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Folkevæpningssamlag or Folkevæbningssamlag (literally ''People's Armament Union'') was a union of voluntary shooting associations that existed in Norway in the 1880s and 1890s. The union was established due to dissatisfaction with the official shooting association at that time called Centralforeningen for Udbrædelse af Legemsøvelser og Vaabenbrug (lit. ''The Association for Physical Exercise and use of Firearms'')
At the start of the 1880s, member dissatisfaction in the Centralforeningen increased since the members had no influence over the association. The first Folkevæpningssamlag was established after initiative by
Inntrøndelag Inntrøndelag or Inn-Trøndelag is a Districts of Norway, traditional district that encompasses the central part of Trøndelag county in Norway. It usually includes the area surrounding the inner part of the Trondheimsfjord. It is often used interch ...
school manager Ole Five on a meeting with representatives from the shooting clubs in Northern Trondhjems amt on 29 January 1881. The following year, the Folkevæpningssamlag had clubs in 12 of the 20 amts in Norway, and a board was established in
Kristiania
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...
between 6 and 8 February 1882, with Ole Five as chairman.
The primary goal of the Folkevæpningssamlag's was to strengthen Norway's defense capabilities, especially by training the people in shooting and by ensuring that modern firearms became widespread.folkevæpningssamlag – Great Norwegian Encyclopedia /ref> Already in 1881, the
Storting
The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The Unicameralism, unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list propo ...
had granted a smaller sum for purchasing firearms and ammunition, and in 1882 a larger sum was granted. However, the Regjeringrefused to approve the grant. This disagreement was a key part in the
impeachment
Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In Eur ...
of the Selmer Ministry in 1884.
The member numbers of the Folkevæpningssamlag's increased from 13 000 in 1882 to 18 000 (distributed over 586 shooting clubs) in 1890. In 1892, a Royal Order in Council (''kongelig resolusjon'') ordered a strengthening in the collaboration between the Folkevæpningssamlag's and the Norwegian Army. The Folkevæpningssamlag's were allowed to borrow firearms from the army, under the condition that the Folkevæpningssamlags hired shooting instructors with military education, and that
military officers
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...
were allowed to inspect the training. At the same time, the Storting increased their grants for purchasing rifles.
In 1893, all rifle shooting clubs in Norway were gathered under one organisation when the Folkevæpningssamlags and the shooting part of Centralforeningen together formed the
National Rifle Association of Norway
Det frivillige Skyttervesen (DFS) (), known in English as the National Rifle Association of Norway, and by DFS themselves as the Norwegian Civilian Marksmanship Association since 2020, is a civilian marksmanship association in Norway and the lar ...
(Det frivillige skyttervesen, DFS). Still today, this organisation is the largest sport shooting association in Norway.
The Swedish shooting movement
The Swedish shooting movement () was a voluntary defense movement which started in Sweden in the 1860s inspired by similar foreign movements like the National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom and the Schweizerischer Schützenverein in S ...
, started in the 1860s
References
* ''
Salmonsens konversationsleksikon
''Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon'' is a Danish encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided i ...
, Anden Udgave'', bind VIII, Folkevæbningssamlag ». København, J. Schultz, 1919.
* Søndre Bergenhus folkevæpningssamlag 50 år : Bergen, Hardanger og Voss, Hordaland og Sunnhordland skyttarsamlag : 1881-1931. (Bergen, 1931)
19th century in NorwayShooting sports in Norway