Stricter Gun Laws Coming: Only FPÖ Rejects Amendment

Even before the session, the coalition had promoted this - Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) spoke after the Council of Ministers on Wednesday of the "largest amendment to the gun law in 30 years." This became a political issue after the tragic rampage at a school in Graz.

In the National Council session, speakers from all parties expressed their condolences. However, the government reacted quickly, emphasized representatives from ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS. One must not return to business as usual but must draw the necessary consequences, said Karner.

Stricter Gun Laws: Greens See Only "Minimum Requirements" Met

With the announcement, the cooling-off period extended from three days to four weeks and the improved data exchange between authorities will come into effect. This should primarily take place between the recruitment commission and the weapons authority, but other authorities should also have the opportunity to pass on any irregularities, explained the Interior Minister. The rest of the package will follow in the first or second quarter of 2026, including psychological aptitude tests and a higher minimum age. Hunters are exempt, Karner emphasized once again - they already have strict training.

The Greens also want to agree, said party leader Leonore Gewessler. Austria can no longer afford its lax regulations. However, the law only meets the "minimum requirements," Gewessler demanded further measures. The Greens advocated stricter rules for the storage of weapons in private households through a resolution proposal.

FPÖ Rejects Stricter Gun Laws

The vote took place at the initiative of the SPÖ by name, with the Freedom Party deputies remaining on party line. The 50 votes against came from the FPÖ. Secretary General Christian Hafenecker called the law a "monster" that had been far too little reviewed. With the amendment, they want to make legal gun ownership "even more impossible." A "reduction" of legal gun ownership until it is almost non-existent is, for the deputy, a "characteristic of systems that are becoming increasingly totalitarian." He, on the other hand, missed initiatives to take illegal weapons out of circulation.

Douglas Hoyos (NEOS) emphasized, however, that responsible gun ownership remains possible. There are also many measures against illegal weapons. The FPÖ is also not unanimously against tightening, as he saw himself supported by the Styrian governor Mario Kunasek. Kunasek had said he had no problem with age restrictions in certain areas, said Hoyos, who had a board with the quote. "Stop confusing weapons with freedom," appealed Maximilian Köllner (SPÖ) to the Freedom Party. Regarding the FPÖ's accusation that the planned legal changes are restrictions on freedom, for the red club chairman Philip Kucher, these are "extremely stupid arguments that simply aren't true," as he said after the Council of Ministers.

(APA/Red)

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