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http://www.boston.com/news/world/eu..._gun_policies_after_fatal_shooting_at_school/
Finland to toughen gun policies after fatal shooting at school
HELSINKI - Finland said yesterday that it would tighten gun policies after an 18-year-old killed six fellow students and two staff members with a handgun this week in the country's deadliest school shooting.
more stories like this The country had resisted European Union plans to limit gun ownership to those 18 years or older across the continent. Finns as young as 15 have had the right to own and use a gun.
"Finland has changed its position to the EU firearms directive," said Minister of the Interior Anne Holmlund yesterday.
Holmlund said the permit to buy a gun would be raised to 18 years of age, and youths between 15 and 18 could only carry a gun with parental supervision.
Pekka-Eric Auvinen obtained a license for the .22-caliber handgun he used in Wednesday's massacre through a gun club last month. He was refused a license for a 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said Finland's views on gun policy might change after the shooting at Jokela High School, but Holmlund denied that the incident was behind the policy shift.
"There is no direct link. . . . It is important that our new position is clear," Holmlund said.
"We were the only EU member country that was willing to keep its regulations untouched and it was obvious we would be left alone."
A government panel studying the issue recommended the new policy yesterday.
Finland has the world's third-highest gun ownership per capita, following the United States and Yemen. About 650,000 of its people have gun licenses, representing 13 percent of the population.
While hunting and target shooting are common hobbies in Finland, deadly shootings are rare.
Police said Auvinen, who had no previous criminal record, killed six students, a school nurse, and the principal before fatally shooting himself in the head.
Helsinki gun dealer Petri Oinonen said he was not surprised by Wednesday's shooting.
"It was only a question of when this is going to happen, not if it is going to happen," said Oinonen, a gun salesman at Suomi Ase Osakeyhtio
After Wednesday's shooting, the Interior Ministry issued a statement saying that firearm sales were strictly controlled. It said police "assess the applicant's suitability to posses a firearm, his or her way of life, behavior, and possible mental health problems."
In Liberty,
Joe
http://truthtribune.com
http://www.boston.com/news/world/eu..._gun_policies_after_fatal_shooting_at_school/
Finland to toughen gun policies after fatal shooting at school
HELSINKI - Finland said yesterday that it would tighten gun policies after an 18-year-old killed six fellow students and two staff members with a handgun this week in the country's deadliest school shooting.
more stories like this The country had resisted European Union plans to limit gun ownership to those 18 years or older across the continent. Finns as young as 15 have had the right to own and use a gun.
"Finland has changed its position to the EU firearms directive," said Minister of the Interior Anne Holmlund yesterday.
Holmlund said the permit to buy a gun would be raised to 18 years of age, and youths between 15 and 18 could only carry a gun with parental supervision.
Pekka-Eric Auvinen obtained a license for the .22-caliber handgun he used in Wednesday's massacre through a gun club last month. He was refused a license for a 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said Finland's views on gun policy might change after the shooting at Jokela High School, but Holmlund denied that the incident was behind the policy shift.
"There is no direct link. . . . It is important that our new position is clear," Holmlund said.
"We were the only EU member country that was willing to keep its regulations untouched and it was obvious we would be left alone."
A government panel studying the issue recommended the new policy yesterday.
Finland has the world's third-highest gun ownership per capita, following the United States and Yemen. About 650,000 of its people have gun licenses, representing 13 percent of the population.
While hunting and target shooting are common hobbies in Finland, deadly shootings are rare.
Police said Auvinen, who had no previous criminal record, killed six students, a school nurse, and the principal before fatally shooting himself in the head.
Helsinki gun dealer Petri Oinonen said he was not surprised by Wednesday's shooting.
"It was only a question of when this is going to happen, not if it is going to happen," said Oinonen, a gun salesman at Suomi Ase Osakeyhtio
After Wednesday's shooting, the Interior Ministry issued a statement saying that firearm sales were strictly controlled. It said police "assess the applicant's suitability to posses a firearm, his or her way of life, behavior, and possible mental health problems."
In Liberty,
Joe
http://truthtribune.com
