ZAKAZYWANIE A KONTROLOWANIE - STUDIUM PORÓWNAWCZE UWARUNKOWAŃ DOSTĘPU DO BRONI PALNEJ I ICH IMPLIKACJI DLA BEZPIECZEŃSTWA
PROHIBITION VS CONTROL - A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS TO FIREARMS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR SECURITY

Summary/Abstract: Access to firearms remains one of the most frequently contested issues in public, academic andlegislative discourses across the world. Mass shootings, in particular, often contribute to the securitisationof the debate and prompt intensified political controversies over the regulation of firearm ownership andpossession. The subject of this study comprises the conditions governing access to firearms in relationto public safety and policy regimes. The aim of the research is to investigate the relationship betweenlegal regulations on firearm access, sociocultural conditions and the maintenance of public order andsecurity in selected countries. Against the backdrop of a growing number of firearm-related incidents andmounting social tensions, this study seeks to identify correlations between different patterns of legal andsociocultural regulation and the ability of the state to safeguard its citizens. The main research problemfocuses on a quasi-explanatory question: To what extent may conditions for accessing firearms be relatedto the state’s ability to provide security and stability to its population? A quasi-explanatory hypothesiswas formulated: there is a relationship between societal norms regulating access to firearms and thelevel of both perceived and actual security within a state. The study is correlational in nature and is basedon a non-reactive desk research method. Quantitative-frequency statistical data were described, anda qualitative context analysis of sociocultural conditions was performed. The article also presents a reportfrom a review of the research landscape and a content validity check of a survey on access to firearmsconducted with a group of university students in Poland. The results confirm the relationship outlined in thehypothesis. Additionally, significant differences were identified in the perception of guns as an instrumentof defence, a symbol of social status or a potential threat to communal stability. The conclusions suggestthe need for a more nuanced policy approach that considers cultural and social conditions. The reviewof the research landscape indicates that possession of firearms constitutes a complex phenomenon withmultiple dimensions, legal, political, sociocultural, psychological, security, which collectively influencepolicy outcomes and the stability of the political order.

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