by Rod Hughes

The news that firearm registration hit a record 8,551 last year (see previous newsblog) raises questions about legal concerns in using a firearm in self defense. It also begs a question about requirements in obtaining a legal firearm in Costa Rica.

Costa Rican law does recognizse self-defense as a legitimate reason to shoot someone, but the limits are strict. Costa Rican criminal codes allow more room for judgment about what constitutes legal self-defense than is usual in the minutely defined jurisprudence here, meaning that the judges are given more room for extenuating circumstances. But Armament Administration Director William Hidalgo points out that using a firearm will lead to a hearing.

As Tico Times reporter Nick Wilkinson wrote in a recent edition, that the crininal code “states that it is not a crime to injure another person to avoid a greater evil, assuming that the danger is imminent and immediate, the person who injures the other didn’t provoke them first and that the violence wasn’t avoidable. It also states it’s not a crime to defend yourself from “illegitimate aggression, assuming the action taken is reasonably necessary to stop the aggression.”

From there it gets sticky. There is what Wilkinson translates as an “excess of defense.” This reporter chooses another translation, excessive force.” If the aggressor is unarmed, shooting him, even if one was under the impression he was armed, can land you in prison if you kill him. On the other hand, points out Wilkinson, “force is not punishable if it resulted from the excitement, disturbance or confusion of the circumstances.”

If one shoots an assailant, one can count on appearing in court to answer for it, no matter how justifiable the action may seem. Some years ago, a little old lady shot a would-be burglar who broke the glass on her bedroom window and was shot in the act of entering. After she shot, he fell back and ran a few steps in the yard before falling, dead. Forensics testified that the bullet killed the young man instantly and a physician had to be called in to say that, yes, the human body’s nervous system could automatically direct his muscles to run a few steps even after death. Only this way could she prove she had not shot the burglar in the yard.

Less lucky was another homeowner who shot a young man off his roof. The judges ruled that the unarmed young man did not pose an imminent threat. The principal is that a child could climb up to a roof to retrieve an errant soccer ball. (In this case, since it was in the dark of night, that explanation is unlikely.) Despite the hour of the shooting, the homeowner went directly to jail…

The Tico Times cited two cases last January. One was a liquor store owner who killed one robber and wounded another in a Jan. 23 failed heist. “(He) will have to defend himself in court…” noted Hidalgo, “The owner put his life in danger as well as all of the emplyees in his shop.” Whatever the outcome, the owner will have to pay a lawyer to defend him, but he likely has a good chance of remaining a free man.

The second case happened a week later when a bodyguard fended off a carjacker. So far, so good, but the bodyguard wnt on to track down and fatally shot the thug— in the back. We would not bet on the bodyguard here, but one should not bet on court cases anyway.

What kind of guns are legal?

You can own a revolver from .22 to .72 calibre and a semi’automatic pistol up to .45 calibre, according to the newspaper, (Presumably this means up to 9 millimeter which is about the size of the bore on a .45,) Rifles are also limited to .45 caliber. Any shotgun is legal up to 12-gauge.

How to get a gun.

If should come as no surprise that a country in which it is considered uncouth to shoot anyone under any circumstance, it is time’consuming to register a gun. You do not have a waiting period before the gunshop can turn over the weapon but it still can take up to two months. One must legally register the weapon within 10 days after purchase. From then on, it is like tapplying for a driver´s license. Except harder.

One must take a written test and a practical one firing either an automatic pistol or a revelver (they don´t tell you which in advance) and must hit a target seven out of 10 shot. If you fail, you take the test over again. Then, you must pass an exam by a Public Security certified psychologist. “This can take up to three hours, depending on your mental state,” Wilkinson writes. After that comes the criminal background check. Easiest of all is providing two photos of yourself.

Non-residents can own a firearm if it is registered in the name of a corporation—but not a concealed weapon permit. (This is likely unconstitutional but has never been challenged.)