The group said the country's current gun laws contradict Turkey's history of private gun ownership. The statement said illegal gun sales have burgeoned in Turkey because of the difficultly and high cost of obtaining guns legally under current laws.The group said there are two main factors that encourage people to purchase guns illegally in Turkey: the high costs involved in obtaining firearms licenses, which it said exceed most people's budgets, and overly expensive handguns. The group blamed difficult licensing procedures for the increasing number of illegally owned guns. The group called for the easing of restrictions on gun ownership.
According to data from the Umut Foundation, a gun control advocacy group, firearm ownership in Turkey has reached alarming figures in recent years, with the number of guns in the country estimated at 8 million, more than twice what it was seven years ago. According to current figures, 9 percent of the population owns a firearm.
As of late 2008, Turkey had approximately 2.5 million registered guns, while an estimated 5.5 million guns were believed to be unregistered. The number of individuals with access to a firearm in their family home was estimated at 40 million. Nearly 280,000 vehicles on Turkey's roads were said to have a gun stored in the glove compartment of their vehicles.
