 1 “Declaration and permission” it is stated that

(1) Those possessing guns covered by this Law shall not be subject to any penalties, in case they make declaration at the civilian authority within 1 year.

 (2) Those who manufacture such guns by the date this Law enters into effect are obliged to get necessary permissions according to procedures and principles specified by this Law. Those who manufacture guns or shotguns in accordance with the conditions set forth by this Law, getting permission from related authorities, are not obliged to get extra permission to produces guns covered by this Law until the date this Law enters into effect, provided that they inform such related authorities of the amounts of any types or models of blank firings guns they produce.

(3) Those who import and/or export guns covered by this Law are obliged to inform related authorities, within 6 months, of amounts of guns imported and/or exported until the date this Law enters into effect.

(4) Criminal action shall be taken, according to Articles 5 and 6 of this Law, against those who do not make such declarations and/or get necessary permissions within specified periods.

Conclusion

It is a fact that the fear of crime is increasing in Turkey and that this is one of the important reasons for armament including the blank firing guns.

It is known that each year 180,000 people purchase blank guns. Blank guns, which have a production and sales history of 10 years in Turkey, have become a sector with the annual revenue of 10 million USD.  The main reasons for such great demand for blank guns is that anyone over 18 can buy them with a birth certificate and residence document and additionally the fact that they are not included under the Firearms Law number 6136 and thus they do not require a permit.

There fore the current draft bill on “Firearms with Percussion and Gas Cartridges” waiting to be legalizedat Grand National Assembly of Turkeycan fill this legal gap. However below are the matters which should be added to this Draft Bill :

1. the last sentence of subparagraph (b) of Paragraph 1 of Article 3 of Draft Bill should amended as “…, those who are not understood to be healthy on the report of their psychiatric examination, or those under the age of 18.” with a advertising ban.

2. Adding the line “Any type of campaigns and advertisements which encourage, promote or incite purchase and use of such guns is forbidden” to Paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the Draft Bill as the last sentence.

3., by adding the expression “or sell” to the Paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the Draft Bill, just after the word “produce”.

Another important point we would like to make here is thatwe also suggest that contradictions between court practices are removed in order to remove differences in Supreme Court’s practices and that also necessary legal regulations are made so that the term “gun” stated in Article 6/1 (f) of the Turkish Penal Code, which gives the definition of blank firing guns, can be interpreted as to include blank firing guns as well.

* Umut Foundation Management Committee member / Bahçeşehir University Law Faculty Lecturer Member.

[1] Dönmezer, Criminology, 7. bası, İstanbul 1984, page 31.

[2] Schwarzenegger Christian, Die Einstellungen der Bevölkerung zur Kriminalitaet und Verbrechenskontrolle, Freiburg i. Br. 1992, page 87.

[3] Demirbaş Timur, Criminology, 2^nd series, Ankara 2005, page 150.

[4]  Özaşçılar Mine, The fear of crime: Evaluations of meetings with 18-25 year old university students living in Istanbul and their fears of becoming a victim of crime, Masters Thesis (Unpublished), Istanbul 2006, page 4 vd.

[5]  Özaşçılar, 64.

Uz. Dr. İbrahim ÜZÜN¹, Uz. Dr. Yalçın BÜYÜK¹, Uz. Dr. Hasan AĞRITMI޹, Dr. Ziya KIR²

Abstract: Blank firing guns, which are usually promoted as personal defense tools and the invoice of purchase for which is accepted as a license, can easily be purchased by anyone over 18 and is not regarded as a legally banned “firearm” in our country just like in many other countries.

         Without making any modifications to barrel or to the cartridges used, especially when fired at a close range, gunshots from these weapons cause fatal injuries, especially around the neck and head area. By taking out the piece inside the barrel that acts as a barrier to prevent from the usage of firearm cartridges and by using homemade cartridges, i.e. by placing a suitable metal pin on the nozzle, these guns can easily be converted into suicide/ homicide tools.

         In this study, data related to 35 blank cartridge gun related death cases that occurred between January 2003 and March 2006, for which an autopsy has been carried out at the Morgue Department of Forensic Medicine Council, has been presented with ballistic examination findings and the potential dangers of these guns which necessitate adoption of legal arrangements have been emphasized.

