BERLIN - A bill to tighten German gun laws after a school shooting in which 17 people died cleared its final legislative hurdle Friday, raising the age for legally owning a firearm for recreational use from 18 to 21.
The measure, which gained unanimous approval in the upper house of parliament, also outlawed pump-action shotguns and raised the minimum gun-owning age for hunters from 16 to 18.
Government and opposition politicians pledged the restrictions after an expelled pupil stormed through his former school in the eastern city of Erfurt in April, gunning down 16 teachers and students before turning the gun on himself. Friday's vote follows approval last week by the lower house of parliament.
Robert Steinhaeuser, 19, held licenses for the pump-action shotgun he carried into the school as well as the pistol that police say he used to gun down his victims and then turned on himself.
Steinhaeuser was an active member of a local gun club, though club officials said they noticed nothing strange about his behavior before he embarked on one of the world's worst school shootings.
Under the new law, all shooters under age 25 except hunters will have to present a doctor's note confirming their mental suitability.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...any_gun_laws_2
mental suitability? Glad I don't live there.