Post by: MicroBalrog on September 23, 2008, 12:18:04 AM
A gunman has opened fire at a college in western Finland, the country's national broadcaster reports.
YLE quotes police as saying the incident, at a vocational school in the town of Kauhajoki, is ongoing.
Police told YLE and another Finnish news agency they feared several people may have been injured, possibly killed.
Last November a student shot dead eight people at a school in Tuusula. The level of gun ownership in Finland is among the highest in the world.
A BBC correspondent in Finland said a gunman dressed in black was seen at the school, apparently carrying an automatic weapon.
Police ordered an evacuation and called for reinforcements. There were reports of a fire at the site and of at least one injured girl seen leaving the school, our correspondent says.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7630969.stm
I am sorry, I don't have a comment off-hand. I just think this is an important event given how it's going to be described as proof guns are baaaaaaaad, and how gun control is all awesome.
Note while Finland has lots of guns, their laws are very oppressive compared to the US.
From Wikipedia:
Quote
Firearms can only be obtained with an acquisition license, which can be applied for at the local police for ?32. A separate license is required for each individual firearm and family members can have parallel licenses to use the same firearm. According to law, the firearms must be stored in a locked space or otherwise locked, or with vital parts removed and separated. Even then the weapon or any of its separated parts must not be easily stolen. If an especially dangerous firearm or more than 5 pistols, revolvers or self-loading rifles or other-type firearms are being stored, they must be stored in a certified gun safe or in a secure space inspected and approved by the local police authority.
They may be carried only when they are transported from their place of storage to the place of use (shooting range, hunting area or such). Even then they must be unloaded and concealed or kept in carrying pouches. Aside from law enforcement agents and military personnel, only security guards with closely defined working conditions, special training and a permit are allowed to carry a loaded gun in public places. The ownership of air-rifles is not regulated but carrying or firing them in public places is not permitted. A crossbow is paralleled to an air rifle in legal matters.
To obtain a firearms license, an individual must declare a valid reason to own a gun. Acceptable reasons include hunting, sports or hobby shooting, profession related, show or promotion or exhibition, collection or museum, souvenir, and signalling. It is worth noticing that self- or home defence are not considered valid reasons.
They may be carried only when they are transported from their place of storage to the place of use (shooting range, hunting area or such). Even then they must be unloaded and concealed or kept in carrying pouches. Aside from law enforcement agents and military personnel, only security guards with closely defined working conditions, special training and a permit are allowed to carry a loaded gun in public places. The ownership of air-rifles is not regulated but carrying or firing them in public places is not permitted. A crossbow is paralleled to an air rifle in legal matters.
To obtain a firearms license, an individual must declare a valid reason to own a gun. Acceptable reasons include hunting, sports or hobby shooting, profession related, show or promotion or exhibition, collection or museum, souvenir, and signalling. It is worth noticing that self- or home defence are not considered valid reasons.
Post by: HankB on September 23, 2008, 03:59:16 AM
Post by: MicroBalrog on September 23, 2008, 11:19:54 PM
Matti Vanhanen said he believed handguns should no longer be used outside shooting ranges.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7632661.stm
So, how many of us saw it coming?
Post by: wmenorr67 on September 23, 2008, 11:21:47 PM
Finland's prime minister has called for gun laws to be tightened after a school shooting that left 11 people dead.
Matti Vanhanen said he believed handguns should no longer be used outside shooting ranges.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7632661.stm
So, how many of us saw it coming?
Matti Vanhanen said he believed handguns should no longer be used outside shooting ranges.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7632661.stm
So, how many of us saw it coming?
And that stops someone from going on a rampage how?
Post by: Perd Hapley on September 24, 2008, 01:56:55 AM
Matti Vanhanen said he believed handguns should no longer be used outside shooting ranges.
So, he's opposed to handgun hunting? Or is he taking a position against informal back-yard ranges? What do those things have to do with school shootings?
Post by: Manedwolf on September 24, 2008, 03:53:04 AM
Sorry, you can't go on a rampage and kill that many people with a .22 unless everyone else is completely disarmed.
Post by: longeyes on September 24, 2008, 06:25:16 AM
Post by: Tallpine on September 24, 2008, 06:28:23 AM
It turns out it was just a .22 pistol.
Sorry, you can't go on a rampage and kill that many people with a .22 unless everyone else is completely disarmed.
Sorry, you can't go on a rampage and kill that many people with a .22 unless everyone else is completely disarmed.
I read on Fox News (IIRC) that it was a "22 millimeter" pistol
Post by: The Annoyed Man on September 24, 2008, 06:49:38 AM
Matti Vanhanen said he believed handguns should no longer be used outside shooting ranges.
So, he's opposed to handgun hunting? Or is he taking a position against informal back-yard ranges? What do those things have to do with school shootings?
Post by: Manedwolf on September 24, 2008, 06:51:35 AM
It turns out it was just a .22 pistol.
Sorry, you can't go on a rampage and kill that many people with a .22 unless everyone else is completely disarmed.
Sorry, you can't go on a rampage and kill that many people with a .22 unless everyone else is completely disarmed.
I read on Fox News (IIRC) that it was a "22 millimeter" pistol
Recoil would be a b_tch on that.
Post by: Boomhauer on September 24, 2008, 06:52:29 AM
It turns out it was just a .22 pistol.
Sorry, you can't go on a rampage and kill that many people with a .22 unless everyone else is completely disarmed.
Sorry, you can't go on a rampage and kill that many people with a .22 unless everyone else is completely disarmed.
I read on Fox News (IIRC) that it was a "22 millimeter" pistol
Recoil would be a b_tch on that.
Not if you fire it sideways like a gangsta'
Post by: longeyes on September 24, 2008, 06:54:40 AM
And Glock 18s?
Post by: The Annoyed Man on September 24, 2008, 07:05:26 AM
Aren't suppressors easily available in Finland?
And Glock 18s?
Suppressors - yes. In Finland, they see those as safety equipment. No license, no background check, no ?200 to be paid to some .gov agency. Imagine that! And Glock 18s?
Full auto stuff is available, but I don't know exactly how lenient their laws are. Full auto is available here as well, sort of. While I have a harder time than you getting a full auto license/permit , that license can be for anything you can think of really. Factory-new UMP45? Yes. M4 with da switch? Yes. IOW, we don't have any closed registry, or any import bans, so when you get the shoe inside the licensing door, everything is available. I read that up until 1995 or something, there was quite a lot (relatively speaking) of licenses issued for Glock 18's, the full auto CZ75 pistols, and a bunch of other similar stuff. Most cops simply didn't know that the Glock 18 was capable of full auto...so they issued the license just as they would've done for a semi automatic pistol. And unless they yanked their licenses when it became known, those guys probably have them for life, or until they screw up really bad, or until the .gov starts confiscating guns, whichever comes first.
Post by: yesitsloaded on September 24, 2008, 12:36:02 PM
Post by: MicroBalrog on September 24, 2008, 01:20:16 PM
Quote
Recoil would be a b_tch on that.
25mm grenade-launcher pistols did exist during WW2.
Post by: 280plus on September 24, 2008, 02:32:56 PM
Quote
I read on Fox News (IIRC) that it was a "22 millimeter" pistol
I want one!
Post by: Perd Hapley on September 25, 2008, 05:48:58 PM
