Dealers could be required to report suspicious gun purchases as early as July. The amendment to the Weapons Act, which was approved by the government, takes this into account. Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan (STAN) told journalists. The obligation to report suspicious transactions is also introduced by the new law on weapons, which was signed by President Petr Pavel in March, but it will not apply until 2026. The Ministry of the Interior is therefore proposing to amend the current law.
“The holder of a firearms license who is an entrepreneur in the field of weapons and ammunition shall notify the police of the transfer of a weapon or ammunition or legal actions leading to such a transfer, which he reasonably considers to be suspicious,” the draft amendment to the law should state. If the licensee fails to make the notification, he commits an offense under the proposal.
In the explanatory report, the office clarifies that suspicious conduct cannot, in principle, be precisely defined. But it can be, for example, cases where a customer tries to buy a gun, the possession of which he is not authorized, if the seller believes that the purchase of the gun is part of the preparation for the commission of a crime or “abnormal confusion, apathy or significant signs of distress” in the buyer.
What the new gun law contains:
What the new gun law says: Changes for sellers, when police can confiscate it
The Ministry of the Interior also draws attention to the fact that the purchase of an unusual amount of weapons or ammunition is already actively monitored by the police through an analytical tool directly in the Central Register of Weapons.
Reaction to the shooting
The amendment will further expand the police’s options for seizing weapons. It will now be able to secure them in cases where it obtains information about their holder that it may represent a “serious danger to internal order or security”. According to the ministry, this provision is also contained in the future law on weapons.
There are more than a million weapons among the Czechs. Last year there was also an increase in firearms licenses
The new law on weapons and ammunition was signed by President Pavel at the end of March. In addition to the aforementioned provisions, for example, it shortens the period for medical examinations of gun owners from ten to five years, and also includes the possibility for the police to order this examination at any time. Attending doctors are to gain access to the central weapons register and verify whether their patient holds a firearms license. Due to the digitalization of the central weapons register and its connection with other police and medical records, the standard will only come into effect from the year after next.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the amendment is being submitted in response to the December one shooting at the Faculty of Arts, Charles Universitywhere her student killed 14 people and injured 25 people before shooting himself.
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Source: Diary/Kateřina Součková
