While talking about gun control, Coach Walz talked about how other countries handle it.
“I’ve spent time in Finland and seen some Finnish schools. They don’t have this happen even though they have a high gun ownership rate in the country. There are reasonable things that we can do to make a difference. It’s not infringing on your Second Amendment,” he said.
Vance used the opportunity to use one of the more insidious right wing talking points — namely, that nice white countries just don’t have our problems.
“Okay, first of all, we have way higher rates of mental health abuse or mental health substance abuse. We have way higher rates of depression, way higher rates of anxiety. We, unfortunately, have a mental health crisis in this country that I really do think that we need to get to the root causes of because I don’t think it’s the whole reason why we have such a bad gun violence problem. But I do think it’s a big piece of it.
“Another driver of the gun violence epidemic, especially that affecting our kids. It doesn’t earn as many headlines, but is the terrible gun violence problem in a lot of our big cities.“
(Can we just veer off for a moment here? You see what he’s doing here — “big cities” is just their code word for Black people. Chicago’s strong gun laws are offset by the fact that it’s so easy to buy guns in Indiana — right next door. And Republican state legislatures, doing the bidding of the NRA, obediently pass laws that forbid cities from passing stricter gun laws than the rest of their rural, gun-loving areas.)
And yet, Finland just had a school shooting earlier this year.
In Finland, which is billed as “the happiest country on earth,” mental illness is common — about one in five. Antidepressant use is high. Between 4–9% of the population suffer from major depressive disorders, and 10–20% experience depression at some point in their lives.
Finland’s suicide rate is also higher than the EU average, though it has decreased in recent decades.
As Coach Walz said, It’s about the guns.
In Finland, a license is required to own a firearm, and all guns are registered. The minimum age to apply for a license is 20 years old. Guns can only be carried for specific purposes, such as hunting or shooting at a range. Guns must be unloaded and stored in a case or pouch when transported.
The owner is responsible for ensuring that guns and ammunition do not end up in unauthorized hands. Magazine capacity is restricted to a maximum of 21 rounds for short guns and 11 rounds for a long gun.
Permits are only valid for five years and must be reviewed at that point.
Finland has also reduced the availability of semi-automatic weapons, including prohibiting citizens under 20 years old from owning them.
Just saying. Finland doesn’t have some special breed of people who are too mentally healthy to shoot people — or themselves. They have very enlightened social policies — and strict gun laws.
