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Finnish Man Shoots, Kills Wife then Self After Allegedly Stalking Her
16 June 2013
YLE (Finland)
Police have sketched out a clearer picture of events leading up to an apparent murder-suicide that took place at Helsinki's west harbour Saturday afternoon. Officers interviewed eye witnesses as well as relatives of the Finnish-Estonian couple.
Helsinki police say that they have for the most part been able to piece together a narrative of events preceding a deadly shooting incident at Helsinki's west harbour Saturday, in which a Finnish man shot and killed his Estonian... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Australia,Finland,Africa,Germany
More Than 65 Countries Sign Arms Trade Treaty
3 June 2013
Time (USA)
More than 65 countries signed the landmark treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade Monday and the United States announced it will sign soon, giving a strong kickoff to the first major international campaign to stem the illicit trade in weapons that fuel conflicts and extremists.
The announcement by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that the U.S. — the world's largest arms dealer — will sign is critical, but the treaty's ultimate strength rests... (GunPolicy.org)
Record Number of Firearms Seized from Motorcycle Gangs in Finland
25 April 2013
YLE (Finland)
The number of firearms seized by police from motorcycle gangs classed as criminal groups has risen sharply over the past few years. A decade ago, police on average confiscated only a few dozen guns annually from motorcycle gangs. Since 2010, more than 400 have been seized, nearly 250 of which are handguns.
"The weapons seized include pistols, revolvers, a few shotguns and ten sub-machine guns. Ammunition has also been confiscated. Some of the guns had been made... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns of 15,000 Abusive Men Seized in Turkey
14 April 2013
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
Family and Social Policy Minister Fatma Şahin has announced that the weapons of 15,000 men found to have been involved in violence against women have been confiscated as a protective measure since the Law on the Prevention of Violence against Women came into effect 13 months ago.
Speaking to the Akşam daily during her visit to Helsinki, Şahin provided some details about the implementation of Law No. 6284 on the Prevention of Violence against Women and the Protection... (GunPolicy.org)
Sweden,Uruguay,Finland,Iraq,Saudi Arabia,Cyprus,Switzerland,Yemen,Serbia,United States
10 Nations with Highest Gun Ownership
12 March 2013
SiliconIndia
Bangalore: "Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins," said novelist Ayn Rand. In an era where the misuse of guns and ammunitions are leading to massacres, it is no more a place of nonviolence. Arms and ammunitions leave bitter memories and scar the human race for ages to come. Here are the 10 countries with highest gun ownership, as listed by yahoo.com.
USA:
USA tops the list of countries with highest gun ownership and this no surprise! The... (GunPolicy.org)
Finland,United States,European Union,Germany,Switzerland,Russia,South Africa,Mexico
Registry Shows Germans Fourth in World For Guns
17 February 2013
Local (Germany)
Figures compiled for Germany's new National Weapons Registry reveal that there are 5.4 million legally owned guns in the country, making it the world's fourth most-armed nation per capita.
Der Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday that the state of Bavaria topped the list with 1.1 million, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia with 1 million and Baden-Württemberg with 700,000.
The new national gun register bundles together the data from over 500 local authorities, which... (GunPolicy.org)
Western Europe,Sudan,South Africa,Colombia,Finland,Estonia,United States
13 Key Questions and Answers about US Gun Violence
4 February 2013
Atlantic (USA)
How much gun violence is there in the U.S.?
There were 8,583 homicides by firearms in 2011, out of 12,664 homicides total, according to the FBI. This means that more than two-thirds of homicides involve a firearm. 6,220 of those homicides by firearm (72%) are known to have involved a handgun.
It's worth noting that violent crime rates of all types have been steadily decreasing since the early 1990s. No one is quite sure what is causing this decrease, though there are... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Plans 'Gun Appreciation Day' as Tougher Controls Debated
15 January 2013
Time (USA)
Well, this is awkward: Some Americans are celebrating Gun Appreciation Day on Jan. 19 — two days before President Obama's second inauguration, nine days after a teenager opened fire at a California high school, the same week as the one-month anniversary of the Newtown, Conn. school shooting and the same month as the second anniversary of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Tuscon, Ariz.
But Gun Appreciation Day isn't a long-standing tradition with poor timing. Nope,... (GunPolicy.org)
Firearm Ownership, Trends Remain Unchanged in Estonia
7 January 2013
ERR News (Estonia)
While fears of possible changes to gun laws have prompted some Americans to make a run on semi-automatic weapons, Estonian gun ownership numbers remain relatively low and are holding steady.
ERR radio reported the number of legal guns in the past seven to eight years to be stable at 60,000 guns in the hands of 30,000 people, half of them hunters.
Police captain Sven Põierpaas estimated this number to be "optimal."
"Estonians are reasonable and balanced,... (GunPolicy.org)
Finland, US Sign Tracing Agreement to Fight Illegal Gun Trafficking
4 January 2013
PR Newswire (London), Media release
WASHINGTON - The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will provide eTrace, an electronic system used to trace illegal firearms, to Finland — in an ongoing effort to combat firearms trafficking.
