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.