The murder of taxi driver Oğuz Erge by Delil Aysal brings the issue to the forefront: The 'license' crisis in firearms

Armed violence incidents in Turkey show no signs of stopping.

As individual armament increases rapidly, the killing of taxi driver Oğuz Erge, who was shot by Delil Aysal—a passenger he had picked up in his vehicle—in İzmir, has brought the issue of individual armament in Turkey back to the agenda.

According to a report by Meltem Güneş from Milliyet, Dr. Ayhan Akcan, a psychiatry specialist and board member of the Umut Foundation, which conducts work against individual armament, stated that there is a 5 percent increase in both the number of incidents committed with firearms and the demand for firearms in Turkey every year.

Akcan drew attention to the number of unlicensed firearms in Turkey, where 2,500 people were killed last year.

ONLY 4 MILLION ARE LICENSED

Pointing out that individual armament is increasing due to the lack of deterrent penalties and the prevalence of many social problems, Akcan provided the following information:

“According to the data we compiled from crime reports, 2,500 people lost their lives as a result of individual armament in 2023. There are 34-35 million firearms in Turkey; 4 million of these are licensed, while 30 million are unlicensed. There is a demand for unlicensed ones because you don't have to deal with paperwork, there are no fee payments, and there is no registration. When they commit a crime, they don't want it to be known that they possess a weapon.”

News Source: 12punto