"The country already has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Handguns are only on sale to those aged 18 or over, with heavier weapons restricted to those over 21. No weapon can be purchased legally without a firearms ownership licence, which is only available after personal checks.
None of this appears to have prevented a 17-year-old former pupil of Albertville school in Winnenden from going on the rampage. According to Spiegel online, the student's family kept some 18 different weapons at home. Germany's ZDF TV, quoting police sources, confirmed one of the father's weapons was missing."
Those weapons were all legal & licensed. Despite this horrible tragedy of ten dead students, three teachers, and the gun man's suicide, the obvious futility of draconian anti-gun laws will be lost on the leftist disarmament crowd.
From Der Spiegel:
"The German Police Federation, Konrad Freiberg, proposed fitting schools with doors that could only be opened with personalized swipe cards.
But the president of the German Federation of Teachers, Josef Kraus, said such systems would only give a false sense of security. "If someone wants to go on a rampage, he can also target a schoolbus and there's nothing you can do about it," he said.
Wolfgang Bosbach, deputy parliamentary leader of Merkel's conservatives, said was too soon to draw conclusions from the shooting.
"We must examine the causes and the background of this crime," Bosbach said. He warned against turning the country's schools into "maximum security facilities."
Our prayers & well wishes go out to the families of the victims.
