Debate on gun law: Faeser wants to revise the draft law

After the killing spree in Hamburg, calls for a tightening of gun laws increased. In the daily topics Interior Minister Faeser announced that her own draft law would be reviewed.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to further restrict gun rights. The act in Hamburg shows “how necessary changes” are, said the SPD politician in the daily topics. The draft law presented by her should now be checked again for possible “gaps” and possibly expanded.

In the weapons law, when applying for a gun owner’s license, it should be checked in future “whether someone is psychologically suitable”. To do this, you need a check with the health authorities, says Faeser. “Above all, we want better networking between the authorities.” This is important, for example, when you change your place of residence.

From Faeser’s point of view, it would be very difficult to regularly examine all sport shooters in Germany without any information. Measures would have to be “also proportionate”.

Faeser wants to examine the draft law

Faeser’s previous draft law envisages a ban on private individuals using semi-automatic long guns similar to military weapons – including rifles such as the AR-15 and its replicas, which are modeled on assault rifles. In the USA, such weapons are repeatedly used in attacks and rampages with many victims, but in Germany there are comparatively fewer of these weapons.

According to Faeser, your draft law was created under the impression of the attacks in Halle and Hanau. “It’s only a draft, so we’ll check it now.” On Friday she visited the crime scene in Hamburg, expressed her condolences to the victims and thanked the emergency services. The attacks in Halle and Hanau had already shown that there was a need for action on gun law, she said.

The perpetrator from Hanau legally owned several pistols, the assassin in Halle had built his own firearms – some with plastic parts from a 3D printer.

“We will discuss this”

The murder weapon used in Hamburg would also not fall under the ban on semi-automatic long guns. In Hamburg, the perpetrator shot with a semi-automatic pistol that he legally owned as a marksman. Whether such weapons should also be banned will now be examined, said Faeser. “We’ll definitely discuss that.”

Semi-automatic pistols are very common – they are used by security agencies, sport shooters and hunters. They are made in different calibers and by different manufacturers. The “semi-automatic” refers to the loading process: When the trigger is pulled, a projectile is fired and the weapon is then automatically loaded. The shooter does not have to cock the weapon again himself before the first shot.

Hardly any gun controls due to staff shortages

Faeser also referred to difficulties with gun controls. “We had a time in Germany where we reduced a lot of administration, it was en vogue to save. And now you’re surprised that you can’t carry out the controls anymore.”

In the weapons sector, however, a lot of control is needed if you want to find those who are psychologically impaired or who are storing weapons incorrectly or too many.

Review of review process required

The managing director of the Greens parliamentary group, Irene Mihalic, also partially questioned the current regulations. For example, it is “more than questionable why only under-25-year-olds have to submit a medical or psychological report when applying for a gun permit,” she told the editorial network Germany.

Since firearms endanger human life in the wrong hands, all applicants – regardless of age – should have to submit such reports, Mihalic demanded. Appropriate aptitude tests should actually have to be repeated at regular intervals.

“Since the suspected gunman from Hamburg apparently had a gun permit, it must now be clarified exactly how he got there,” demanded the Greens politician. “We cannot prevent such rampages 100 percent, but we are currently not doing everything that is possible to ensure that people like the gunman in Hamburg do not get their hands on firearms.”

The domestic policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Sebastian Hartmann, told the editorial network Germany: “The perpetrator from Hamburg apparently had legal access to weapons as a marksman.” Now it has to be clarified why the perpetrator’s controls did not provide any indication of danger and did not lead to the withdrawal of the gun owner’s license.

Reference to Hamburg perpetrators

The perpetrator in Hamburg had received tips: In January, the Hamburg police had received an anonymous letter in which a check of the perpetrator’s weapon capability was requested. According to the anonymous writer, he suffers from a mental illness and is particularly angry with everything religious – especially Jehovah’s Witnesses.

An unannounced police check on him did not provide any information that would have confirmed the anonymous letter, said Hamburg police chief Ralf Martin Meyer. Accordingly, the man complied with the regulations for storing the weapon and behaved cooperatively. There was a warning because he kept a single projectile outside the safe. “The officials’ legal options were exhausted,” said Meyer.

Possible conflict with Jehovah’s Witnesses

The 35-year-old suspect grew up in the Allgäu and has lived in Hamburg since 2014. He was a former member of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He left the community a year and a half ago “voluntarily, but not for good,” said Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote. The investigators are currently not ruling out conflicts within the religious community.

The alleged shooter spread theses about the kingdom of Christ, God and Satan on the Internet. A few months ago he published a book in English that apparently contains crude theses.