Austria is pretty good on guns, at least as European laws go. They still suck, but they don't create an outright ban on having them, which is a pretty big win for most folks there. Again, it's Europe, so they have to take what they can get.
But following the shooting in a school in Graz by a former student, there's a chance all of that will change.
See, for a lot of people, they see something bad happen and they immediately leap toward banning the tool used for that something bad, and almost never try to take a look at what broke inside of someone's head before they committed the aforementioned atrocity.
And now, Austria's gun laws are getting a close look.
A day after a gunman attacked a school in Graz and killed 10, including students, many in Austria were left questioning how such an act of violence could occur, turning attention to the country’s gun laws.
According to Kleine Zeitung newspaper, the attacker had purchased one of the weapons just days before carrying out the attack. To acquire it legally, he was required to pass a psychological evaluation, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing Austrian authorities.
Around 1.5 million weapons are registered in Austria - a country with a population of just over 9 million and more liberal gun laws relative to the rest of Europe.
After the attack, a debate on the country's laws is gaining pace, with Graz Mayor Elke Kahr calling for a ban on weapons in the private sector on Tuesday evening. In her opinion, gun licences are "simply issued too quickly".
Austrian newspaper Der Standard reported that there are approximately 400,000 more weapons in the Alpine country today than there were five years ago.
The fact that he passed a psychological evaluation just days before this happened really tells you a lot about what good those can be, especially as many want those in place here in the United States.
The truth is that psychology only works if people are open and honest. Someone who has an intent to deceive can easily do so, just so long as they know what the evaluator wants to hear.
It's not surprising, either, to hear a European politician jump immediately toward a total ban on private weapons.
The thing is, Austria has seen what totalitarianism looks like. One of the most evil tyrants of all time was Austrian, for crying out loud. They've seen what a government that cares nothing for the rights of people looks like, and now, it looks like they're more than willing to let that flourish as well.
Austrian gun laws are far more invasive than we'd tolerate here in the United States. I'm not sure even California would try to get away with that kind of thing. Yet they did nothing to stop the shooting in Graz, and the fact that he passed a psych eval just before the shooting should be a warning that these things need to stop being treated as some spur-of-the-moment decision. That happens, of course, such as the Cafe Racer shooting in Seattle that left a dear friend of mine dead, but most of the time, these monsters plan these attacks. They're patient and willing to wait, if need be.
Deny them a gun, even if you can, and they'll just find another means.
Let's remember that the worst terrorist attack on American soil pre-9/11 involved fertilizer and fuel oil.
Evil men do evil things with what's available to them.
Some caveman randomly beat a fellow tribesman to death with a rock just for kicks, most likely. One of Joan of Arc's confidants turned out to be a serial killer. Evil people have been with us since Caine slew Abel, and they'll always be with us.
But disarming the population doesn't depower evil people. It simply makes it harder for the good people to defend them.
Austria requires a good reason to get a permit, but it accepts self-defense as a valid reason. They at least get it on that level.
What some are wanting now is to undo that and empower evil to flourish.
