- The Czech Republic's lower house of parliament has approved an amendment to the country's gun control law that would tighten requirements for carrying weapons.
- The decision comes more than a month after a gunman killed 14 people and injured many others in downtown Prague.
- The amendment now has to be approved by the Senate and, if passed, would need President Petr Pavel's signature to become law.
The Czech Republic's lower house of parliament on Friday approved amendments to the country's gun control laws that would tighten requirements for carrying weapons, more than a month after the worst mass murder in the country's history.
The bill is currently before the Senate and, if approved, would need President Petr Pavel's signature before becoming law.
On December 22, a lone gunman killed 14 people and injured dozens before committing suicide at the Charles University building in downtown Prague. The assailant was a 24-year-old student with a penchant for firearms and a license to own eight guns, including two long guns. Authorities said he did not come to the attention of authorities because he had no criminal history.
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Congressional debate on the bill had already begun before the shooting. Interior Minister Vit Raksan said it was difficult to speculate whether the new rules could have been prevented if they had come into force beforehand.
A police officer polices the streets of downtown Prague, Czech Republic, December 21, 2023. More than a month after the worst mass murder, the Czech Republic's lower house of parliament has approved amendments to gun control laws that would tighten requirements for carrying weapons. in the history of the nation. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek/File)
In the 200-member House, lawmakers approved the changes by a vote of 151-0. If approved by the coalition government's majority Senate and signed by President Petr Pavel, it would allow authorities to seize weapons from private owners on precautionary grounds.
It would also require businesses to report suspicious purchases of guns and ammunition to law enforcement, and give doctors access to databases to check whether a patient owns a gun.
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Gun owners would have to undergo a medical exam every five years instead of every 10 years as they currently do.
At the end of 2022, 314,000 people in this country of 10.9 million people had a gun license and owned about 1 million weapons of various types.
