On Wednesday, the Lower Chamber of the Austrian Parliament approved a draft amendment to the Holding Act, submitted after June tragic shooting at high school in Graz. In October it still has to be approved by the Upper Chamber – the Federal Council, writes TASR according to AFP.
Some parts of the Act are to enter into force since Octoberothers in the first or second quarter of 2026. The law increases the minimum age for ownership of guns and similar firearms from 21 to 25 years and for shotgun from 18 to 21 years from next year. Their purchase will only be possible through registered dealers.
Weapon owners must undergo clinical-psychological examination not only at the first application, but also after the five-year probationary period. In the case of domestic violence or violation of the law, the owner’s weapon shall be taken at the beginning of the investigation or automatically after conviction.
The so -called. waiting time when the applicant gets a weapon instead of the current three days only after four weeks. New weapon possession permissions will have limited validity to eight years and then may be extended.
The strongest parliamentary free party of Austria (FPÖ) voted against the law, which won last year’s elections with 29 percent, but failed to form a government. It criticized the proposal as a “attack on citizens complying with laws” and stated that the government should instead focus on the fight against illegal possession of weapons. The coalition government consists of the people (ÖVP), the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the Liberal Neos. Opposition Greens demanded even stricter conditions and less exceptions, but supported the law.
The tightening of the law triggered an attack in the second largest city of Graz on June 10, where a 21-year-old former student killed nine students and teachers and then shot himself. He had a pistol, a double -headed shotgun with a diluted barrel and ammunition, although he failed in psychological tests and was described as “ineligible” for compulsory military service. Austria has one of the highest number of manual weapons per capita in Europe. In a country with nearly 9.2 million inhabitants, 370,000 owners have more than 1.5 million weapons registered.
