gradually made even more stringent. Inrnresponse to communist terrorism in thern1970’s, a variety of laws were passed torndisarm law-abiding people. More recentrnamendments have forced those desiring arnfirearms permit to demonstrate a “necessity”rnand to give the government extremelyrnpersonal information, such asrnmedical certificates.rnIn the United States, at the annualrnGun Rights Policy Conference (run byrnthe Second Amendment Foundation),rndelegates habitually adopt a “NATOrnDoctrine” resolution, whereby an attackrnon one form of gun ownership is consideredrnto be an attack on all. This resolution,rnand the consciousness behind it,rnmean that practitioners of obscure shootingrndisciplines (e.g., .50-caliber longrangerntarget shooting) can count on energeticrnsupport from the full spectrum ofrngun owners.rnItalian gun owners, however, rarely defendrna comprehensive right to bear armsrnbut focus narrowly on the interests ofrntheir particular shooting discipline.rnHunting groups do not support gun ownershiprnfor target shooting or for self-defense.rnTarget shooters ignore the rights ofrnhunters. And almost no one discusses thernmost important element of the right tornbear arms: the duty of a free people to resistrntyranny. Supposedly, a civilizedrnWestern republic would never lapse intorntyranny —although Italy did so underrnMussolini and the Caesars.rnBut there are signs of a growing solidarityrnamong some gun owners. The AssociazionernDifesa del Cacciatore {www.adica.rnnet) is a pro-hunting group that alsornadvocates the right to keep and bear armsrnfor self-defense. The group’s president, attorneyrnMauro Cecchetti, argues that:rnItalian hunters should immediatelyrntake what was stolen from them:rntheir sacred and inviolable right tornfreedom of hunting, freedom tornown and carry guns for hunting activity,rnfor sports . . . for personal andrnhome defense.rnLeonardo Facco owns a publishingrnfirm {www.libertari.org) in Treviglio. Hernhas published such libertarian authors asrnMurray N. Rothbard, Hans-HermannrnHoppe, and Carlo Lottieri, who arguernthat an armed citizenry is insurancernagainst tyranny. A new book by Lottieri,rnII pensiero libertario contemporaneo (Macerata:rnLiberilibri) offers a history of libertarianrnthought that explains that, withoutrnthe right to self-defense, there are nornrights at all. Publisher Facco promises:rn”My intention is to promote pro-gun theoriesrn—and the widest knowledge of gvmrnfacts.”rnEven on the political side, somethingrnis developing. Prof Antonio Martino ofrnthe Forza Italia movement {www.forzaitalia.rnit) is a noted conservative whornserved as foreign minister in 1994, underrnthe first Berlusconi administration. Hernhas been appointed defense minister inrnthe new Berlusconi government, and hernendorses private gun ownership:rnEven though I am not armed, Irnstrongly oppose the regulations inrnforce, which disarm only honestrncitizens, not criminals. Such arnnear-prohibition on gun ownershiprnis harmful and anti-liberty. It alsornis a good example of the damagerncaused by the idea of a “crime ofrndanger”—a victimless crime—anrnidea which is a real aberration, butrnwhich is spreading and thus eatingrnaway our own liberties.rnProfessor Martino is also a strong critic ofrnthe militarization of law enforcement.rnThe Forza Italia has no official positionrnon guns, and, as defense minister.rnProfessor Martino plays no direct role inrncrafting gun policy. But his statementsrnhelp grm owners exit the ghetto in whichrnstatist culture has confined them.rnLikewise, while the Lega Nord {www.rnleganord.org) has no official position onrnguns, Cesare Galli, a member and arnprominent intellectual-property lawyer,rnpromoted a petition in his hometown ofrnBrescia to ask for stronger public-safetyrnmeasures, including the right of honestrncitizens to keep and bear arms:rnThe right of the people to defendrnthemselves should be granted; suchrna goal can be pursued only by givingrnthem the opportunity to bernarmed. The government can’t legitimatelyrnprevent people fromrnowning firearms, leaving themrntherefore helpless in the face ofrncriminals.rnAnother Lega Nord member, CiancarlornPagliarini—a member of parliamentrnand a fomier budget minister—oftenrnsays that, “If one gets in other people’srnhouses without their consent, one is lookingrnfor a bullet.”rnWill Italy reform its statist, pro-criminalrngun laws? That the question has evenrnbecome the subject of serious politicalrndebate is a measure of how much Berlusconirnhas changed the political dialogue.rnDave Kopel is the research director ofrnthe Independence Institute (wTvw.i2i.org).rnCarlo Stagnaro is a freelance journalistrnin Italy and coeditor of the libertarianrnreview Enclave.rnSTATEMENT OFrnOWNERSHIPrnSt^»iiiwil of Omrah^p, *l»n^«niwit. andrn’1 •nki IMluillllii i^ftmuii m r i l l . l 1 0| 7j3 |r ] . ]0, B| £{ C| ci!S*mi!»’rn_â„¢ ,,_ ,7″”* i JTirn. , . « . « « « « . , « . » – » » – , p . » « ^ . , »rn.i^’crKsa^:^— ” ” ” ” ” • ” * ‘ • ” ” “rn^5^!.’??:_ -rn….._rn’ â„¢|^;:2^^2-.s:?’;s;^r” ^rn•rn_ • „ _ . _ _ _ _ ._.. ___.rnK^V”H:-I——”-rn— -rn’–“-rn..^-.rn• ” • ” ” ” ” • ” ^ – J=i”^-~rne.6CBrn^-rn’ ‘^’i^sr:-^^^’ • • •=»rn3 S – c, « – , _ « « – » – » . 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