So far this year, seven people have been killed by close family members with firearms, according to the police. In the two triple murder cases this year, the alleged perpetrators had registered hunting weapons. This has led to demands from SV and the Conservative Party in the justice committee that the government must look into whether the firearms law needs to be tightened. The Minister of Justice rejects that.
– It is too early to say whether these cases concretely provide a basis for changing, for example, the Arms Act. They are still under investigation, so we will have to come back to that at a later date, says Mehl to TV 2.
There is no requirement for a doctor’s certificate to obtain a weapons permit in Norway, and healthcare personnel are not obliged to report patients they believe should be deprived of weapons and weapons permits, unless there is an acute danger to life and health.
Mehl says it is important to have secure systems and high requirements for applying for a firearms permit, but that it is not possible to fully guard against legal firearms being used for murder.
– It’s not the weapon itself, but the person it depends on, she insists.
There were 1.4 million legal weapons registered in Norway in July 2022, according to the Norwegian Police Directorate.
