Hungary PM calls for greater gun control

Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai yesterday asked Justice and Law Enforcement Minister Imre Forgács to draft a decree on tightening gun control regulations within days.

Bajnai spoke about crime as he assessed 2009 at a police conference. "The tragic or almost tragic shooting incidents of recent months have drawn attention to the need to tighten regulations on access to firearms," he said, adding "we cannot allow sick people who are a threat to the public to have lethal weapons claiming that such guns are for sporting purposes".

Police last week arrested and sent for psychiatric testing a 22-year-old man who planned to kill 22 people, including himself, at his university or in a shopping mall. That followed an incident in Pécs in November when a university student shot a classmate dead and wounded three other people.

Forgács said he deems changes necessary regarding psychological aptitude and the storage of weapons. Police discovered the largest illegal arms collection to date earlier this week.

National Police chief József Bencze called last year one of challenges. Among successful cases he mentioned putting the Mór murderers on trial, the capture of the men behind a series of murders of Roma, and the detention of extremists who had threatened politicians. He urged society to unite in defence of the elderly, who are more vulnerable to crime.

Forgács admitted that the sense of security has not improved among residents of small villages, due to the financial crisis, the appearance of petty crimes and political extremists.

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