Word: gunned
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...There has been heated debate over Germany's gun laws ever since a school shooting in the southern town of Winnenden on March 11, when 17-year-old Tim Kretschmar went on a rampage, killing 15 people before turning the gun on himself. After much wrangling between the conservative CDU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government, the parties have finally agreed on a number of measures aimed at tightening Germany's gun controls, which are already quite strict compared with other European countries. (Read about Merkel in the TIME...
...measures include more spot checks on gun owners at their homes to ensure that weapons and ammunition are being stored and locked away properly; raising the legal age for using a high-caliber weapon for target practice from 14 to 18; amnesty for people who hand over illegal weapons to the authorities; and biometric security systems to ensure that weapons are being used by their rightful owners. After the Winnenden shooting, it emerged that Kretschmar had used his father's gun, which he found in his parents' bedroom. His father had a permit to own the gun, but current...
...gun lobby is powerful in Germany. There are more than 15,000 gun clubs with at least 2 million members. During the summer, popular shooting festivals - where people drink beer, enjoy the sun and shoot at targets - take place in towns and villages across Germany. According to the Interior Ministry, there are 10 million registered weapons in Germany and - more worryingly - up to 20 million illegal weapons. Germany tightened its gun-control laws in 2002, after a school shooting in the central town of Erfurt left 18 dead. But after the Winnenden shooting earlier this year, campaigners lobbied the government...
...While many Germans would agree that tighter gun control is a good idea, the possible ban on paintball has players up in arms. The sport has become hugely popular in Germany, with 200 venues and 250,000 people who play regularly or occasionally. There's even a German Paintball League, whose games are televised. If the new rules under consideration are voted into law, the popular sport could be treated as a civil offense, punishable with a fine...
...paintball fans complain that the proposed laws are heavy-handed, some politicians claim the measures are shortsighted, warning that tighter gun legislation isn't a quick fix to tackling gun crime. "There isn't a magic formula to prevent a killing spree," says Dieter Wiefelspuetz, interior policy spokesman for the Social Democrats. "The biggest challenge is to examine why some young men turn violent when they grow...