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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Angry Finland focuses on gun laws | Angry Finland focuses on gun laws |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| By Steve Rosenberg BBC News, Kauhajoki 'Miksi' (why?) was Wednesday's headline on two Finnish newspapers | By Steve Rosenberg BBC News, Kauhajoki 'Miksi' (why?) was Wednesday's headline on two Finnish newspapers |
| Finns have heard it all before - authorities promising to tighten the laws on gun control. | Finns have heard it all before - authorities promising to tighten the laws on gun control. |
| They heard it last year, after an 18-year-old student went on a shooting spree in a Finnish high school. | They heard it last year, after an 18-year-old student went on a shooting spree in a Finnish high school. |
| And they have been hearing it again since Maati Saari killed nine of his colleges and one teacher in a vocational school here in Kauhajoki. | And they have been hearing it again since Maati Saari killed nine of his colleges and one teacher in a vocational school here in Kauhajoki. |
| Finland's prime minister has already called for tighter gun controls. But will they be introduced? | Finland's prime minister has already called for tighter gun controls. But will they be introduced? |
| Still reeling from the tragedy, the mayor of Kauhajoki, Antti Rantacocco, has told the BBC he supports a change of law that would make it harder for young people in Finland to get access to guns. | Still reeling from the tragedy, the mayor of Kauhajoki, Antti Rantacocco, has told the BBC he supports a change of law that would make it harder for young people in Finland to get access to guns. |
| "It's important to change the law," the mayor told me. "Why do those young people need those guns?" | "It's important to change the law," the mayor told me. "Why do those young people need those guns?" |
| Liberal laws | Liberal laws |
| In Finland, the law permits 15-year-olds to buy guns if they have parental consent. | In Finland, the law permits 15-year-olds to buy guns if they have parental consent. |
| FINLAND'S GUN CULTURE All gun owners are required to have a licenceMinimum age for buying a gun is 15About 14% of homicides in Finland are gun-related Timeline of school shootings Profile: Finnish school gunmanIn pictures: Finnish shooting | |
| That is one example of what makes Finnish gun laws among the most liberal in the world. | That is one example of what makes Finnish gun laws among the most liberal in the world. |
| In the past, those advocating tighter gun controls came up against a wall of historical and cultural opposition: Finland has a long tradition of hunting and the hunting lobby has been keen not to restrict Finns' access to weapons. | In the past, those advocating tighter gun controls came up against a wall of historical and cultural opposition: Finland has a long tradition of hunting and the hunting lobby has been keen not to restrict Finns' access to weapons. |
| But the Kauhajoki massacre may be changing the picture. | But the Kauhajoki massacre may be changing the picture. |
| There is a growing sense of anger here that gunman Maati Saari was released by police the day before his shooting spree, or that police officers did not consider his violent video on YouTube dangerous enough to remove his gun licence. | There is a growing sense of anger here that gunman Maati Saari was released by police the day before his shooting spree, or that police officers did not consider his violent video on YouTube dangerous enough to remove his gun licence. |
| There is a feeling here that gun control in Finland is spiralling out of control and that changes are needed. | There is a feeling here that gun control in Finland is spiralling out of control and that changes are needed. |
| DNA tests | DNA tests |
| Meanwhile, dramatic new details of what happened inside the vocational school have emerged. The Finnish flag has been flying at half-mast outside the Kauhajoki college | Meanwhile, dramatic new details of what happened inside the vocational school have emerged. The Finnish flag has been flying at half-mast outside the Kauhajoki college |
| Police chiefs said fires which had raged inside the building after the shooting had left the bodies of nine of the 10 victims unidentifiable. | Police chiefs said fires which had raged inside the building after the shooting had left the bodies of nine of the 10 victims unidentifiable. |
| Now, DNA tests and dental records will be used to help identify the dead. | Now, DNA tests and dental records will be used to help identify the dead. |
| In an interview with the BBC, Chief Superintendant Urpo Lintala despaired: "What can we do? What can we do?" | In an interview with the BBC, Chief Superintendant Urpo Lintala despaired: "What can we do? What can we do?" |
| "Well, tighten your gun laws for a start," I replied. | "Well, tighten your gun laws for a start," I replied. |
| "Maybe, maybe," replied the officer. "Maybe that would be a first step." | "Maybe, maybe," replied the officer. "Maybe that would be a first step." |