A parliamentary main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker criticized the Interior Ministry’s decision to increase the right to bullet possession for civilians on March 17.
Mehmet Tüm brought the issue of the increase in the right to bullet possession for civilians from 200 to 1000 annually to the agenda of Turkish Parliament.
Tüm asked a parliamentary question to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on March 17.
“The Interior Ministry is attempting to take this danger even further, instead of controlling individual armament. Today in Turkey, weapons can be bought from the internet. With these weapons, murders are committed every day. In such an environment, the Interior Ministry’s decision to increase the right to bullet possession would cause more crime and more murders,” Tüm said during a speech in Turkish Parliament.
“Why don’t you start working on limiting individual armament? Why are you still not blocking the online sale of weapons in the country?” the lawmaker also asked the Interior Ministry.
"What is the reason for the increase in the right to bullet possession by five times? Has any work been done on the hazards that 1000 bullets could create in terms of country security? Why is there no work on restricting the sale and use of firearms?” Tüm also asked.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Principal Consultant Şeref Malkoç had stated that they would take steps to remove the difficulties preventing the citizens from purchasing guns. He had said, “The people should be provided with gun licences to practice their right to self-defence against coup attempters.”
Following attempted coup on July 15, 2016, pro-government Islamist newspapers promoted individual armament with front-page ads. Abdurrahman Dilipak, a prominent Islamist columnist, advocated gun permits, saying, “If someone is shooting at me, would I reply by screaming slogans?”
Umut Foundation, founded in 1993 for the cause of individual disarmament, released a report in 2017 that shows a 7%-increase in individual armament, and that 160.000 crimes involved unlicensed.
On March 14, Interior Ministry issued a circular letter to allow civilians to possess from 200 to 1000 bullets annually.
Meanwhile, Turkish justice minister Abdülhamit Gül said he had no information about the recent circular letter on March 17 during an interview.
