Weapons laws in Poland. Carrying a concealed handgun?

because it is not part of the Polish culture - simple. Polish people don't need guns to solve problems and as Antek said, it would be dangerous since they might act irresponsibly.

Besides, Poland is much safer then the USA.

It's not about safety, it's about empowering the lowest elements of society.

that could be true for the US, but it would be a disaster in Poland - trust me. Besides, I can think of other ways of empowering the lowest elements of society:).

ItsAllAboutME,

You live in dreams and this makes it hard to accept very basic fact not conforming with your ideals.

1. The Polish Uprisings were always an organized form of military combat, having Government, authorities and military command.
2. In the uprisings of 1830 and 1863, the army was formed by the gentry who was in possession of arms and could afford production of more arms. Gentry was the militant class of the society. Only with Kościuszko's Uprising, peasants went to fight, using straightened scythes, under the command of gentry.



3. Solidarity won the Polish independence in 1989, completely unarmed.

Especially the last point is worth considering.

It is not right for law abiding citizens of Poland or any country to have their right of self defense and procurement of food (hunting) to be taken away just because a few people MAY committ acts of violence. There will always be crime, you can't prevent crime by taking away all weapons from all people because bad people will always find a loophole, or make their own weapons, or illegal import or smuggle them from neighbhoring countries...leaving unarmed law abiding citizens vulnerable. Plus the economy of Poland suffers. I know for certain that if Poland had a big firearms industry they could export them to United States and other countries and make lots of money. People in U.S. love guns and hunting and Poland could make a good profit from selling to U.S. customers.

Solidarity was unarmed, however it occured while a very pro democracy president of U.S. Ronald Reagan was president, he was very anti-russian, and also the Pope was behind solidarity so if anything happened to the protestors of Solidarity it's fair to say that U.S. would go support them and defend them from Russia. If solidarity occured at different time in history then Russia would have just killed all protestors or send them to labor camps.

@GrzegorzK

I really like your response. You got it.

@ Z_Darius
You say that defending yourself from the government is a hilarious argument for the right to bear arms.

I cannot speak for Poland, but it is a real concern in the United States.
In 1838 The State of Missouri called out the militia to wipe out an entire religious group because they had dared to try to defend themselves from mobs burning their homes and murdering their families. The governor's order declared that they "must be exterminated or driven from the State." For more information go here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Executive_Order_44

That is just one example. If the government came to slaughter and drive out my family, I sure as heck wouldn't just lay down and die. This has happened before in our country. There is a lot of blood on the American flag, even if most of my fellow citizens are ignorant of it.

Quite frankly I am somewhat surprised that Poland doesn't encourage a well-armed citizenry, given its history of invasion and their geographical vulnerability, and the way that Russia has been reasserting itself, such as its invasion of Georgia in 2008 (this is not intended as a snide remark or insult here; The Poles are obviously free to do as they see fit in this regard, and certainly no foreigner has any right to criticize them for it. I am just surprised).

No you can not shoot people dead for trespassing and breaking your windows. If you try it, even in Texas, you will go to prison for a very long time. Go and read the Texas Penal Code. Actually, I forgot who I was speaking to! Don't read the Texas Penal Code: just shoot people.

Nothing stops Polish arms manufacturers buying polish weapons, and they do buy some. Its isn't significant in any sort of way and never will be, its infinitely more profitable to make Autobus's for instance.


Why surprise? USA and mainly third world countries have lax gun laws and high crime rates. US citizens haven't had to defend themselves against their own government or foreign invasion in over a hundred and fifty years (apparently) so they have turn the weapons on themselves. Hardly a persuasive or logical argument.

The United States made it very clear all along that they wouldn't intervene militarily, but economically. I don't suppose you've read any history books, but if you had, you'd know this. Several books make it very clear that Moscow was warned with economic sanctions should they repeat the invasion of Czechoslovakia.


You really are a Dumb Polack, aren't you?

There are plenty of people in Poland with the right to shoot their own food.

Yes, earlier in the thread it was established that people in Poland can get hunting guns, just not handguns.

you can shoot anyone that trespasses onto your property and when they deem harm to you and your livelihood.

This law has been challenged for over 100 years, but Texas makes the defense that a person who trespasses onto your property likely does not have a legal right to be there and also does not intend not to harm you or deprive you of your property and or life.

Harry i would shoot you just for being stupid on my property.

don't make this thread about the US again! and no personal insults!

Solidarity won ? Hey ! Why nobody told me ?

As for weapons is Poland.
Everyone above 24 years of age should be able to buy a gun.Provided he/she has no criminal record, history of mental illnesses and is employed.

Why not?

I like your post.

That's profiling, and profiling is wrong :)

There are numerous examples of self defense shootings in the South of the US that are fully justified. I remember hearing just a few months ago of an old woman who was able to defend herself against multiple young male armed assailants in my local area because she had a gun. Firearms are an equalizer; they make it harder for the strong to prey on the weak. Even if you can't take on the government directly small arms can still be effective in a long-term insurgency. If you want a more recent example of the US federal authorities overstepping their authority, you should remember that during WWII the federal government put American citizens of Japanese descent into internment camps with no due process. Granted we didn't massacre them the way Nazi Germany and Stalin chose to do to their targets, but I believe they would have been fully justified in resisting such action with weapons if necessary. Don't forget too, things can change very fast. Germany went from economic ruin and military defeat to being at the gates of Moscow and defeating France in only twenty years.

