How to legally become a gun owner?

Answered by Major of Militia Vitaly Evgenievich Garbul, Senior Inspector for Permitting Work of the Public Security Police Department of Postavy District Department of Internal Affairs.

The procedure for handling, using, and selling weapons in the Republic of Belarus is regulated by the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated November 13, 2001, No. 61-Z "On Weapons". According to the Law, weapons are divided into three categories: combat, service, and civilian.

Hunting weapons (smoothbore firearms, rifled firearms, combined; throwing; cold; signal; and pneumatic) belong to the category of civilian weapons.

To acquire a smoothbore hunting rifle, a citizen must be at least 18 years old, have no criminal record for intentional crimes involving the use or application of weapons, or committed while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs, and have no active administrative offenses (a list of which can be found in Article 14 of the Law). In addition, according to a medical report, the candidate must not have medical contraindications to owning weapons.

The issuance of a permit for the acquisition of hunting weapons is an administrative procedure and is strictly regulated by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 200 dated April 26, 2010, "On Administrative Procedures Carried Out by State Bodies and Other Organizations Based on Citizens' Applications."

When applying for a permit, you must have: a passport, a medical certificate of health (of the established form indicating the absence of diseases preventing weapon ownership), a state hunting license, two photographs measuring 30x40 mm, a document confirming payment (the fee charged for the administrative procedure is 1 basic unit for each civilian weapon).

At the same time, the future hunter must create conditions at their place of residence for storing weapons that ensure their safety, secure storage, and exclude access by unauthorized persons (as a rule, a safe or metal cabinet with a working lock, a box made of high-strength materials, or a wooden box covered with iron, securely fastened to one of the load-bearing structures of the room or heavy enough to be moved by one person, is installed). It is recommended to equip premises where hunting weapons are stored with technical means of security alarm systems with an alarm signal output to the Department of Protection console (for owners of rifled hunting firearms, the presence of security alarm systems is mandatory).

With the above list of conditions and documents, an application will be accepted, which will be reviewed within no more than 15 working days. The issued permit will be valid for six months, with the possibility of extending it for another six months.

After acquiring a weapon, it must be registered within ten days. The registration procedure will be explained when the weapon acquisition permit is issued.

For questions related to weapon circulation, you can contact the permitting system of the Postavy District Department of Internal Affairs during reception hours: Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday – from 08:00 to 13:00; Tuesday and Thursday – from 15:00 to 20:00, or by phone (802155)-31506.

For other questions concerning law enforcement activities, you can contact the district police inspector, including during citizen reception hours weekly on Wednesdays at the premises of public law enforcement points (from 17:00 to 20:00 at the Postavy District Department of Internal Affairs; from 10:00 to 13:00 at rural executive committees).