On November 24, the documentary film “The Right to Shoot” by Rodion Chepel will be released on the KION online platform, telling that weapons are one of the worst inventions of humanity. What the film turned out to be and what conclusions the author...

Officially, firearms are prohibited for ordinary citizens in our country, but there are several loopholes used mainly by men for self-defense or hunting. At first glance, it seems logical. The world is cruel, and if you don’t have a gun against it, things are bad. And hunting is a great pastime for a real man.

A person far removed from the criminal world will learn a lot from the film “The Right to Shoot.” For example, how to legally obtain a permit to store and use a shotgun, where to get a pistol that is indistinguishable from a factory-made one, not to mention that traumatic (also known as non-lethal) weapons can be easily purchased with all the necessary medical certificates and a turnkey license.

Rodion Chepel comments with undisguised sarcasm on hunters’ words about killing animals. They explain it by saying that killing prey is in human nature, and besides, who else but a hunting man in modern times will act as the forest’s orderly, since all predators have long been exterminated in the hunting territory.

Speaking about the high-profile shootings that occurred in the Russian Federation, the author mentions that the Kazan, Kerch, and Perm shooters used hunting shotguns, and the shooters themselves had previously been involved in animal cruelty. Statistics are provided, the numbers of which are horrifying and shocking. People even die from non-lethal weapons, which were developed exclusively for peacekeeping purposes.

Psychiatrists discuss the imperfection of the weapon permit system and the all-consuming aggression that finds an outlet in shooting, and that even carrying a weapon corrupts a person, but they offer no recommendations on how to avoid the desire to purchase a pistol or shotgun.

Documentary cinema is always subjective; it reflects the author’s view on the problem he is filming. Rodion Chepel and his team are clearly against violence, but the laws in our country effectively do not regulate the acquisition of weapon permits, and practically any of the types listed in the film are available for purchase, by the way, even for not very large sums of money. The viewer can only agree or disagree with all these statements.

“The Right to Shoot” turned out to be sobering and caustic, reminding once again that such a right is granted to people who are capable only of cruelty and murder, and in an ideal world should not have that right. Living in the world as it is, each of us makes a certain choice every second. Perhaps this film can steer us toward the right one.