Austria’s Greens demand stricter gun laws after Munich attack
Austria’s Greens are calling for a tightening of gun laws following the alleged terrorist attack in Munich. “It is unacceptable that an 18-year-old, who is banned from owning a gun, can obtain a firearm without being checked,” the parliamentary group of the governing party was told in the newspaper The standard quoted.
The young Austrian gunman who was killed by the police had, despite the ban, purchased an old rifle and ammunition from a private gun collector. According to Austrian law, it was a Category C weapon. This group includes long guns that are reloaded by hand – i.e. most hunting rifles. Private sellers of such weapons are not obliged to check for a possible weapons ban – unlike professional dealers. In private sales, the weapons can be handed over immediately, whereas in dealers’ cases they can only be handed over after a three-day “cooling off period”.
“The Interior Minister is called upon to introduce significant tightening measures, including a general ban on private arms sales,” said the Greens. The demand is directed at the Chancellor’s party, the ÖVP, which has Gerhard Karner as Interior Minister. The Conservatives and the Greens have been governing in a coalition for five years. A new parliament will be elected at the end of September.
ÖVP General Secretary Christian Stocker signalled his willingness to examine possible loopholes in the law. He rejected the idea of putting an end to private arms sales. Standard However, after the shooting near the Israeli consulate and the NS Documentation Center, the ÖVP again called for expanded powers to monitor electronic messages in order to combat extremism.
