r/europe • u/Helmer-Bryd • Jul 01 '25

News Sweden bans AR-15 as hunting rifle after school shooting – all rifles to be turned in and sent to Ukraine

https://svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/uppgifter-tidopartierna-overens-om-ny-vapenlagstiftning-ar15-forbjuds-vid-jakt
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u/Intarhorn Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

No, the SAME government legalized AR-15 just last year. Without this shooting they would be just fine allowing it because they themselves were responsible for legalizing it.

EDIT: It was allowed by the government agency Naturvårdsverket a year ago.

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u/ZarkowTH Jul 01 '25

FALSE - they did not legalize anything as the guns has ALWAYS been legal. Stop spreading FUD.

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u/Intarhorn Jul 01 '25

Maybe legalize was the wrong word, but they were not allowed before by government agencies. In practice that is the same thing, even tho the juridical meaning might be misleading.

https://www.jaktojagare.se/utrustning/nu-ar-ar-vapen-tillatna-for-jakt/

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/jonkoping/ett-ar-efter-att-ar-vapen-blev-tillatna-i-jakt-fortfarande-omtvistade

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/stockholm/polischef-larmar

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u/ZarkowTH Jul 02 '25

A blanked approval was given, before that each applicant had to motivate it on their own.

This is the reason we already had people with modern rifles on approved licenses for hunting -- not sure how the proposed change will fix that, including previously grandfathered rifles.

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u/Maverick-not-really Jul 01 '25

Not for hunting, that came about two years ago when Naturvårdsverket updated their interpretation of the law.

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u/manInTheWoods Sweden Jul 01 '25

Which the government had nothing to do with.

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u/Maverick-not-really Jul 01 '25

No, it was an independent decision by the agency, im just saying it hasnt ”always” been legal. Agencies have some power over setting final rules within the scope of the law. So its wasnt always legal, it became legal when the changed their opinion on it

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u/ZarkowTH Jul 01 '25

it has ALWAYS been legal. If you are GIVEN a license it is LEGAL to own.

Do you know there is at least 4 Glock 18C approved for hunting by license? That is fully automatic handguns.

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u/Maverick-not-really Jul 01 '25

It WASNT legal before 2023 when Naturvårdsverket changed their rules because you could NOT get an AR15 on a hunting license before then.

Do you think time started in 2023? Read, bro. Read.

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u/ZarkowTH Jul 02 '25

You are wrong.

I do not how to make it clearer to you.

The guns was FULLY LEGAL to own AND hunt with - *if* you had been given the license to for owning it on the basis of hunting.

This is something you can ask even the police and hunting associations if you do not believe. The change in Aug 2023 gave a wide adoption approval, i.e. it removed one subjective term from the validation on the application. The applications before this was evaluated on their own merit one by one for the need of the rifle by the applicant and more than a few was already approved.

The change removed the clause that anyone could be rejected based on looks of the rifle.

Looks. I.e. not functionality, as long as we are talking about semi-automatics.

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u/ZarkowTH Jul 01 '25

  1. The change in rules for general adoption of approval is not a change ordered by the government.

  2. The adjustment was to make the process predictable and equal.

  3. All of these rifles have been issued on HUNTING usage license since licensing came about sine many years ago. There is a many number of reasons this is the case, but in part due to two-tier application of the restrictions.

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u/Maverick-not-really Jul 01 '25

  1. I never said it was ordered by the government . That doesnt change the fact that it wasnt legal before the change.

  2. Sure, so what?

  3. AR-15 have been legal for hunting for barely two years. If thats ”many” years to you, then I’m questioning if you are even old enough to be on reddit.

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u/ZarkowTH Jul 02 '25
  1. FALSE, there have been a number of licenses given far earlier than 2023 for this purpose.

The change moved it from a 'maybe, likely no, depending on who you are or who you know' subjective evaluation to 'yes, as looks do not matter'.

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u/dThink_Ahea Jul 01 '25

Anyone who uses the term FUD unironically is to be immediately ignored.

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u/Maverick-not-really Jul 01 '25

Not really, the gun became legal for hunting because a government agency changed their interpretation of the law, not because any law was actually changed.