The Sri Lankan government has issued a gun confiscation directive requiring all people with firearms and a permit to possess them for self-defense to turn the firearms, ammunition, and permits they possess to the military authorities. The firearms must be surrendered by November 7, 2024. From dailynews.lk:

The Ministry of Defense has decided to temporarily take back all firearms and ammunition issued to civilians for self defense.

According to the powers vested on the Defense Secretary by Section 6 (1) and 6 (2) of the 1916 Firearms Act No. 33, these firearms and ammunition issued to civilians for self defense are being retrieved to conduct a review on them and to consider on returning them back after the conclusion of the review.

“All license holders must return their firearms and ammunition to the government’s Commercial Explosives Storage Facility in Welisara before November 07, 2024”, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement issued.

Sri Lanka’s government does not acknowledge any private property rights to firearms.

Historically, “temporary” orders requiring people to turn in firearms tend to last for years, decades, or forever. The order does not extend to firearms “issued” for property protection, crop protection, or sports activities. From onlanka.com:

Additionally, it is clarified that this directive does not apply to firearms issued by the Ministry of Defence for property protection, crop protection, or sports activities.

The issuance of permits in Sri Lanka is arbitrary and subjective. Permits may be withdrawn at any time, at the whim of the Secretary or the Minister. The Minister may exempt any person or class of persons from the requirement to turn in firearms and permits. Members of Parliament have been deemed eligible for permits to have pistols. They are now deemed eligible to have “repeater” firearms as well.  The article does not define repeater firearms. From onlanka.com: 

The Ministry stated that, in addition to the currently issued pistol, it has decided to provide MPs with repeater firearms for their safety.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Defense has informed the Secretary-General of Parliament that all 225 MPs are eligible to receive these weapons.

The Secretary-General of Parliament, Mrs. Kushani Anusha Rohanadeera, mentioned that so far approximately five MPs have applied for repeater firearms.

Sri Lanka devolved into civil war and authoritarian rule in the 1980’s. Today, the only people who legally have permits to own guns for defense are people who had considerable political influence. The current order shows those in power fear the few people they previously trusted.

Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed in 2022, with the central government forbidding the importation of fertilizer, to comply with “green mandates”. Widespread hardship and hunger were the result. President Rajapaksa was driven from power by popular uprisings. From foreignpolicy.com:

But when it comes to agricultural practices and yields, there is no free lunch. Agricultural inputs—chemicals, nutrients, land, labor, and irrigation—bear a critical relationship to agricultural output. From the moment the plan was announced, agronomists in Sri Lanka and around the world warned that agricultural yields would fall substantially. The government claimed it would increase the production of manure and other organic fertilizers in place of imported synthetic fertilizers. But there was no conceivable way the nation could produce enough fertilizer domestically to make up for the shortfall.

The horrors in Sri Lanka are a classic case of disaster imposed by unchecked government power and central planning by directive.

The laws against firearms possession in Sri Lanka are a gun controller’s wish list. In a previous article in AmmoLand, the essential equivalence of registration and confiscation was explored in depth. Gun registration assumes the government has the authority to determine who may posses what gun at any time.

The Second Amendment guarantees that the People control the government, not the other way around. Sri Lanka has joined a long list of governments that confirm the truth: “Gun Registration is Gun Confiscation.” Registration of firearms directly conflicts with the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.