Matti Juhani Saari
Posted on 09/23/2008 8:55:34 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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.
Matti Juhani Saari shot fellow students at a college in western Finland before turning his gun on himself.
It emerged that he had been questioned by police after posting on the internet a video clip of himself at a shooting range, but had not been detained.
Valid licences
Mr Vanhanen told Finnish television: "We have to tighten the law significantly.
"In terms of handguns that can easily be carried about, we have to think about whether they should be available for private people. In my opinion, they belong on shooting ranges."
Tuesday's shooting echoed another in November last year in the town of Tuusula, which left eight people and the lone gunman dead.
Both gunmen had valid licences.
Although Finland said it would consider new laws after that attack, no changes have been made and 15-year-olds can still own guns.
The country has a long tradition of hunting and weapons-bearing, with about 1.6 million firearms in private hands - third in the world behind only the US and Yemen, studies say.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
I never would have guessed Yemen was in the top 3.
Yemen? I’d love to know the background.
there is individual responsibility.
and if individuals violate the law, and it’s proven before a court of law,
then they should suffer the consequences.
Died twice, twice ridden.
Mr Vanhanen told Finnish television: "We have to tighten the law significantly.
I believe Mr Vanhanen has drawn the wrong conclusion.
Another gun ban call?
When do they ban criminals?
Matti Juhani Saari
is that a finnish name?
Yemen? Finland with 1.6 million arms in private hands is way behind the U.S. with upwards of 160 million. Of course a per capita count would be more meaningful than a national total.
Matti is finnished now. ;^)
Wow, talk about a country ripe for a muslim takeover.
saw the picture, i guess he looks finnish?
A count of gun-owners would be more meaningful.
Wow, three posts with the exact same time stamp. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.
Socialists acting like socialists. Imagine that
Matti Juhani Saari
Yes, but even with that you would want to know percentage of population to get a balanced view. In the U.S. it’s about one out of three people.
it sounds finnish
Population of Finland is 5,244,749. With 1.6 million guns that's 3.27 people per gun. The US, OTOH, has about 1.90 people per gun, with population of 303,824,640 and 160 million guns.
Matti Vanhanen -the finnish PM
Matti Juhani Saari -the killer
Juhani Pallasmaa -a finnish architect
Peeter Saari -some finnish professor
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