49 year old unemployed construction worker goes to the P.M.'s office to "shoot politicians" Ends up shooting 2 cops instead

http://www.voanews.com/content/two-p...y/1650300.html

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp...eman-italy.cnn

I, in NO WAY condone what this man did, but I feel like I can understand his frustration and despair. The Italian people are suffering and the politicians in power don't give a flying ! They're more worried about how to keep their asses glued to their throne in parliment than on what is really going on in the country.

The other evening I was dumbfounded while watching a political talk show. They went on for an hour about how the new government will or will not be able to protect Berlusconi from his various impending judicial sentences. And the journalists were right there playing along! Really? This is the priority?

This sounds eerily familiar...

and this is just the beginning,i'm afraid...we already saw periods of time like this one.....

I'm just curious, but for those who might know off-hand, how easy or hard is it to get a firearm in Italy? The article didn't really go into details on the type of firearm, where it might have come from, was it legally in his possession, etc.

AFAIK, you can apply for a gun permit to your local Questura (Police HQ) and obtain it as long you practice target shooting or hunting and your criminal record is clean. But you can't own any weapon which has a military caliber (including 9x19 mm parabellum) or is full auto capable.