Typically authoritarian regimes go out of
their way to disarm their populations and make it illegal for their citizens to hold
any firearms, with one of the reasons being to minimize the chances of a successful rebellion
from a dissatisfied populace if one were to ever come about. So with that being said, what was the Galactic
Empire’s stance on its citizens owning blasters? The legality of an Imperial citizen owning
a blaster varied across the different regions of the galaxy, along with what their professions
were and what kind of blasters they carried. In the outer rim, where Imperial law was barely
enforced and simply ignored by most inhabitants, anyone with credits and a means to find a
blaster was able to purchase and carry one without any trouble. Though in some establishments in the outer
rim, like cantinas and market places, firing blasters was against the rules within the
private property by either the owner or by local Imperial enforcement. Though usually even if one was fired and it
didn’t cause too much damage or chaos, the incident was ignored and the suspect was left
alone. The closer you got to the more civilized portions
of the galaxy, the stricter the blaster laws got. Within the Inner and core regions of the galaxy,
Imperial laws on blasters were far stricter and more enforced. Possession of military grade blasters were
illegal: including rapid firing blasters, blasters that could lethally penetrate stormtrooper
armor, and those modified with elements that gave them the ability to cause massive destruction
towards property and armored vehicles. Within these same inner regions, local planetary
governments under the Empire tended to have stricter regulations concerning blasters. On planets that preached pacifism were known
to have made it illegal for their citizens to own any blasters within their sector. Also on the Imperial capital of Coruscant,
at least on its upper levels, it was technically against the law to carry any blaster, especially
within highly restricted areas like the Senate District. Despite this law, almost everyone on the upper
levels carried a small, concealed hold-out blaster on them, even the senators and elite
who the law was meant to protect. Now it was illegal for regular citizens to
possess military grade weaponry within the Empire, but there were ways for them to get
licenses to carry such weapons. One way was to get an Imperial certified bounty
hunting license, also known as the Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate. On top of verifying a private citizen with
being authorized to arrest or kill a being with a bounty placed on them, the license
also gave them permission to carry military grade blasters they would otherwise not be
allowed to. However it seems like they were only allowed
to carry such weapons that they registered and had listed on their license, otherwise
they would be breaking the law. When it came to planets that were listed to
have high rebel activity, the Empire tended to place a full out ban on blasters among
all citizens within the immediate sector. But this varied depending on who was in charge
and how vast of an area the rebel activity was in. As in some cases if the area was too large
then such an order was not given, as it would just take up too many Imperial resources trying
to enforce such a law among millions or even billions of people. On top of having restrictive laws on the possession
of blasters, the Empire also had laws concerning what you could do with them. For one it was illegal to use blasters in
an organized duel. On some historically wealthy planets there
were traditions for individuals among competing houses or families to settle their conflicts
by orchestrating a duel between two members. Blasters were usually used in such duels,
but the empire made it illegal to do so, citing it caused unnecessary bloodshed and conflict. Despite this, such duels were still carried
out, sometimes even with lightsabers, which the empire also outlawed. Even though on paper this was illegal to do,
the Imperials often turned a blind eye to such activities, especially when it was done
by members of rich or influential families. And sometimes even the Imperials joined in,
if they were from these planets and it was their family or house’s honor put on the
line. When it came to Imperial military bases and
installations, citizens were most likely confiscated of all of their weapons while on the base’s
perimeter. Also at least in Canon, we know that the Imperial
Senate did pass laws that banned specific types of blasters from both civilian and even
military use. But the Imperial military tended to ignore
and bypass such laws, continuing their use with the banned weapons in secret regardless
of what the senate passed.
