The Lebanese Army has launched an unprecedented campaign to crack down on celebratory and random gunfire, a dangerous and deeply ingrained practice that has repeatedly led to injuries and deaths across the country.

The stepped-up military campaign follows the passage of a new law by Parliament this week that significantly increases penalties for anyone caught firing weapons into the air, whether during weddings, funerals, political rallies, or local elections.

Gunfire at public events is a longstanding problem in Lebanon, where loosely enforced laws and a widespread gun culture have allowed the practice to continue largely unchecked. The latest fatal incident occurred last Sunday during municipal elections in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, when celebratory gunfire claimed the life of a young man and injured several others, including LBCI reporter Nada Andraos.

In response, lawmakers passed a bill criminalizing celebratory gunfire, doubling penalties for offenders and introducing stricter legal classifications.

Ashraf Baydoun, a member of the Development and Liberation bloc who sponsored the legislation, told Asharq Al-Awsat the law now categorizes celebratory shooting as an “aggravated misdemeanor,” punishable by six months to six years in prison.

“Unlike previous legislation, this law puts the shooter, accomplice, and instigator on equal footing,” Baydoun said. “It also strips judges of their discretion to show leniency in cases involving repeat offenders.”

Legal expert and constitutional scholar Dr. Said Malik noted the law applies to anyone firing into the air using military-grade weapons, regardless of whether the firearm is licensed. In addition to jail time, violators face fines of 8 to 10 times the minimum wage, permanent confiscation of the weapon, and a lifetime ban from obtaining another firearms license.

If the gunfire causes injury or death, the penalties increase significantly.

“In cases where a person is injured or killed by a stray bullet, the offender faces 10 to 15 years of hard labor and a fine between 20 and 25 times the minimum wage,” Malik explained.

He described the law as a much-needed step forward.

“This practice continues to endanger innocent people,” he said. “Now it’s up to security forces to enforce the law and ensure accountability.”

Still, not everyone is convinced that stiffer penalties will be enough to change behavior in a country where weapons are widespread and enforcement of the law is often lax.

“The previous law never served as a real deterrent,” said Mona Fayyad, a political activist and psychology professor at the Lebanese University in Beirut. “And it remains to be seen whether this one will.”

Fayyad argued that deeper reforms are needed, including a comprehensive disarmament effort that goes beyond targeting heavy weaponry.

“We need to collect all types of firearms, not just large-caliber ones,” she said. “And gun licenses should be strictly limited to individuals whose professions require them.”

She blamed the country's entrenched gun culture on decades of political turmoil, civil war, and the unchecked spread of armed factions.

“Lebanon has lived through more than 50 years of conflict and security breakdowns,” she said. “That instability, coupled with a failure to enforce existing laws, has allowed this phenomenon to take root.”

Fayyad also pointed to a troubling cultural shift in attitudes toward firearms.

“Before the arrival of Palestinian, Syrian, Iranian, and later Lebanese militias, people didn’t resort to weapons so casually,” she said. “Now, firing a gun into the air is seen by some as a display of strength or pride. It’s become almost a ritual during celebrations.”