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Government bill · 20th Knesset · published as law 6 April 2016

חוק כלי הירייה (תיקון מס' 18), התשע"ו-2016Law of Firearms (Amendment No. 18), 2016 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Status: התקבלה בקריאה שלישית

Topics: Police and internal security* · * from the Knesset's official law classification

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

The Firearms Law, 1949, establishes, among other things, that the carrying of firearms by guards shall be limited to the scope of their employment and the area in which they are employed. The amendment to the Law makes three changes to this arrangement. The first two amendments clarify and sharpen the provisions of the existing law. First, in light of the lack of clarity regarding the term "area", it was clarified that the restriction on carrying firearms applies to the place and time period in which the guarding is carried out. Second, the firearms licensing officer was authorized to establish provisions regarding the taking of firearms for the purpose of guarding from the place where they are permanently stored, and their return to that same place. The third amendment stems from the security situation. Under this amendment, the Minister of Public Security will be authorized to direct that carrying firearms be permitted outside the time and place of guarding, for a limited time, for reasons of preserving public peace and security. At the same time, it was determined that the Minister's directive does not permit carrying firearms outside the time of guarding and outside the workplace for someone who has a police record concerning them regarding violent offenses, including domestic violence, or regarding a file closed due to lack of public interest, as well as for someone against whom there is another impediment for reasons of public peace and security.

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Hebrew original

חוק כלי הירייה, התש"ט-1949 קובע, בין היתר, כי נשיאת כלי הירייה על ידי שומרים תהיה מוגבלת למסגרת עיסוקם ולאזור בו הם מועסקים. התיקון לחוק עורך שלושה תיקונים בהסדר זה. שני התיקונים הראשונים מבהירים ומחדדים את הוראות החוק הקיים. ראשית, נוכח אי הבהירות בביטוי "אזור", הובהר כי ההגבלה על נשיאת כלי הירייה היא למקום ולפרק הזמן שבהם מתבצעת השמירה. שנית, פקיד רישוי כלי הירייה הוסמך לקבוע הוראות בעניין נטילת כלי הירייה לצורך השמירה מהמקום בו הם מאוחסנים דרך קבע, והחזרתם לאותו מקום. התיקון השלישי נגזר מהמצב הביטחוני. לפי תיקון זה, השר לביטחון הפנים יהיה רשאי להורות כי תותר נשיאה של כלי ירייה שלא בעת ובמקום ביצוע השמירה, לזמן מוגבל, מטעמים של שמירה על שלום הציבור וביטחונו. בצד זאת, נקבע כי בהוראת השר אין כדי להתיר נשיאת כלי ירייה שלא בעת ביצוע השמירה ומחוץ למקום העבודה למי שיש רישום משטרתי הנוגע לו, בשל עבירות אלימות ובכלל זה אלימות במשפחה, או בדבר תיק שנסגר בשל היעדר עניין לציבור, וכן בידי מי שיש לגביו מניעה אחרת לכך מטעמים של שלום הציבור וביטחונו.

Readings

What was said in the plenum

The bill amends the Firearms Ordinance to clarify the restriction on carrying weapons by guards to the place and time period during which the guarding is carried out, to authorize the licensing official to set instructions on the taking and return of firearms, and to allow the Minister of Public Security to permit security guards to carry weapons outside the time and place of guarding for reasons of public peace and security, subject to restrictions and disqualifications relating to violent offenses. The debate centered on whether expanding the possibility of carrying weapons in public spaces, against the backdrop of the wave of terrorism, increases security or endangers human life, particularly of women, due to risks of domestic violence and accidents.

