I have some concerns about the gun laws in Spain and how easy it may be for people who have mental health issues to get access to them.

A few weeks ago (on the day of the Spanish victory in Euro 2012) the 32 year old son of a local family who own a number of businesses shot himself in the head (at their home) with a handgun. We had been aware for some time that he was exhibiting signs of mental illness, and seemed to be aggressive and quite hostile towards foreigners. A few times he had spoken angrily to my OH and other people sitting having a drink outside a bar opposite one of his family's shops, as they were talking and laughing and he seemed to have the idea they were laughing at him which was quite untrue. We were shocked when we heard what had happened, it would have been so easy for him to walk out into the street and start shooting at someone else instead of turning the gun on himself.

I know hunting with guns is very popular in Spain and a lot of people might keep shotguns at home, but a handgun? And his family must have realised he was ill, why wasn't it kept more securely. I don't know if the police are investigating further, but his funeral took place the day after his death in the normal way so there doesn't seem to be any kind of inquest procedure. Quite scary.

How horrible. I have read that suicide levels are rising in Spain amongst young men but its always a bigger shock when it happens on your doorstep.

The Spanish gun laws are very strict, and I think they include psychiatric assessment, but as you know, laws are often ignored here. There are millions of unlicensed guns kicking around.

However it's still very unusual to see guns turned on the public. I can't think of any such events and I've been here over ten years.

A sad story

There are often cases in the news of someone in Spain shooting themselves, their partner or sometimes their business partner

However, there are very few shootings and (fingers crossed) no maniac random shooting sprees that I know of. But there are shootings, usually by people who have become mentally ill

Someone was arguing with Brian Moore (a complete twonk in my humble opinion) about gun laws in the US and they stated that it wasn't guns that needed to be sorted but people and BM replied, quite well I felt, that man, without guns, cannot kill from a great distance, cannot slaughter people and cannot unleash a thousand rounds in a few seconds. Its the guns that are to blame and their accessibility, and this from someone who is more than happy to handle guns.

True , its more difficult to get a firearms certificate in Spain than the UK although the psychiatric assessment is a joke as you simply give the answers you know they want to hear, for hunting you have to go on a hunting course and firearms handling course both with a simple exam at the end , hunting days are then overseen by the GC who regulary check your documentation at the begining of a hunt, none of this will stop a nutter loosing it and going on a shooting spree , if someone is hell bent on killing people they can do it without firearms , be it by home made explosives , driving a car into a crowd, arson etc etc


Millions of unlicensed guns kicking around ? info from your local bar?

Er ... not far off !!!

I live in a farming community, shotguns are passed down through the generations without bothering to apply for new licenses. Some people still have their grandparents' weapons from the civil war!

OK there was a (relaxed) system of regulation before Dunblane, Hungerford having been seen as an "anomoly". But it didnt stop Cumbria.
All it did was to impose massive restrictions on those who enjoy shooting for hobby, relaxation, skill honing etc. More people are killed by cars but then they are a special case
It has never stopped young kids driving past a bus queue spraying lead from a sub-machine gun.

If you want a gun you can get one, there will always be someone out there ready willing and able to supply - at a cost.
How did Steven Greenoe smuggle 60 handguns into the UK from US without being caught ??

http://www.gun-control-network.org/IN0111.htm

It will always be impossible to control guns as crooks/nutters have no regard for the law ,it really is that simple , eastern europe is one place where firearms are almost freely available on the black market ,any crook could smuggle them in without to many issues , dogs cant sniff out clean guns!

Strict gun laws only hinder law biding sportsmen and women.

I dont generally trust internet statistics as they seem to vary site to site but this make intersting reading .....

http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/spain