ABHA: Preparations are underway to open three gun shops in the south of the Kingdom following a recent Interior Ministry decision to relax the law on the sale of arms.
The shops are being opened under the supervision of Baha Gov. Prince Muhammad bin Saud, said Mishaal Sawadi, director of the Department of Guns and Ammunitions at the region’s Governorate’s Office.
According to recent Interior Ministry rules, prospective gun shop owners should be at least 25 years old with no criminal records and in possession of a bank guarantee of SR500,000.
Sawadi said prospective applicants should have suitable places where they could store arms and possess official approval to import weapons. He also said that workers at such shops should be Saudis, in possession of documents indicating that they have been trained to buy and sell arms, and well-versed in laws governing the sale of firearms.
He said people wishing to possess firearms should be no less than 21, medically fit and well behaved. He added that the issuing of gun licenses is on hold at present until gun shops open.
Sawadi said that under regulations issued by the Interior Ministry in 2006, gun licenses were the sole responsibility of the police. Those regulations — which governed the opening of gun shops, gun repair workshops and shooting clubs -— authorized the police to cease arms in case of criminal cases and refer the matter to the Prosecution and Investigation Board.
If firearms used in a crime were licensed, then the case would be referred to the Governorate’s Sanctions Committee, or else to the Court of Grievances.
Sawadi said his department is authorized to deal with all matters relating to the use of firearms except the issuance of licenses which would be dealt with by the police.
He added that the new regulations controlling the sales of firearms have decreased the smuggling of arms.
Col. Abdullah Al-Qarni, spokesman for Asir police, said most people who carry firearms in the south do so as a fashion accessory and to show off their masculinity. “Firearms are available in a disorganized manner, but the regulations issued by the Interior Ministry have set the rules for the possession and carrying of arms,” he said.
He also said the police have been dealing with cases in which people were killed or injured using guns. “Some people do not know how to use the arms they carry while other use them to settle disputes,” he added.
