Reuters: French gunman's arsenal spotlights illegal arms trade

Europe is often cited as a model for the way things should be and the United States is painted a maverick. Incidents like the France shooter are rare, but one thing is universal - criminals don't follow the law. That is why they are criminals. Placing additional restrictions on the law abiding doesn't curb crime.

From the article cited above:

Already tough French gun laws were tightened further earlier this month with the approval of longer jail terms and larger fines for anyone caught with an illegal firearm.

Amateur marksmen and game hunters must meet stringent criteria to obtain a gun licence including registering themselves with the authorities, proving they have no criminal record, and passing a psychological evaluation. There is also a blacklist of some 18,000 people banned from owning a gun.

The government says there are at least 7.5 million guns in legal circulation in the ownership of the state, amateur gun enthusiasts and hunters. Nobody knows how many illegal guns are in circulation, though experts put the total number of both legal and illegal guns at between 10 and 20 million in a nation of 65 million people.

Merah's frequent brushes with the law would have made it impossible for him to have legally acquired any of his weapons, gun experts say.

"There is no way he could have got these guns legally with his record," Jean-Jacques Buigne, president of the French union of amateur gun owners told Reuters. "It is out of the question."

Most of the guns he got hold of, such as the Uzi machine pistol, are in any case banned in France. The guns he used would have traced their origin back to World War Two, Eastern Europe or a more recent conflict in the Middle East, experts say.

 

The article finishes with:

"If you don't have a 'Kalash' you're a bit of a loser."

 

He is not talking about Americans or the United States. He is talking about Marseille.