Parliament doubles penalty of those who fire into air
Parliament on Thursday approved an urgent draft law doubling the penalty of illegal shooting into the air, which was proposed by MP Ashraf Baydoun.
The development comes days after dozens of people were arrested for firing into the air during the country’s municipal elections.
Celebratory gunfire that erupted Sunday in the wake of north Lebanon’s municipal elections had wounded several people, including LBCI reporter Nada Andraous, and a child who was critically wounded.
The army meanwhile issued a statement announcing the arrest of 35 people suspected of firing in the air after the elections. It also said that it seized arms and ammunition and that are efforts were underway to arrest more suspects.
Whether it's joy, political passion or grief, for many Lebanese, there's only one way to show it: by lifting a gun and firing off rounds into the air.
But the deadly practice, a tradition in many Arab countries, has been largely condemned in recent years following a spate of deaths and serious injuries in incidents involving indiscriminate gunfire.
Officially, celebratory gunfire is illegal in Lebanon, where firearm ownership remains widespread more than three decades after the end of its 1975-1990 civil war.
A 1959 law stated "anyone firing in residential areas or in a crowd, whether their gun is licensed or not" faces up to three years in prison or a fine.
Source: Naharnet
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