The MOU establishes conditions of the partnership regarding the procedures to access and use eTrace services made available to law enforcement agencies in Finland.
eTrace is a paperless firearm... (GunPolicy.org)
United Kingdom,Finland,Colombia,Mexico,Western Europe,Australia,Yemen,Canada,New Zealand,United States
On Guns and Gun Law, America an Outlier Among Developed Nations
20 December 2012
Huffington Post (USA)
How freely do guns flow in the United States compared with the world's other industrialized countries?
According to GunPolicy.org, run by Philip Alpers, a firearms analyst at The University of Sydney, the United States is unusual with what Alpers described as the "two pillars" of gun control: licensing gun owners and registering weapons.
"You are basically the only country in the developed world that doesn't license gun owners across the board and you are almost alone... (GunPolicy.org)
Yemen,Norway,Switzerland,Canada,Germany,Spain,Finland,United States,United Kingdom,Australia
Homicides Down after Tougher Gun Laws Adopted Abroad
19 December 2012
Los Angeles Times
Twelve days after the worst mass murder in Australian history, when 35 people were shot to death at Tasmania state's Port Arthur tourist mecca in 1996, the government issued sweeping reforms of the country's gun laws. There hasn't been a mass shooting since, and suicides, deaths by firearms and robberies at gunpoint have plummeted.
The results of toughened gun rules in Britain after the massacre in the Scottish town of Dunblane that same year weren't so immediate or... (GunPolicy.org)
Norway,Switzerland,Finland,Germany,Canada,Australia,United Kingdom,United States
Around the World, Gun Massacres Spurred Gun Control, Public Safety
18 December 2012
ABC News (USA) / AP
If there's anywhere that understands the pain of Newtown, it's Dunblane, the town whose grief became a catalyst for changes to Britain's gun laws.
In March 1996, a 43-year-old man named Thomas Hamilton walked into a primary school in this central Scotland town of 8,000 people and shot to death 16 kindergarten-age children and their teacher with four legally held handguns. In the weeks that followed, people in the town formed the Snowdrop campaign — named for the... (GunPolicy.org)
Finland Govt Group Calls for Stricter Gun and Airgun Storage Rules
3 December 2012
YLE (Finland)
A Ministry of the Interior working group has proposed stricter conditions and clarifications to current legislation concerning the use of firearms. If the proposals are accepted, all firearms and accessories will be kept under lock and key.
Current legislation demands that guns be kept under lock or that gun components should be kept in a separate location than the actual weapon.
Owners of particularly dangerous firearms or five individual guns will have to purchase... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Suspect Jealousy in Finland Shooting, 3 People Dead
17 November 2012
ABC News (USA)
Three people were shot dead in southwestern Finland, most likely in an attack motivated by jealousy, Finnish police said Saturday.
No others were injured in the shooting by a farmhouse in the small town of Alavus, 350 kilometers (218 miles) northwest of Helsinki.
Officers were alerted to the scene by a passer-by around noon Saturday, then found the bodies of a man and a woman — both shot with a gun — in a car outside the house. The body of the suspected shooter, a... (GunPolicy.org)
Finland to Get Computerised Civilian Gun Registry
6 September 2012
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)
After a long wait, Finnish police are getting a new electronic registry of firearms owned by citizens. Alongside the Vitja data system, which is to be launched in 2014, the registry is set to make it considerably easier for police to keep tabs on firearms in Finland.
In the early stages the new firearms registry will streamline processing of licence applications. There will be less paperwork, as the applications will be made directly into the data system.
... (GunPolicy.org)
Finland MP Calls for Law Review After Two Children Shot Dead
29 August 2012
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)
Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen (Christ. Dem.) called for tighter legislation on gun safety on Sunday.
She voiced her views to Helsingin Sanomat after two shocking incidents at the weekend in the North Savo region, in which two children were killed by accidental gunfire.
The first tragedy took place on Friday night when two brothers, aged five and eight, found a gun in their house.
The loaded firearm went off and hit the five-year-old in... (GunPolicy.org)
Changes in Law Reduces Demand for Handguns in Finland
6 August 2012
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)
New firearms legislation, which was prompted by two school massacres in Finland in 2007 and 2008, appears to have led to a sharp decline in applications for handgun licences.
"Many dealers still have guns acquired in 2009 in their storerooms, and that is where they will stay", says Timo Huikkala, vice chairman of the Finnish Association of Gun Dealers.
A new law took effect in June, placing strict conditions for handgun permits. Retailers say that sales of... (GunPolicy.org)
Finland Teens Threatened with Gun at Church Camp in Estonia
16 July 2012
ERR News (Estonia)
A man threatened members of a Finnish church youth camp in south central Estonia with a gun before fleeing, a local newspaper reported today.
According to Sakala, the individual, who was described by witnesses as behaving erratically and aggressively, accosted a group leader of the camp on the main street of the village of Pilistvere around 21:00 on Thursday evening.
A boy in the group came to the defense of the female group leader, at which point the man grabbed the... (GunPolicy.org)
Nearly 90% of Finnish Guns Are Outside the Helsinki Region - Study
7 June 2012
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)
The Helsinki metropolitan area has significantly fewer firearms per capita than the rest of Finland. Whereas the whole country has 29 weapons per 100 people, the rate in the Helsinki region is 13 to 100.
The Helsinki region also stands out in the types of weapons that are most common. Pistols and revolvers are more common in the greater Helsinki area than elsewhere in the country.
Handguns account for 27 per cent of firearms in Helsinki and its surroundings, compared... (GunPolicy.org)
