AK-47 legal status

The legal status of the AK-47 varies in different localities.

In Australia

In Australia, the purchase of semi-automatic centrefire rifles has been effectively banned since 1996 (and fully-automatic firearms since the 1930s in most parts of the country), and therefore AK rifles, even in semi-automatic form, are not allowed. After the bans on certain pistols in 2003, pistol and straight pull versions of the AK were declared illegal to possess, import or attempt to purchase. The only way for an individual in Australia to legally own a Kalashnikov rifle is to have a Firearm Collector's Licence and the firearm deactivated by having the rifle's action welded up and the barrel plugged or permanently restricted to blank-fire. Some states allow collectors to own working fully-automatic variants and fire them at organized events.

In Canada

In Canada since January 1 1995, the AK-47 and its variants are prohibited under the "Prohibited Weapons Order, No. 13". [cite book |last = Department of Justice Canada |authorlink = Department of Justice Canada |title = Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited or Restricted (SOR/98-462) |date = 1998-12-01 |chapter = Part 1. Section 64. |chapterurl = http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cr/SOR-98-462/bo-ga:s_7::sc:1/20070529/en?page=2&isPrinting=false#codesc:1-bo-ga:l_1-gb:s_64-se:64 |accessdate=2007-05-29] Exceptions to this are the Valmet Hunter, the Valmet Hunter Auto, and the Valmet M78 rifles which are based on the AK action. [Cite web |title=List of Restricted and Prohibited Firearms |url=http://www.cfc-cafc.gc.ca/factsheets/r&p_e.asp. |accessdate=2007-05-29 |publisher=Royal Canadian Mounted Police] This order created a new class of prohibited firearms in Canada (class 12.5). This classification makes the AK and its variants ordinarily illegal for purchase, acquisition, or import. Individuals in Canada who possessed and registered those firearms before January 1, 1995 were "grandfathered" into this class and thus can continue to possess (and under some circumstances acquire) the AK-47 and its variants. [Cite book |last=Department of Justice Canada |title=Firearm Act (1995, c. 39) |origdate=1995-12-05 |chapter=Section 12. Schedule 5. Grandfathered individuals — Prohibited Weapons Order, No. 13 |chapterurl=http://www.canlii.org/ca/as/1995/c39/sec12.html |accessdate=2007-05-29]

In Europe

Much of Western Europe has enacted comprehensive national firearms laws which prevent the lawful ownership of AK or variants thereof. The United Kingdom, for instance, has outlawed, through the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, semi-automatic centrefire rifles. It is possible to lawfully own AK derivatives in the UK provided they have been produced as "Manual Straight Pull" rifles which need to be manually cocked after each shot, although there is no restriction on magazine capacity. This involves a modification to the weapon to essentially remove the gas system by permanently closing the gas port above the barrel (may also involve the removal of the gas piston).

Nonetheless, illegal AK rifles occasionally reach the hands of criminals and have been used by Irish Republican and Ulster Loyalist rebel groups in Northern Ireland. The Provisional IRA received a substantial quantity of Romanian AKMs from Libya in the 1970s and 1980s.

In Norway it is forbidden for civilians to possess any form of fully automatic firearm unless a special permit is issued. [no icon [http://www.lovdata.no/for/sf/jd/td-19630125-9722-004.html#2-8 Forskrift om skytevåpen, våpendeler og ammunisjon, section 2-8] ] Similar laws are in force throughout most of Europe. Fully automatic weapons are either explicitly or effectively outlawed in most European countries, including Russia.

In Mexico

In Mexico, the possession of the AK-47 or any of its variants by civilians is outlawed. The Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives in its Article 11 [LEY FEDERAL DE ARMAS DE FUEGO Y EXPLOSIVOS Article 11 http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/106/13.htm?s=] prohibits the civilian possession of this category of weapon and cartridge (lawful use of a military-style firearm using a military caliber intended round is restricted to the Mexican Army), However, the AK-47, is well known in the country as the "Cuerno de Chivo" (Spanish for "ram's horn"), in clear reference to the curved form of the magazine. [cite web|url=http://www.condorpictures.com/CP-001.htm|title=www.condorpictures.com/CP-001.htm |accessdate=2007-06-01]

In New Zealand

New Zealand gun laws do not treat the AK-47 differently to any other firearm. Full-auto versions are prohibited, except for collectors with a special endorsement, but semi-automatic versions are legal, although if they qualify as a Military-Style Semi-Automatic they require a special permit.

In the United States

Private ownership of fully automatic AK-pattern rifles is strictly regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. The Gun Control Act of 1968 ceased the import of foreign-manufactured fully automatic firearms for civilian sales and possession.

In 1986, an amendment to the Firearm Owners Protection Act stopped all future domestic manufacturing of fully automatic weapons for civilian use (non-military/non-LEO). Fully automatic weapons are still manufactured in the US for military and law enforcement use. However, automatic firearms manufactured domestically prior to 1986 or imported prior to 1968 may be transferred between civilians in accordance with federal and state law. A number of Soviet and PRC rifles were brought into the U.S. during the mid-1960s, when returning Vietnam veterans brought them home after capture from enemy troops. Some of these were properly registered during the amnesty period under the 1968 NFA law.

Semi-automatic AK-type rifles, however, are legal and obtainable in most states of the United States. The 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban restricted the sale, transfer and possession of AK-47s and many other assault weapons manufactured after 1994, unless modified to the letter of the law (removal of barrel threading and bayonet lug). This ban expired in 2004, making all domestically produced semi-automatic AK-47s legal. The import of AK pattern rifles is still banned. However, certain states such as California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts have specific restrictions which effectively ban new purchases of many semi-automatic rifles, with some mentioning AK-pattern firearms by name.

References