Reuters, Helsinki Following this week’s school shooting, in which a 12-year-old boy shot and killed three of his classmates, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen declared that Finland already has “strict” gun laws and that the time was not right to talk about tightening them.
Data from Finland’s Ministry of the Interior shows there are more than 1.5 million licensed guns and around 430,000 license holders in this country of 5.6 million people, where hunting and target shooting are the main games popular pastime.
Finland’s per capita civilian gun usage rate is the highest among European Union countries, according to a 2018 Small Arms Survey study, but Rantanen said the number Having lots of guns doesn’t make Finland a “gun violence country”.”The police investigation is still in its early stages and although it is progressing rapidly, now is not the right time to comment on whether we should strengthen gun laws no,” Rantanen told Reuters on Thursday night, adding that it was time for political conclusions to come later.
The license to use the .22 caliber revolver used in Tuesday’s attack belonged to a relative of the suspect, police said, adding that the weapon was often Used for target shooting.
The law requires gun owners to keep their weapons stored. ESTIMATES The number of fighters has increased in Finland since neighboring Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Finland’s defense forces rely on Conscription was compulsory for all men and reservists were encouraged to practice shooting to maintain their skills. In Finland’s four-party right-wing coalition, Rantanen represents the Finnish nationalist party, which opposes stricter gun laws, and she says her party line has not changed. Since Tuesday’s shooting, there have been no major calls from opposition parties for stricter gun laws.
Finland will continue to ensure that reservists can practice shooting and protect shooting and hunting as a hobby because they have a long history in the country, Rantanen said. “I can say generally about our gun laws that they’re pretty good and strict to begin with, but then there’s the question of whether they’re enforced,” she said. The chairman of the Finnish parliament’s defense committee, Jukka Kopra of the National Coalition Party, echoed Rantanen’s comments, saying that discussing gun laws now would be “sham”.”We need to find ways to help young people and prevent them from doing such things in the future,” Kopra told Reuters.