Key words: blank firing guns, cartridge, death, autopsy, ballistics

Introduction:

         As obtaining, keeping and carrying guns is restricted by legal arrangements, there has been an increase in the demand for blank firing guns which are manufactured for personal defense purposes and are similar to original guns in terms of their shape and their operation principles.  

         Just like in many other countries in Europe, anyone over 18 can easily purchase these guns in our country and the invoice of purchase acts as a license. For these weapons to be not included among legally “banned firearms” and regarded as blanks, a piece inside the barrel that acts as a barrier to prevent from the usage of firearm cartridges is necessary and this piece should not be easily removable. Such a design prevents from loading and using cartridges. However, when the weapon is modified, i.e. when the piece inside the barrel that acts as a barrier is taken out and a suitable metal pin is placed on the nozzle, gunshots from these weapons cause fatal injuries.       

In fact, without even making any modifications, it was proven that when fired at a close range, gunshots from these weapons cause fatal injuries, especially around the neck and head area. Blank cartridges in most cases contain black powder or nitrocellulose as an explosive and a small amount of ignition material inside a metal cartridge. Under constant temperature, the explosion temperature of nitrocellulose is 2500–3000 centigrade degrees. At the muzzle of the gun, the temperature may reach to 1500 °C for 0.1–0.5 ms. The thermal and toxic damage caused by the exploding gas volume increase the risk of infection in the wounds formed in muscle tissues and has a negative effect on the recovery process. In the studies it was determined that during the firing of these weapons the gas pressure formed reaches the energy density of 0.2-0.3 J/mm², which is close to the amount of minimum energy required to penetrate the skin.

         In this study, data related to 35 Blank cartridge gun related death cases that occurred between January 2003 and March 2006, for which an autopsy has been carried out at the Morgue Department of Forensic Medicine Council, has been presented with ballistic examination findings and the potential dangers of these guns which necessitate adoption of legal arrangements have been emphasized.

Materials and method:

         35 Blank cartridge gun related death cases that occurred between January 2003 and March 2006, for which an autopsy has been carried out at the Morgue Department of Forensic Medicine Council, were evaluated retrospectively and the 35 cases in which according to findings of the autopsy, crime scene investigation data and ballistic examination findings blank guns were used were analyzed in terms of parameters such as demographic data origin, shooting distance and localization of entry lesion.

Findings:

          35 cases were confirmed between January 2003 and March 2006; whilst one case occurred in 2003 and two cases occurred in 2004, the number of cases reached 24 in 2005. (Table 1).

         2 cases were females and 33 were male. In one of the cases where a woman was involved the origin was reported as suicide; in the other case no information was available on the origin.  In 9 cases the origin was reported as homicide, in eight cases the origin was suicide and in one case originated from an accident. In 17 cases, no information on origin was available (Table 2).

Table 1. Dispersion of Cases across years

Table 2. Dispersion of cases according to reported origin

         It was reported that more than one shot was fired in two cases: In one case four shots were fired and in the other 2 shots were fired.  One shot was fired in each of the remaining 33 cases.  An exit lesion was observed in one shot which hit the extremity. No exit lesions were observed in the remaining 38 shots. During the evaluation of the location of the entry lesions, cranium was hit in 26 cases, chest in 9 cases, extremity in 3 cases and the inguinal area was hit in one case. (Diagram1). It was determined that half of the entry lesions in cranium were located in the right temporal bone.

         During the evaluation of the shooting distance it was determined that the adjacent or almost adjacent shots were ranked first with 24 cases. In one case the gun was fired from far and in 3 cases from close by. In 2 cases, as there had been an intervention to the wounds it was not possible to determine the shooting distance. (Table 3).

         During the autopsies of the cases various metal pins (Picture 4) with diameters between 2 to 4 mm were obtained. In injuries which have an effect on cranium it was detected that the metal object hits the bone tissue and stays inside the cranial gap. No exit lesion was found in any injuries which have an effect on cranium.

         According to the expert reports on the cases by the Police Criminal Department, (Picture 5) the weapons used are blank guns with a 8 mm diameter, semi-automatic and of various brands (such as Blow mini, Voltran), the piece inside the barrel that acts as a barrier to prevent from the usage of firearm cartridges was removed and a suitable metal pin was placed on the nozzle and during the trial shots it was determined that the weapons fired these kinds of cartridges.

