Posted on 03/24/2012 6:35:49 AM PDT by marktwain
(Reuters) - As France asks itself whether it could have done more to prevent Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah shooting dead seven people in a killing spree that shook the nation, there is one question that refuses to go away: how did he obtain so many guns.
The size and nature of the arsenal amassed by Merah - who stockpiled at least eight guns including a Kalashnikov assault rifle and an Uzi machine pistol - has focused attention on the easy availability of illegal weapons in France and their growing use in ultra-violent crimes.
As an angry online reader of the daily Le Figaro newspaper put it: "How was he able to buy all these guns, like one buys yoghurts, when he was under the surveillance of the DCRI (the French intelligence agency)?"
Just weeks after France tightened gun laws which were already among the strictest in the world, the issue has blown into the political debate ahead of an April-May presidential election.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Anybody checked the ATF’s inventory lately? They like sending guns to violent foreign criminals.
You really should post that on the reuters comment section for the article...it illustrates the propaganda and bias quite beautifully.
Makes you see the wisdom of our Founding Fathers...... Of course the French will just tighten gun laws.
While I don’t doubt that guns are easy to get on the French black market, my first thought on reading of this “stockpile” of guns was “How many of them were *live*?”
When I was in France (twenty years ago, mind you), “demilitarized” weapons were easy to purchase, no documentation at all as I recall. “Demilitarized” simply meant the chamber had been plugged and the end of the firing pin was cut off. At most, I’ve heard that reactivating some of these weapons was doable with some mechanical talent and shop equipment...at the least, sounds like the kind of stuff some wannabe “terrorist” might buy as “toys” to live out his fantasies.
(For the collectors, some of those “demilitarized” weapons I saw for sale would make you either drool or cry. I can still see the MG34 and MG42 on one shop floor, and the pristine M1928 Thompson in another store....)
Rapide et Furieux?
Respect,
GtG
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