School Shooting Sparks Calls for Tighter Gun Laws in Austria
Austria intensifies firearm regulations following multiple shootings incident - Austria Intends to Strengthen Firearm Regulations Following Amoklauf Incident
Fed up with the bloody aftermath of the school shooting in Graz, the Austrian government is planning to crack down on gun ownership. Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) hinted at several potential measures, including raising the minimum age for purchasing guns, during a recent ORF radio interview. They also aim to beef up psychological tests required for gun licenses. Details of their proposed package are set to be announced next week.
The tragic incident on Tuesday saw a 21-year-old Austrian unleash a hail of bullets at his former school using a pistol and a sawed-off shotgun, which both were legally owned by the gunman. Nine students and a teacher lost their lives, and the shooter sadly took his own life.
Acquiring a shotgun in Austria is as easy as pie, while a pistol requires a license, which the culprit also obtained after passing a psychological evaluation. Interestingly, he had been ruled unfit for military service due to psychological issues just the year before.
Gun lawsSchool shootingGrazAustriaTragedyViennaChristian StockerÖVP
What's cooking?
In the aftermath of this devastating school shooting, there's a brewing storm to overhaul Austria's gun laws. Here's what's hot on the table:
Proposed Gun Law Reforms
- Old Timers: Raising the minimum age for purchasing weapons is being considered to restrict younger individuals from accessing firearms.[1]
- Befuddled Off officials: Improved data sharing is proposed to help authorities spot warning signs and potential threats more efficiently.[1]
- Adult Swim: Narrowing classifications for legal weapons could result in fewer firearms available for legal purchase.[1]
- Shrink the Head: Stricter psychological evaluations are proposed for would-be gun license holders to keep the crazies at bay.[1]
Stats and History
- Gun-friendly Austria: Historically, Austria has been rather easy with gun laws compared to other European nations, with high civilian gun ownership rates.[2][5]
- Deadly Destruction: The Graz shooting left at least 10 people dead, making it the bloodiest school shooting in Austria since World War II.[1][4]
- Crisis Management: The Austrian government declared a period of national mourning and is scheduled to vote on a reform package to strengthen gun laws, with the cabinet due to meet on June 18 to finalize these plans.[1][3]
As gun violence continues to rise in Europe, countries are reconsidering their gun regulations in a bid to ensure public safety and wellbeing.
- [Austria's] proposed gun law reforms aim to restrict younger individuals from accessing firearms by raising the minimum age for purchasing weapons.
- Improved data sharing is proposed to help authorities identify warning signs and potential threats more efficiently, as part of the Austrian government's plan to overhaul gun laws.
- Narrowing classifications for legal weapons could result in fewer firearms available for legal purchase, as a part of the gun law reforms being considered in Austria.
- Stricter psychological evaluations are proposed for would-be gun license holders in Austria to help keep potentially unstable individuals from gaining access to firearms, a measure suggested after the recent school shooting in Graz.