I found this posting because i am a US citizen who travels to poland very frequently to visit family and was looking to answer not the question of "is it allowed" because i know the answer is NO but rather "what is the punishment"???

I have been traveling to poland since i was old enough to walk, speak the language fluently without an accent, and in general assimilate there almost perfectly. I can say with the utmost confidence that almost any urban area of poland IS NOT SAFE!!! ESPECIALLY a city like warsaw in the Praga district and other inner districts.

One must always keep vigilant. During daylight hours it is no more dangerous there than going to a big city in the US such as DC or Baltimore. examples of this are pickpockets which are very commonplace in large traffic areas such as train stations (skilled to a degree that they can take almost anything off you without you noticing) aswell as other con artists of an innumerable varaity. in much rarer instances i have still seen people attacked and beaten on the street in broad daylight in my hometown of Puławy (which has much less crime than other larger cities). In my experience, if and when this happens, you will be on your own. When the two young men that i saw where attacked by a rowdy intoxicated band of "skinheads" (facist gangs common in Poland usually originating from Russia) people turned the other way and would not help, call the police, or do anything of that nature. To minimize the risk of this it is important to remember blend in as best you can and try not to advertise the fact that you are a foreigner. If you see a group of men walking down the street toward you; shaved heads, heavy boots, many tattoos, it is best to cross the street rather than walk past them.

Once the sun goes down the situation changes dramatically. muggings, beatings, and yes SHOOTINGS are a reality in the city. Just like in the states there are many illegal firearms in poland and countless times while falling asleep in Puławy i have woken up to the echoing sound of gunshots in the distance that by their report i could even identify as 9mm. Staying out late when it is dark and walking around in the city is something that should be avoided unless necessary. especially to people not intimatly familiar with the language, culture, and such other details. you basically could be in a life threatening situation and not even realize it.

As a recap the best rules you can possibly follow to stay safe there are the following: KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN, DO NOT STAND OUT, and lastly DO NOT TRUST ANYONE YOU DO NOT KNOW

all these posts claiming that wanting to carry a CCW or some way of defending yourself are unnecessary are just some of the most innacurate and naaive information i have read in a long time and I hope noone has come to harm thusfar because of this dangerously misleading information.

Where's ukpolska? He's from Puławy and never mentioned SHOOTINGS!

(this whole post is incredibly funny if you actually live here, simply because it's so absurd)

@ Delphiandomine

I dont think i understand what you are suggesting...i am simply writing about what i have personally experienced. more than once while in my apartment in Puławy i have heard gunshots at night. same thing while staying at my uncles apartment in Praga Południe. what about that is "funny"

hi ryanb,

Ignore all the crazies and misleading or downright false info.

Gun ownership is actually quite popular and common in Poland, it's just it's all very hush-hush. Not only can you have a gun at home (but should be in safe) you can "carry" by having a pistol and ammo on your person, just not loaded. Real CCW is possible, but quite difficult.

As an American citizen you do not have the right to own or carry firearms in Poland. If you do get citizenship than buying and "carrying" is not difficult, just involves a bit of bureaucracy, a bit worse than in California or NY for example.

What you can do in Poland is carry things like pepper spray or a knife, 100% legal. There is no restriction on blade length. I carry a 4" folder but you can carry a sword if you want, it can be open or concealed.

You're biggest problem comes from when you use it to defend yourself, the laws in Poland are so twisted you may be even charged with a crime. Best bet is to have another weapon to plant on the person who attacked you if you want to stay and explain what happened to the police (free of your fingerprints of course), or defend yourself and then hightail it out of there. No joke.

What a BS.


SHOOTINGS are a reality in all US cities but don’t confuse Warsaw-Indiana, Warsaw-Kentucky, Warsaw- Illinois or any other Polish sounding town with Warsaw in Poland.


What you meant is that even the worst of districts in Polish cities during the nighttime hours are safer than the best of districts of Baltimore and DC in daytime hours.

PS: Don’t blame dyslexia for your typo but rather your limited understanding of the world outside of US.

Why would anyone do that?


Am I alone in thinking this sounds rather unhealthy?

I'm still amazed at the reports from that capital of crime, Puławy!

what is the basis for your statement?

The weekend has started, I'd like some of the stuff you've been smoking.

Statistics dear chap, statistics.

care to share?

What’s the matter? Too lazy to look it up yourself?

i have statistics that say your statistics have been pulled straight from your a$s. would you like to see them?

All you have there is a slightly altered version by your government, they have to keep you on the edge all the time, everyone knows an outside world is one big bad scary place where a terrorist lurks in the shadows. LOL Santorum's own words, yup read it in the press.

I don't know what you're aiming at here, but I'm sure it's leading to some infallible anti-gun rant.


No, eating pizza and sitting on an internet forum all day is unhealthy. That's just the brutal reality of how self-defense looks like in Poland, and as outrageous and rather sophomoric that sounds, it's a sad fact.