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Finland has the world's third-highest gun ownership per capita, following the United States & Ye

tittiger

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http://www.boston.com/news/world/eu..._gun_policies_after_fatal_shooting_at_school/

Finland to toughen gun policies after fatal shooting at school

HELSINKI - Finland said yesterday that it would tighten gun policies after an 18-year-old killed six fellow students and two staff members with a handgun this week in the country's deadliest school shooting.
more stories like this The country had resisted European Union plans to limit gun ownership to those 18 years or older across the continent. Finns as young as 15 have had the right to own and use a gun.
"Finland has changed its position to the EU firearms directive," said Minister of the Interior Anne Holmlund yesterday.
Holmlund said the permit to buy a gun would be raised to 18 years of age, and youths between 15 and 18 could only carry a gun with parental supervision.
Pekka-Eric Auvinen obtained a license for the .22-caliber handgun he used in Wednesday's massacre through a gun club last month. He was refused a license for a 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said Finland's views on gun policy might change after the shooting at Jokela High School, but Holmlund denied that the incident was behind the policy shift.
"There is no direct link. . . . It is important that our new position is clear," Holmlund said.
"We were the only EU member country that was willing to keep its regulations untouched and it was obvious we would be left alone."
A government panel studying the issue recommended the new policy yesterday.
Finland has the world's third-highest gun ownership per capita, following the United States and Yemen. About 650,000 of its people have gun licenses, representing 13 percent of the population.
While hunting and target shooting are common hobbies in Finland, deadly shootings are rare.
Police said Auvinen, who had no previous criminal record, killed six students, a school nurse, and the principal before fatally shooting himself in the head.
Helsinki gun dealer Petri Oinonen said he was not surprised by Wednesday's shooting.
"It was only a question of when this is going to happen, not if it is going to happen," said Oinonen, a gun salesman at Suomi Ase Osakeyhtio
After Wednesday's shooting, the Interior Ministry issued a statement saying that firearm sales were strictly controlled. It said police "assess the applicant's suitability to posses a firearm, his or her way of life, behavior, and possible mental health problems."
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In Liberty,
Joe
http://truthtribune.com
 

Sig229

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I actually have a really close friend who lives in Finalnd.
And gun ownership over there is a way of life and has no restrictions of silencers.

People are easily allowed to own full automatics.

Once I am finished with school, I am thinking about getting work there.

As much as I respect America, Im done with it.
 

tittiger

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Thanks for the info I have friends there too but have not heard this.

Maybe they are influenced by their Russian occupation not too long ago.

I would love to move there too, if I could figure an angle, as this county is toast and the American people have let it happen.

Joe
 

Sig229

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tittiger wrote:
Thanks for the info I have friends there too but have not heard this.

Maybe they are influenced by their Russian occupation not too long ago.

I would love to move there too, if I could figure an angle, as this county is toast and the American people have let it happen.

Joe

They have some employment opportunities that Americans can apply for.
What kind of degree and/or trade experience do you have?

I am getting a degree in Aviation engineering and Finland greatly needs aeronautic help who can speak English.

My dream would be to live in Switzerland.
My school has set me up with an appointment with Swiss airlines once I graduate. So hopefully that will pan out. It's hard getting Swiss citizenship, but you can get a Swiss work visa pretty easy and you do not have to be a Swiss citizen to buy and own firearms in Switzerland.
 

tittiger

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Sig229 wrote:
tittiger wrote:
Thanks for the info I have friends there too but have not heard this.

Maybe they are influenced by their Russian occupation not too long ago.

I would love to move there too, if I could figure an angle, as this county is toast and the American people have let it happen.

Joe

They have some employment opportunities that Americans can apply for.
What kind of degree and/or trade experience do you have?

I am getting a degree in Aviation engineering and Finland greatly needs aeronautic help who can speak English.

My dream would be to live in Switzerland.
My school has set me up with an appointment with Swiss airlines once I graduate. So hopefully that will pan out. It's hard getting Swiss citizenship, but you can get a Swiss work visa pretty easy and you do not have to be a Swiss citizen to buy and own firearms in Switzerland.
I agree Switzerland would be a step up. But New Zealand would be my first choice.

I really have no way because of my age and other issues to get out of this county but good luck to you and I understand the reasons you are leaving. Do what you can to support those of us left behind.

Joe
 

Sig229

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Thanks for the kind wishes.

I really dont know what I can do from there that will help gun owners here.
Since I was 16 I stood out ion front of many polling places and handed out fliers of what candidates are pro gun and which are not.
I have sen so many letters out to politicians, states attorney's offices, police departments.
But it seems like they go unread and unanswered.

Unfortunately, I think the only thing we Americans have left is the revolt route.
Now, I dont do drugs, but I know that this whole "war on drugs" farce has spilled over into the gun ownership area.

People tend to think that drug dealers on the corner who shoot at each other, are the same people like you and I. Law abiding gun owners.

If those drug dealers had no business, and Medical Doctors (not police) treated drug addicts with pharmaceutical grade drugs, the drug dealer on the corner would be totally bankrupt and violent crime on American streets would go down ten fold.

But know Im starting to rant.
Let's just say that I feel our forefathers if alive today would have an aneurysm if they saw what we the people and our elected officials were doing to this once great nation.
 

tittiger

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Good to hear from you my friend. Tyranny will come some day to Finland and perhaps you can fight it there.

BTW Morgantown used to be in my back yard. Industry PA was my stompin' grounds and Mountain Jack was my neighbor.

Joe
http://truthtribune.com
 
Z

zipa

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Sig229 wrote:
I actually have a really close friend who lives in Finalnd.
And gun ownership over there is a way of life and has no restrictions of silencers.

People are easily allowed to own full automatics.

Once I am finished with school, I am thinking about getting work there.

As much as I respect America, Im done with it.

Hello to y'all from Finland. I happened to wander in here, and wanted to correct this statement a bit.

Firstly, the opinions on gun ownership have changed a lot, and for the worse, I'm afraid. We had another similar school shooting with nine victims (plus the shooter himself) a month ago, and the public opinion is screaming for a ban of handguns (or all guns, or .22 semi-autos or whatever, the people arguing for the ban aren't very coherent...) as a result of that. The government also issued an order that all handgun license applicants must provide a doctor's certificate regarding their mental health before the application will even be concidered.

Second, full automatics are 99,9 % banned from "regular" people. Only collectors can get a license for them, and even they will sometimes have to deactivate them, or the license has a clause that prohibits shooting with the firearm.
 

tittiger

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Thanks for the update.....

This is precisely the reason that we in America need to always work from the position of firearm ownership being a right and not a permission granted us by government or other voters.

IMHO this is the error that "Open Carry" makes in it's approach. i.e. they seem to reinforce the permission view by doing things like asking government to give them permission to open carry. IMHO they should instead demand a clarification in state constitution and also a repeal of all gun laws.
 
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