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A Million Guns: The Czech Republic, The Armed Republic

2024-01-18 20:09:51Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA LUBOS PALATA

 

A Million Guns: The Czech Republic, The Armed Republic
Czech Republic - the country with one of the most liberal gun laws

 

After the massacre in Prague that left 17 dead, gun ownership laws are being debated in the Czech Republic. But the right to own weapons is provided by the Constitution.

There are one million legal firearms in circulation in the Czech Republic. This makes the small country of ten million inhabitants one of the countries with the largest number of privately owned guns in post-communist Europe. Only Croatia, where one of the bloodiest post-Yugoslav wars took place in the 1990s, is ahead of the Czech Republic in terms of gun ownership.

More than three hundred thousand people in the Czech Republic have firearms licenses. Only a few of them are hunters. Most people own a gun for personal protection. The number of civilians who own weapons is almost six times higher than the number of Czech soldiers and policemen.

So far this has not attracted much attention and the voices of opponents of such mass weaponry have been silenced by the argument that the Czech Republic is one of the ten safest countries in the world in terms of violent crime.

Massacre with 17 dead

A Million Guns: The Czech Republic, The Armed Republic

But shortly before Christmas 2023, the Czech Republic was rocked by a mass killing unprecedented in the country's modern history and among the worst in Europe in recent years. The massacre took place at the Faculty of Philosophy at the renowned Charles University in the capital Prague, the oldest university in the country and one of the oldest in the world.

On December 21, 2023, a student shot 14 people in the university building and seriously injured 25 others. Footage of frightened students fleeing to the roof of the faculty went around the world.

As the police later determined, the perpetrator had killed two people a few days earlier and had also shot his father shortly before the massacre. When the police caught him, he committed suicide.

During the investigation of the attack, police discovered that the perpetrator legally owned eight firearms, despite having been treated for mental health issues in the past. Among them was an American AR-15 automatic rifle and a Czech military Model 61 Skorpion machine gun. To buy the weapons, the author took a loan from a bank worth about 40,000 euros.

 

A Million Guns: The Czech Republic, The Armed Republic
The right to own weapons - provided by the constitution

 

Check - weapons are also provided for in the Constitution

Guns are readily available in the Czech Republic. The country is traditionally one of the largest European producers and exporters of small arms worldwide. In 2022, the Czech Republic exported arms to a total value of around 1.2 billion euros.

In 2021, under the government of Prime Minister Andrej Babis of the ANO movement, the right to own and use weapons was included in the Czech constitution, thanks to the support of the then opposition ODS party.

It says: "The right to protect one's life or that of another person, even with a weapon, is guaranteed under the conditions established by law." 100 thousand citizens signed a petition in favor of constitutional change.

It was a response to the European Union's efforts to limit the possession of certain weapons. At that time, some deputies protested against defining the right to bear arms in the constitution. But they remained in the minority.

The government does not want any further restrictions

After the shock of the massacre just before Christmas, the mood seemed to be changing. "The end of easily accessible gun licenses is coming," wrote Jan Kubita, a columnist for the daily Hospodarske Noviny.

He called for significantly stricter legal regulation of gun ownership. "The Czech Republic is still one of the most tolerant countries in the EU in this regard. This has to stop."

But the government under Prime Minister Petr Fiala has so far been unable to tighten gun laws. The resistance comes mainly from Fiala's own party, ODS. Defense Minister Jana Cernohova is one of the most vocal supporters of the right to keep and use arms.

"I am a legal owner of several weapons and I do not hide the fact that my hobbies include diving, history and sports shooting," the Minister of Defense wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter). Unfortunately, "crazy people, mentally challenged people, car drivers or airplane pilots cannot be prevented from committing any crime," she said.

A Million Guns: The Czech Republic, The Armed Republic
Even children in contact with weapons from childhood!

Traders must provide information

But the government is divided on this issue. Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Bartos, head of the Pirate Party, calls for a debate on "systematic measures to prevent such acts of violence and any manifestation of violence and hatred".

He told DW that his party advocates a debate on more frequent gun proficiency tests and on limiting the possession of weapons with large magazines and long guns. "Based on experience from abroad, we should regulate the carrying of weapons in public, limit the number of licensed weapons per owner, or link the system to the registry of administrative offenses," said Bartos.

Interior Minister Vit Rakusan from the Stan party also calls for a discussion about gun ownership in the Czech Republic. "This tragic event has raised many legitimate questions in the social debate and shaken the sense of security," he told reporters on January 12, 2024.

"We are trying to find a balance and not enter the debate hysterically. We don't want this to come at the expense of responsible gun owners." Rakusan proposed requiring gun dealers to report suspicious purchases of guns and ammunition to the police and strengthening psychological screening of gun license holders. "The pressure from the vast majority of the population that does not own weapons is legitimate," added the Czech interior minister.

However, the opposition, led by former Prime Minister Babish's ANO movement, opposes the tightening of gun laws. Therefore, it is debatable whether it will be possible to limit the ownership of weapons in the Czech Republic in the near future./ DW

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