“I can guarantee an attack of this magnitude will cause Norwegians to demand stricter gun control as a response,” ex-TTAG commentator Jadegold prognosticates over at MikeB302000‘s joint. “Why? Because they understand they have a problem and are willing to work to prevent other such tragedies.” Under the inflammatory title The NRA Comes to Norway, JG has wastes no time vilifying those who support armed self-defense and championing aspiring gun grabbers—without providing any factual information on Norwegian gun culture and laws, or how killer Anders Behring Breivik obtained his firearm. For the first part of that missing info, one need only turn to the the hive mind at wikipedia.org:
To own a gun in Norway, one must document a use for the gun. By far, the most common grounds for civilian ownership are hunting and sports shooting, in that order. Other needs can include special guard duties or self defence, but the first is rare and the second is practically never accepted as a reason for gun ownership . . .
The ownership of a firearm is considered a serious responsibility in Norway. Thus, the law for storage of firearms are strict.
For shotguns and rifles, the requirement given in the weapons act is to have the firearm, or a vital part of it, securely locked away. Generally, this means an approved gun safe, securely bolted to a non-removable part of the house. (A vital part is considered to be the bolt group—the bolt head will suffice—for rifles, the slide for pistols, or the barrel of a shotgun.)
The police are allowed to make a home inspection of the safe. An inspection must be announced more than 48 hours in advance, and the police are only allowed to see the safe and make sure it is legally installed.
Ammunition, sold only to persons able to show a valid firearm license, must be locked away but can be stored with the firearms. Without a special permit only 10,000 rounds of ammunition can be stored by a single person, or 15,000 rounds if 5,000 of them are 22.LR or smaller calibre. Two kg of black powder may be stored in a separate building if the person has a license for a black powder firearm.
The truth about Norwegian gun ownership: its citizens are prohibited from owning guns for defensive purposes. They do, however, keep a large number of long guns for hunting and “sporting purposes.” In short, as we’ve seen again and again,”tight” gun control laws do not prevent spree killing.
As for Breivik’s motivations, the crux of the matter is simple enough, as scotsman.com reports . . .
Police said later that the suspect had right-wing and anti-Muslim views, but the motive for the attacks was unclear, and one described it as “a madman’s work”. Police initially said about ten were killed at Utoya, but early today police director Oystein Maeland said they had discovered many more victims.
“It’s taken time to search the area. What we know now is that we can say that there are at least 80 killed at Utoya,” Mr Maeland said. “It goes without saying that this gives dimensions to this incident that are exceptional.”
Mr Maeland warned that the death toll could rise and said others were severely injured.
A police official said the suspect appeared to have acted alone in both attacks and “it seems like that this is not linked to any international terrorist organisations at all”.
“This seems like a madman’s work,” he added.
Left-leaning armchair analysts are already claiming that the Norwegian murderer’s access to a “high-powered rifle” turned a “right wing” nutcase into a killing machine. Which is both true and, ultimately, besides the point.
No matter how what Breivik believed or how he obtained his weapons (including fertilizer for a bomb), the youth camp where Breivik opened fire was an unprotected free-fire zone. No one in charge paid attention to a gigantic security breach (the killer dressed as a policeman). The cops didn’t arrive at the scene for somewhere between 30 minutes and two hours.
Would I want my kids summer camp protected by an armed guard (e.g. a conceal carry counselor)? Is it horrific to think that way? Yes I would and yes it is. But that is the world we live in. Obviously.