Russia against legalising sale of unrestricted firearms

Moscow, Apr 18 (UNI) Russia must not legalise sale of unrestricted firearms, Sergei Mironov, Speaker of the Federation Council, the Upper House of Parliament, today said.

''I have always categorically opposed the unrestricted sale of weapons and this tragedy only supports my arguments,'' Mr Mironov said while commenting on the Monday's shoot-out in Virginia Polytechnic Institute, in the United States.

Expressing his condolences to friends and relatives of those killed in the incident, he said the US had made an 'inexcusable mistake' by allowing people to bear arms.

''As far as Russia is concerned, there are many unbalanced people here and legalising the sale of weapons would only multiply crimes,'' Mr Mironov told RIA Novosti news agency.

Commenting of the tragedy, Russian experts said bad laws and the mental stresses of the modern world were the main reasons for mass murders like the mass shooting in Virginia.

''In my opinion, these repeated cases of completely unprovoked shootings in the United States reflect some sort of a systematic collapse of American legislation, particularly involving the right to own guns,'' Sergei Oznobishchev, Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Evaluation and Analysis said.

''The most recent US tragedy should be an issue of concern not only to Americans, but to Russians as well, who must draw the necessary conclusions in order to prevent similar incidents in Russia,'' Mr Oznobishchev said.

''If firearms in Russia were to become as widespread as they are in the United States, we would see similar tragedies,'' he added.

Mr Oznobishchev noted the modern world is hard on people with psychological frailties, and their mental health problems often deteriorate as the result of everyday conflicts involving family, work and other issues.

''I am afraid they could continue. People who pick up firearms often take revenge not on any specific individual, but rather on the whole world. Such cases are reflections of powerless human beings caught up in a huge and often heartless technocratic society,'' he said.

Deputy Director of the Institute of US Canada Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences ,Viktor Kremenyuk said such tragedies were likely the result of psychological frustrations adding that Russians have a wrong impression about the easy availability of firearms in the United States.

''It is a myth, which is popular among us in Russia. It is nonsense that one can just walk into a shop and buy a gun. The procedure is fairly complicated,'' Mr Kremenyuk said.

''Modern society has a lot of stresses and strains and immature minds and souls often cannot bear up under them, and as a result breakdowns happen, followed by tragedy,'' he added.

UNI