More weapons again: “Walther P22” alarm pistol
Photo: Oliver Killig / picture alliance / dpa
More and more German citizens are getting a small gun license.
In Lower Saxony, for example, the number of registered small gun licenses rose again last year.
At the end of 2022, according to the Ministry of the Interior in Hanover, 79,794 of the certificates authorizing the carrying of alarm guns, irritants and signal weapons in public were recorded, around 4000 more than a year earlier.
You don't need a permit to purchase or own these weapons, but you do need one to carry them in public.
Similar trends as in Lower Saxony can also be seen in other federal states.
In the past few weeks, there have been reports of an increase in registrations, for example from Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, Bavaria and many cities and districts.
Data from the National Gun Register demonstrates how drastic the increase in small gun licenses is: while 705,506 such licenses were registered at the end of 2020, the number rose to 740,038 within a year and was 781,186 on New Year's Eve 2022.
Accordingly, the registrations are increasing more and more.
It is not taken into account how many additional gas and alarm guns are actually in the households that were not registered.
The police show a lack of understanding about the unrestrained desire for more weapons.
"In a safe country like Lower Saxony, there's really no reason why private individuals would have to arm themselves," says Kevin Komolka, state chairman of the police union (GdP) in Lower Saxony.
It is not without reason that the police, as representatives of the state, have a monopoly on the use of force.
It is there to offer protection to all citizens.
"The increase in small gun licenses is alarming."
Since many blank pistols look like real weapons, this repeatedly leads to dangerous situations in conflicts or in contact with the police.
As the pictures from New Year's Eve had recently shown, the police also saw again and again "that alarm guns, tear gas and signal weapons are handled improperly, which poses a risk of injury that should not be underestimated," said Komolka.
There has long been a political dispute about how to deal with gun law.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser wants to tighten gun laws, especially with regard to "firearms similar to war weapons".
According to the plan, alarm guns and the possession of crossbows would also be affected by tightening.
With her project, however, Faeser comes up against the FDP head-on, which categorically rejects it.
The number of gun ownership cards that authorize the purchase and possession of sharp firearms also increased by around 1,600 in Lower Saxony last year compared to the end of 2021: from 250,599 to 252,237.
In most cases, gun ownership cards are issued to hunters and sports shooters.
On the other hand, the number of major gun licenses that entitle the holder to carry a sharp weapon in public has fallen in the state.
At the end of 2021 there were still 699 of these licenses, a year later there were still 671. Large gun licenses are only issued in very few cases, for example for companies that guard money transport.
kig/dpa