Intense political clash over the gun law in Austria
The parliamentary majority in Austria rejected on Thursday the proposal by the Green Party, led by Leonore Gewessler, to impose a ban on firearm possession, despite government promises to tighten gun laws over the summer in response to the deadly shooting incident at a school in Graz.
According to joint statements from the ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS parties, the committee responsible for internal affairs will remain in permanent session even during the parliamentary recess, with the aim of preparing a draft law to be submitted as soon as possible, targeting a final vote in September. Despite this step, the Greens expressed their dissatisfaction, considering the pace of action to be very slow. The party proposed immediate amendments including a ban on private weapons except in legally defined exceptional cases, improving the psychological evaluation system for obtaining a weapon, in addition to efforts to reduce the number of illegal weapons in the country. Gewessler emphasized that the attacker in Graz legally possessed his weapons, revealing the fragility of the current law, as she put it.
For his part, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) committed to implementing real tightening measures, such as raising the minimum age for acquiring dangerous weapons from 21 to 25 years, and limiting the validity of the gun license for the first time to only 8 years. Authorities will also be empowered to access the results of psychological tests for recruits, with the possibility of imposing a weapons carrying ban of up to ten years in cases of negative psychological assessments. In the parliamentary debate, Maximilian Kolner from the SPÖ party emphasized that the goal is not to prevent all incidents, but to take the right measures to reduce risks, noting that the upcoming amendments will be the largest since the regulation of gun ownership in Austria began.
However, the parliament's rejection of the urgent proposal presented by the "Greens" angered Geifisler, who stated: "Once again, the government promises a lot without delivering anything. They say they want strict laws, but they vote against them when we present them. Obtaining a weapon in Austria today is easier than buying alcohol, and this is extremely dangerous." Henrike Brandstötter from the NEOS party also warned that amendments are necessary to protect women from lethal violence, as many femicides are committed using firearms, and these weapons are often licensed.
For his part, Volker Raifenberger from the FPÖ party expressed his skepticism about the usefulness of the amendments, stating that it is naive to believe that changing the law would prevent the attack, emphasizing that the perpetrator would find his way to weapons through the black market, where there are no psychological checks. However, he supported linking the results of psychological evaluations in military service to the granting of gun licenses and hunting permits.