Robert Bandanza
September 30th, 2008, 11:32 AM
Mental health certificate now required for handgun ownership
Interior Ministry imposes restrictions on availability of hand guns
Applicants for hand gun permits must now submit a medical certificate to police handling the application. The medical statement must indicate if the applicant has mental health problems involving the danger that the person might harm him, or herself, or others.
This and a number of other stipulations were mapped out on Monday by the Ministry of the Interior, in the wake of the Kauhajoki school shootings a week ago in which 11 people died.
The mental health certificate does not have to come from a psychiatrist. However, if possible, the professional should have an established patient relationship with the doctor, says Mika Lehtonen of the Ministry of the Interior.
The Finnish Medical Association does not want to place more obligations on the shoulders of doctors to write certificates that are not related to the treatment of an illness. “A police official is quite sufficient for considering the right to carry a weapon. If there is doubt, the permit should be rejected”, says FMA executive director Heikki Pälve.
The ministry also decreed that a permit could be given for a handgun as a first firearm only when a person has actively been involved in target shooting for at least a year. The shooting practice log should reveal that the applicant has actively been involved in target shooting under the guidance of a shooting club about once a week, Lehtonen says.
If a handgun permit is sought on the basis of having target shooting as a hobby, the applicant needs to specify what type of shooting he or she engages in. The police are required to ascertain that the type of weapon for which the permit is sought is suited for the particular sport in question. Miniature pistol versions of weapons used by police are not seen as appropriate for target shooting.
The ministry also ordered that handgun permits granted in recent years, and the reasons given for handing them, should be clarified in the gun registry. Instructions are to come later on how this is to be done.
A working group for amending firearms legislation was set up by the Ministry of the Interior on Monday. Minister of the Interior Anne Holmlund (Nat. Coalition Party) gave the working group the task of clarifying if certain types of handguns should be banned outright. she said that bans are difficult, because new types of weapons are constantly being developed.
The legal project has been divided into two parts, the first of which involves tougher regulations on granting handgun permits, and the monitoring of the state of health of the applicants. The first phase is to reach Parliament next spring.
In preparation for a new law, the working group is to ascertain ways in which police could be given better access to information from the health care system and the Social Insurance Institution, which have information on the medicines used by people. The group will also examine the possibilities about getting more information from the Defence Forces on the military records of the applicants.
The ministry decided on Monday that a gun auction scheduled to take place in Riihimäki on Wednesday should be cancelled. It was felt that such an event would not be appropriate for the present situation.
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Mental+health+certificate+now+required+for+handgun+ownership/1135239851369
Interior Ministry imposes restrictions on availability of hand guns
Applicants for hand gun permits must now submit a medical certificate to police handling the application. The medical statement must indicate if the applicant has mental health problems involving the danger that the person might harm him, or herself, or others.
This and a number of other stipulations were mapped out on Monday by the Ministry of the Interior, in the wake of the Kauhajoki school shootings a week ago in which 11 people died.
The mental health certificate does not have to come from a psychiatrist. However, if possible, the professional should have an established patient relationship with the doctor, says Mika Lehtonen of the Ministry of the Interior.
The Finnish Medical Association does not want to place more obligations on the shoulders of doctors to write certificates that are not related to the treatment of an illness. “A police official is quite sufficient for considering the right to carry a weapon. If there is doubt, the permit should be rejected”, says FMA executive director Heikki Pälve.
The ministry also decreed that a permit could be given for a handgun as a first firearm only when a person has actively been involved in target shooting for at least a year. The shooting practice log should reveal that the applicant has actively been involved in target shooting under the guidance of a shooting club about once a week, Lehtonen says.
If a handgun permit is sought on the basis of having target shooting as a hobby, the applicant needs to specify what type of shooting he or she engages in. The police are required to ascertain that the type of weapon for which the permit is sought is suited for the particular sport in question. Miniature pistol versions of weapons used by police are not seen as appropriate for target shooting.
The ministry also ordered that handgun permits granted in recent years, and the reasons given for handing them, should be clarified in the gun registry. Instructions are to come later on how this is to be done.
A working group for amending firearms legislation was set up by the Ministry of the Interior on Monday. Minister of the Interior Anne Holmlund (Nat. Coalition Party) gave the working group the task of clarifying if certain types of handguns should be banned outright. she said that bans are difficult, because new types of weapons are constantly being developed.
The legal project has been divided into two parts, the first of which involves tougher regulations on granting handgun permits, and the monitoring of the state of health of the applicants. The first phase is to reach Parliament next spring.
In preparation for a new law, the working group is to ascertain ways in which police could be given better access to information from the health care system and the Social Insurance Institution, which have information on the medicines used by people. The group will also examine the possibilities about getting more information from the Defence Forces on the military records of the applicants.
The ministry decided on Monday that a gun auction scheduled to take place in Riihimäki on Wednesday should be cancelled. It was felt that such an event would not be appropriate for the present situation.
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Mental+health+certificate+now+required+for+handgun+ownership/1135239851369