Interest group Liberal Gun Law Austria
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| Interest group Liberal Gun Law Austria ( IWÖ ) |
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| Purpose: | "To represent the interests of all shooters, hunters, collectors and all other gun owners" |
| Aims: | Preservation of legal arms possession in Austria |
| Founding: | 1994 |
| President and Gun Law Officer: | Andreas O. Rippel Lawyer |
| Vice President: | Hermann Gerig |
| Gene. Sec .: | - |
| Secretary: | Armin Probst advisor for youth work |
| Members: | Total: 3,666 (July 30, 2010) Individual members: |
| Website: | www.iwoe.at |
The interest group Liberales Waffenrecht Österreich , IWÖ for short , was founded in 1994. The aim of the association based in Vienna is to represent the interests of all shooters , hunters , gun collectors and all other gun owners in Austria .
aims
The main goal is a liberal , economically enforceable and easily understandable weapons law . According to the IWÖ, owners of legal weapons do not pose a security risk, as very high demands are placed on them in terms of reliability and trustworthiness. Furthermore, the IWÖ serves its members as a legal advice center with regard to unclear legal regulations or contradicting notices issued by the authorities. The IWÖ also serves as an interface and information hub between hunters, sport shooters and other private gun owners.
According to its own statements, the association campaigns against general gun bans and “failed legislation on occasions” , against “general suspicions and prejudices” and against “politicians who want to catch votes with the gun hysteria” . Furthermore, "the IWÖ helps people who have difficulties with the weapons authorities and are exposed to harassment" and advises its members with its own lawyers, especially those trained in weapons law, on questions of weapons law. The association sees itself as a "partner of the security executive and the armed forces " . As an independent organization that is only committed to its members, the IWÖ does not receive any subsidies .
Membership requirements
Most of the members hold a gun license. You either have a firearms license , a gun license or hunting license . This means that they have been checked for reliability by the authorities and will continue to be checked regularly.
When joining, all members must declare that there is no gun ban against them and that they do not have a relevant criminal record .
In addition, a number of members have psychological reports, which have been mandatory since the Weapons Act 1996 came into force in order to apply for a WBK or WP.
development
The founders were of the opinion that Austria 's accession to the EU would inevitably lead to a change in the Arms Act . As a result of the implementation of the EU Weapons Directive in Austrian law, the Austrian Weapons Act of 1986, which is considered liberal, had to be changed. There was also the possibility that legal gun ownership could be abolished and a gun ban for private individuals, as is the case in Great Britain , for example , be introduced.
In 1995 the IWÖ initiated a signature campaign against a weapons ban in Austria. IWÖ officials were involved in the preparation of the reorganization of EU-compliant Austrian weapons law. Despite many criticisms from the association, the Weapons Act 1996 is regarded by the association as "somewhat liberal and citizen-friendly" .
According to the IWÖ, increased public criticism of private gun ownership attracted large numbers of visitors from 1997 to 1999, which in turn supported the association's lobbying work. A signature campaign with more than 130,000 signatures prevented the planned tightening of the weapons law. According to the IWÖ, the last status of this list of signatures is 169,116 signatures "against a tightening and for a liberalization of the weapons law" .
In 2007 the association started a signature campaign against the tightening of gun laws in the EU. The United Nations had adopted the "Convention against Transnational Organized Crime" in the 2000th For the arms sector, the "Protocol on Combating the Illicit Manufacture of and Trade in Firearms, Firearms Parts and Ammunition" from 2001 is authoritative. The EU has acceded to this protocol and must therefore adapt its weapons directive accordingly. The European Commission presented a draft (2006/0031 (COD)) for this on March 2, 2006. The signature campaign is directed against this "draft legislative resolution of the European Parliament" of the responsible rapporteur of the Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Gisela Kallenbach , on November 7th, 2006, since the IWÖ believes that this provides for too extensive a change to the directive.
References
- ↑ Register of associations - Internet request. Federal Ministry of the Interior , accessed on September 21, 2017 (ZVR number: 462790102).
- ↑ a b About us. IWÖ, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ^ Association. IWÖ, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Directive 91/477 / EEC of the Council of June 18, 1991 on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons , accessed on September 21, 2017