German guns to be kept under 'fingerprint' locks

Germany is planning to bring in a new law requiring gun owners to keep weapons in safes only accessible through the owner's fingerprints.

In the wake of a school massacre in March in which 16 died, a courthouse shooting and numerous other gun deaths, all political parties have agreed the rules need to be severely tightened.

There are ten million registered guns in the country and an estimated 10 million more illegal ones.

In addition to a centralised federal weapons register, officials want "biometric security" barriers for gun vaults and technology that would limit the use of pistols and revolvers to their owners.

Schaeuble said he and state interior ministers will have a proposal by the beginning of June and that if gun laws have to be changed, it must be done before the general election in September.