What Is the Crime of Carrying an Unlicensed Weapon?
What is the Crime of Carrying an Unlicensed Weapon?
A weapon carrying license refers to the permission granted by administrative units for the carrying of firearms. Every individual who wishes to carry a weapon must obtain a weapon carrying license. Those who possess a weapon without obtaining a weapon carrying license are subject to criminal sanctions under Article 13 of Law No. 6136. Furthermore, in addition to the weapon carrying license itself, the expiration and failure to renew an existing weapon carrying license are also subject to criminal penalties. According to the law and the relevant regulation, the duration of a weapon carrying license is 5 years.
How to Obtain a Weapon Carrying License Under the Provisions of Law No. 6136?
Persons who may obtain a weapon carrying license are listed in Article 7 of Law No. 6136. These individuals must apply for a license by collecting the necessary documents determined by the Ministry. In order to obtain this document, it is mandatory for the applicant to prove with a doctor's report that there is no psychological, neurological, or physical objection to them carrying a weapon.
What is the Penalty for Carrying an Unlicensed Weapon?
Under Law No. 6136, the penalty for the crime of having an unlicensed weapon shall be determined according to the specific case. The types of penalties to be imposed for the crime of carrying an unlicensed weapon vary as follows: imprisonment from 1 year to 3 years, a judicial fine from 30 days to 100 days; imprisonment from 5 years to 8 years in the case of carrying more serious types of weapons; and a judicial fine from 500 days to 5,000 days in the case of carrying more serious types of weapons.
What is the Crime of Possessing an Unlicensed Weapon at Home?
Possessing an unlicensed weapon refers to keeping the weapons specified in the relevant Law and Regulation for personal needs despite not having a weapon possession license. This behavior, which constitutes a crime, is regulated in Article 13, paragraph 3 of Law No. 6136, and provides for the punishment of keeping one unlicensed weapon at home or at a workplace. Accordingly, a person who keeps an unlicensed weapon at home or at a workplace shall be sentenced to imprisonment from one to two years and a judicial fine from twenty-five to one hundred days.
What is the Crime and Penalty for Purchasing or Carrying Unlicensed Ammunition?
Legal weapon owners, that is, holders of weapon carrying or possession licenses, purchase a certain amount of ammunition annually according to their needs. However, in accordance with Article 9 of the Law, it is prohibited to transfer these bullets, like the weapons themselves, to anyone other than those who hold a license. The purchase, carrying, or possession of ammunition by anyone other than those with a legal weapon license is defined as a crime under Article 13 of Law No. 6136. The first paragraph of the article regulates the possession, purchase, and carrying of an unusual amount of ammunition. In this case, imprisonment from one to three years and a judicial fine from thirty to one hundred days are stipulated. If an ordinary amount of ammunition is kept at home or at a workplace, imprisonment from one to two years and a judicial fine from twenty-five to one hundred days are imposed. In the event of possessing, purchasing, or carrying an alarming amount of ammunition in terms of number and quality, the penalty to be imposed is determined according to Article 13, paragraph 2. In this case, imprisonment from five to eight years and a judicial fine from five hundred to five thousand days shall be sentenced. Carrying or possessing a very small amount of ammunition for firearms requires imprisonment for up to six months and a judicial fine for up to one hundred days.
What is the Penalty for the Crime of Carrying, Purchasing, or Possessing More Than One Unlicensed Weapon?
The penalty for the act of carrying or purchasing one or more weapons and the crime of possessing more than one weapon is regulated in the same paragraph. Accordingly, the penalty for the crime of carrying or purchasing one or more weapons and the crime of possessing more than one weapon is imprisonment from 1 to 3 years and a judicial fine from 30 to 100 days (Law No. 6136, Article 13/1).
In the event that the weapons are alarming in terms of number or quality, the penalty to be imposed on the perpetrator is imprisonment from 5 to 8 years and a judicial fine from 500 to 5,000 days (Law No. 6136, Article 13/2).
If the carried, purchased, or possessed weapon is a rifle, or a fully automatic or scoped pistol or similar that can fire many rounds in a short time and effectively, the penalty for the crime is imprisonment from 5 to 8 years and a judicial fine from 500 to 5,000 days (Law No. 6136, Article 13/2).
What are the Judicial Fine, Suspension of the Announcement of the Verdict, and Postponement in the Crime of Unlicensed Weapon Purchase, Carrying, and Possession?
According to the penalty determined for the type of crime, the judicial fine is applied either together with the imposed prison sentence or alone. The prison sentence imposed for this type of crime cannot be converted into a judicial fine. Even if the judge does not convert the prison sentence into a judicial fine, they may impose only a judicial fine on the person in the articles regulated alternatively.
In the crimes of purchasing an unlicensed weapon, possessing an unlicensed weapon, and carrying an unlicensed weapon, a decision for the suspension of the announcement of the verdict can be made if the conditions are met according to the penalty given. The decision of suspension of the announcement of the verdict is the completion of the sentence imposed on the person within the probation period. With the fulfillment of the conditions given during the probation period, the sentence decision is lifted in such a way that it has no consequences and the case is dropped. In the crimes of purchasing an unlicensed weapon, possessing an unlicensed weapon, and carrying an unlicensed weapon; the sentence may be postponed if the conditions are met according to the penalty given. The postponement of the sentence is the non-execution of the prison sentence imposed as a result of the trial under certain conditions.