A debate about private ownership of guns is already in Italy A member of the far-right Coalition Party allegedly shot and killed an immigrant.
After a shooting outside a bar in Lombardy town on Tuesday night, Voghera’s security councilman Massimo Adriatici was placed under house arrest. Youns El Bossettaoui, a 38-year-old man from Morocco, was shot in the chest and later died in the hospital.
The leader of the alliance and Mario Draghi’s main partner in the broad alliance, Matteo Salvini, immediately defended Adriatic, saying that the former police commander and criminal lawyer’s lawmaker had acted in self-defense.
He said in a video posted on social media on Wednesday: “Assuming self-defense. [Adriatici] He is a professor of criminal law, a former police officer, and a criminal lawyer. He is widely known and respected… He was a victim of aggression, but he unexpectedly responded. “
On Thursday morning, in an interview with Rai TV’s current affairs program Agorà, Salvini also defended Adriatici for carrying a gun: “From the current situation, he was attacked by a criminal and illegal immigrants. Let’s wait for everything. Come out all the discoveries-someone dies always fails and mourns, but before judging and condemning, we must be cautious.”
According to Italian media reports, Adriatici, who was carrying a 0.22 caliber pistol, claimed that he had intervened because El Bossettaoui had a wife and two children in Morocco and he disturbed customers at the bar. He stated that the two men stood in a row and El Bossettaoui allegedly pushed Adriatici, who said he accidentally fired a bullet when he fell to the ground.
Enrico Letta, the leader of the center-left Democratic Party, who is also part of the Draghi coalition, called for a ban on private gun ownership. “A man died from a gun,” Letta said. “The one thing we must and can do is to stop private weapons.”
Democratic Senator Franco Mirabelle said he found Salvini’s words “chilling.” “One person shot and killed another,” he said. “This is a tragedy-before the verdict, the grief for the victim should prevail.”
Riccardo Magi, Chairman of the Small Left Party More Europe, Said: “Salvini’s game is deceptive…it makes citizens think that they must protect themselves and that shooting can go unpunished.”
According to data from the Swiss-based Small Arms Survey cited by the La Stampa newspaper, it is estimated that 1.2 million Italians who are not in the police and security forces own small guns.
Like other Western European countries, Italy has strict gun ownership and use laws. Gun owners must go through strict procedures to obtain a gun purchase license. Once a gun is purchased, the owner must notify the Ministry of the Interior. There are restrictions on the type and number of guns an individual can own and the amount of ammunition they can obtain. Another special permit is required to carry firearms in public places.
Most police and security personnel can carry guns. However, they are only allowed to be used in extreme situations, including in self-defense.
