Draft for Gun Law: What Should Change Now

The acquisition of firearms in category B, which includes pistols, will in the future only be permitted from the age of 25. Firearms in category C, such as rifles, may be owned from the age of 21, according to a draft for a new gun law.

Checks Every Five Years in Draft for New Gun Law

A psychological assessment is mandatory upon the initial application and after five years. Additionally, there are checks every five years. A firearms ownership card will also be required for category C weapons, as is already the case for category B weapons. This is provided for in the legislative proposal of the governing parties. A two-week review period in the form of a so-called committee review is planned, the SPÖ parliamentary club announced in a statement. "Today we are initiating the biggest tightening of gun laws since their inception," emphasized SPÖ security spokesman Maximilian Köllner.

The immediate reason for the tightening was the rampage in a Graz school on June 10, in which a 21-year-old killed nine teenagers and a teacher, as well as himself, in his former high school. "Against this background, the examination of the reliability under gun law should be fundamentally revised and improved," states the legislative proposal available to the APA, as justification.

Gun Law Brings Better Assessments, Longer Cooling-off Period, Data Exchange

The quality of the clinical-psychological assessments, which must be provided when applying for a gun law permit, should be increased. For this purpose, a personal exploration interview will be introduced. Additionally, the introduction of a five-year probationary period should ensure that a reliability check is conducted again afterwards.

Instead of the previous three-day waiting period, a four-week waiting period must now be observed when purchasing a firearm for the first time. This "cooling-off period" is intended to prevent impulse purchases. Furthermore, cooperation between the authorities will be strengthened. The weapons authority will in the future be provided with information regarding the necessary suitability for military or training service. The gunman from Graz was deemed unfit by the Federal Army's assessment commission due to psychological instability.

Partial Reassessment with New Gun Law

The stricter rules will also apply retroactively in part. Individuals who do not hold a valid hunting license and who applied for a firearms certificate between June 1, 2025, and the enactment of the new law "must provide the weapons authority with a clinical-psychological report (...) by the next reliability check." If this report is not provided or indicates that the individual, particularly under psychological stress, tends to handle weapons carelessly or use them recklessly, the weapons authority must revoke the permit, according to the draft law.

For individuals who have not yet reached the age of 25 at the time of the law's enactment and legally possess firearms of category A or B or their essential components, "the acquisition, possession, and carrying in the scope of their existing firearms permit is still permissible." The same applies to individuals who do not have a firearms permit but legally possess a category C firearm on the key date, which they registered more than two years before the announcement of the legislative amendment. However, if the first registration of a category C firearm was made within the last two years, a firearms permit and thus a reliability check, including a clinical-psychological report, must be obtained.

Gun Law: Greens for Even Stricter Rules

"Especially the fact that in the future a firearms ownership card will be required for all firearms, we Greens consider an indispensable improvement," responded Green security spokesperson Agnes Sirkka Prammer in a statement. "We Greens will continue to advocate for even stricter rules and more safety," she emphasized.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.