Diagram 1. Dispersion of Cases according to Entry lesion

Table 3. Dispersion of shots according to shooting distance

Discussion and Conclusion:

         It was reported that each year around 500 armed incidents occur in Hamburg, Germany. In 40% of these incidents firearms are used and in 70-80% of these cases the firearm used is a blank firing gun. 35 cases modified blank cartridge gun related death cases occurred in Istanbul between January 2003 and March 2006; whilst one case occurred in 2003 and two cases occurred in 2004, the number of cases reached 24 in 2005. The distinct increase as years go by supports the thesis that the usage of these guns has become more widespread in recent years. 

         As the blank cartridge gun related injuries usually occur for suicide purposes or by accident, however it is reported that there has been an increase in usage of the modified ones for homicide purposes. Even though there is no information on the origin of 17 cases out of 35; among the cases for which the origin has been reported the numbers suicides and homicides (8 and 9 respectively) were close.

         According to the results of the shooting distance evaluation; shots from adjacent/ almost adjacent distances are the most (24 cases), in one case a firing from a far distance was reported and in 3 cases the shot was fired from a close range. It was found remarkable that a very close range was preferred in gunshots from blank firing weapons, which have been modified to use metal pins, as well as gunshots from ones without any modifications in order to cause fatal injuries.

When the injury pattern caused by unmodified blank firing guns is observed it was determined that the energy density of gas pressure and the high temperature caused by the exploding gas volume results in wounds in muscle tissues. In addition, this mass of gas fired from a close range has the physical properties of a bullet and impression fractures have also been observed. It has been determined that gunshots from unmodified blank firing guns by placing them on to the neck or thorax cause injuries which can be lethal.  It was pointed out that adjacent or almost adjacent shots can also cause bone structures. In such shots mandibular fractures, costal fractures and impression fractures on the skull have been reported.  It was determined thatinshots with skull localizationthe temporal area, which is a thinner bone area, was preferred. The thickness of bones in adults does not exceed 2-3 mm in this area. In suicides using firearms the most preferred place of shooting is the right temporal area. It is remarkable that this is also true for suicides using blank guns. In our cases, when we evaluated the localization of the entry region we determined that out of 26 shots, 9 shots hit the chest, 3 shots hit the extremity and one  hit the inguinal area. It was determined that half of the entry lesions in cranium were localized in right temporal. This was found to be in line with the data provided in literature.

In the expert reports on the cases by the Police Criminal Department, it was reported that the guns used were modified by removing the piece inside the barrel that acts as a barrier to prevent from the usage of firearm cartridges and by using homemade cartridges, i.e. by placing suitable metal pin on the nozzle and during the trial shots it was determined that the weapons fired these kinds of cartridges and thus the fact that the cases were modified  blank cartridge gun related death cases was supported with ballistic examination findings.

The gas pressure formed during the firing of the cartridge causes the items placed at the end of the barrel to be fired quickly to the target; and thus these items become bullets which cause fatal injuries. As a result of spherical metal pins fired this way, fatal traumas happen

Rabl and Ark in a study blank cartridge gun related death cases placed a material of 15 mm. size and approx.  1.25 gram weight at the end of the barrel of a 9mm. unmodified blank gun by using wax and determined that they were fired at a high speed of 230 m/sand that this act formed an energy of more 33 J. Postmortem trials showed that firing of standard blank cartridges using unmodified blank guns result in penetration of these materials in the skull as well as brain damage.

To conclude; we believe adoption of legal arrangements is necessary  for blank firing guns, which can cause lethal injuries without modification and can be converted into an ideal tool of homicide ready to fire hand-made pins with a simple intervention.

¹ T.C.Adalet Bakanlığı, Adli Tıp Kurumu, Esekapı/İstanbul

² İstanbul Üniversitesi Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi, Adli Tıp A.D, Cerrahpaşa/İstanbul

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Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Police Chief Fahrettin GÖNBE and Police Ofiicer Gökser KOR from the Homicide Bureau of the Istanbul Police Department for their valuable contribution in obtaining the weapon and cartridge expertise reports on the cases.