Rubber bullet weapon shortage: Hungarians preparing for self-defence

Although strict regulations in Hungary prevent us from buying up weapons in bulk – as is the case in the US – in the run-up to a crisis, non-lethal self-defence weapons have been selling fast since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

The Hungarian news portal növekedés.hu looked into what is legally available and for how much, and also found out which deadly weapons can be bought without papers. As the news portal reports, it is a well-known trend in the United States that when the population fears a crisis, gun sales spike.

In Hungary (and in the whole of Europe), the rules on access to firearms are much stricter. However, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic – and the panic that came with it – has already shown that when the public’s sense of security plummets, the purchase of available self-defence equipment is on the rise. The purchase of weapons that can be held without a licence has started.

Many non-lethal weapons have been purchased

At the same time, 300,000 of these gas alarm pistols, which are unsuitable for killing people, have already been purchased. This is only an estimate, as they are only recorded in police statistics if the owner applies for a licence to carry (and does not only want to keep the weapon at home).

What a gun shop offers for self-defence to a customer who has no licence or training is a simple and quite cheap gas or pepper spray. It can be an efficient tool in even the most inexperienced hands. Basically, its use and operation is no different from that of an ordinary deodorant or air freshener.

• Read also: Orbán’s mixed races speech: the Hungarian Academy of Sciences appalled