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Hebrew original

הצעת החוק מתקנת את חוק כלי הירייה כך שתבהיר את ההגבלה על נשיאת נשק על-ידי שומרים למקום ולפרק הזמן שבהם מתבצעת השמירה, תסמיך את פקיד הרישוי לקבוע הוראות על נטילת והחזרת כלי הירייה, ותאפשר לשר לביטחון הפנים להתיר למאבטחים נשיאת נשק שלא בעת ובמקום השמירה מטעמי שמירה על שלום הציבור וביטחונו, בכפוף למגבלות ולמניעות הנוגעות לעברות אלימות. הדיון נסב על השאלה אם הרחבת האפשרות לשאת כלי נשק במרחב הציבורי, על רקע גל הטרור, מגבירה את הביטחון או מסכנת חיי אדם, ובפרט נשים, בשל סיכוני אלימות במשפחה ותאונות.

Arguments for

  • In the current security situation, there is an essential need for skilled and authorized individuals carrying weapons in public spaces in order to increase deterrence and security.
    Nachman Shai (Zionist Union)
  • The security reality has changed since the first reading, and therefore there is justification for supporting the law now even for those who opposed it in the past.
    Omer Barlev (Zionist Union)

Arguments against

  • More weapons in the civilian sphere actually lead to more accidents, suicides, and cases of murder and domestic violence, not to more security.
    Tamar Zandberg (Meretz), Dov Khenin (Joint List), Merav Michaeli (Zionist Union)
  • The distribution of weapons endangers women in particular, some of whom fear domestic violence, and the bill may worsen the sense of threat against them.
    Tamar Zandberg (Meretz), Aida Touma Sliman (Joint List)
  • Past experience shows that a policy of easing weapon carrying followed by renewed tightening repeats itself, because it has been proven that weapons in the civilian sphere kill and do not save.
    Tamar Zandberg (Meretz), Aida Touma Sliman (Joint List)
  • The solution to the security situation should be political rather than adding more weapons, which would only increase anarchy and harm innocent civilians.
    Dov Khenin (Joint List)
  • Allowing security guards to carry weapons and take them home, especially given the current public atmosphere, is a dangerous and tragic step that undermines public safety rather than strengthening it.
    Aida Touma Sliman (Joint List)
Who spoke (9)
MemberFactionReadingsSpeechesIn the final vote
Uri MaklevUnited Torah Judaism coalitionThird reading1for
Tamar ZandbergMeretz oppositionThird reading2against
Dov KheninJoint List oppositionThird reading1against
Aida Touma SlimanJoint List oppositionThird reading1against
Yousef JabareenJoint List oppositionThird reading2against
Osama SaadiJoint List oppositionThird reading4no record
Omer BarlevZionist Union oppositionThird reading1for
Merav MichaeliZionist Union oppositionThird reading1against
Nachman ShaiZionist Union oppositionThird reading1for

An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. Transcripts of the sittings: 1, 2 · write to the author

Reservations to the second reading

4 reservations were filed: proposed changes to the text the committee brought to the second and third reading.

The reservations are intended to increase oversight and restriction on the possession of firearms by those employed in security services, with the aim of preventing risk to women and children in the domestic sphere and protecting them from domestic violence.

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Hebrew original

ההסתייגויות נועדו להגביר את הפיקוח וההגבלה על החזקת כלי ירייה על ידי מועסקים בשירותי שמירה, במטרה למנוע סיכון לנשים וילדים במרחב הביתי ולהגן עליהם מפני אלימות במשפחה.

By faction

  • Joint List opposition · 4 reservations · 13 members
  • Meretz opposition · 4 reservations · 5 members
  • Zionist Union opposition · 3 reservations · 24 members

A joint reservation counts for every faction whose members filed it.

Who proposed what

Proposers and reservation numbers are extracted automatically from the committee version, and the count is checked against the numbers printed in it. The descriptions are an automatic summary. Committee version for the second and third reading (PDF) · write to the author

Reservations, sections and other votes (2)

In order. Votes on reservations and individual sections are shown separately from the vote on the bill as a whole.

Source: bill page in the Knesset legislation database ↗

Law of Firearms (Amendment No. 18), 2016 · How the Knesset Votes