Small gun license
The small gun license is a special kind of gun license that entitles the holder to carry so-called blank firing, irritant and signal weapons in Germany . The weapons must be approved by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).
In January 2016, 300,949 small gun licenses were issued and at the end of 2017 there were 557,560 (an increase of 85% within just under 2 years). The reasons for this sharp increase are the increased number of burglaries in many places, the attacks on New Year's Eve in Cologne and fear of terrorist attacks. There are currently 664,706 notes registered in the National Arms Register.
To the background
The small gun license was introduced with the new Gun Act (WaffG), which came into force on April 1, 2003. In Germany, the small gun license is a gun license in accordance with Section 10, Paragraph 4, Clause 4 of the WaffG, which allows the holder to carry signal , irritant and alarm guns (exercise of actual power over a gun that does not require a permit outside of one's own home, business premises or enclosed property) entitled. These must be provided with a PTB test mark . In Germany, age of majority is sufficient to simply acquire a weapon with the PTB test mark and the associated ammunition - acquisition and possession do not require a permit. Irritant spray devices with the PTB test mark may be carried in public by persons aged 14 and over, even without a small gun license.
The small gun license was introduced in the course of the gun law amendment after the rampage in Erfurt . However, the law did not require the registration and traceability of these weapons, so sales were not restricted.
In 2003, due to an amnesty , citizens had the opportunity to surrender weapons that were newly classified as forbidden, such as throwing stars or butterfly knives. In the process, unsettled citizens mainly handed in gas pistols and alarm pistols.
Requirements and issuance
The requirements for issuing the small gun license are identical to those for the (large) gun license , but the applicant does not need to prove any need or liability insurance. The applicant must be reliable and personally suitable. When checking the reliability and personal suitability, a. the following criteria are placed on the applicant:
- No previous convictions except for a maximum of one imprisonment, youth penalty or fine of less than 60 daily rates if five years have not elapsed since the last conviction became final.
- safe storage of the weapon (s)
- Minimum age 18 years
- no drug or alcohol addiction
- physical and mental fitness
To clarify the reliability, the competent authority gets the opinion of the local police department, an excerpt from the Central Public Prosecutor's Procedure Register and an excerpt from the Federal Central Register and, since February 20, 2020, also a query from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (see also Weapons Act (Germany) ) on the person of the applicant. The issuing authority recognizes unreliability when the applicant z. B. occurs with a blood alcohol concentration of at least 1.6 per mille in connection with a behavioral problem, or with less than 1.6 per mille repeated behavioral problems.
A certificate of competence is not required , unlike with a gun ownership card or a gun license. The competent authority has to issue a small gun license to everyone who meets the above requirements. The processing usually takes three to eight weeks, depending on the authority and federal state. Depending on the state and city , the small gun license is issued by the police , the public order office , the district office , the district administration department or the municipality .
In June 2016, 402,301 small gun licenses were stored in the National Gun Register . The number rose by 49% in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period of the previous year, and by the end of October it was 63%. By the end of October 2016, 449,000 documents had been registered. At the end of 2019, 664,706 small arms licenses were registered in the National Arms Register.
costs
There are currently no federal regulations regarding the costs of the small gun license. According to Art. 19 No. 3 c of the Act on the New Regulation of Weapons Law (WaffRNeuRegG) of October 11, 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 3970), the Ordinance on Costs of the Weapons Act in the version published on April 20, 1990 continues to apply, although it does not list a small gun license, which was not available at the time. A new cost regulation has not yet been issued. The fee charged varies between € 30 and € 150.
Pursuant to Section 4 (3) of the Weapons Act, the competent authority has to re-examine the holder of a gun license at regular intervals, at the latest after three years, for reliability and personal suitability. A fee of € 15 to € 60 is charged for this.
General
When carrying and transporting PTB weapons, the same rules apply as for live firearms: Carrying in apartments or pacified properties and unloaded and locked transport in public are permitted. A gun license is required to carry weapons (loaded and / or ready to use) outside of pacified properties. Just like their counterparts loaded with live ammunition , weapons that do not require a permit may not be used at public events or meetings (e.g. fairs, demonstrations, etc.). This ban on driving in public also applies to compressed air weapons . Airsoft guns may only be conducted in public, if they have no appearance of weapons within the meaning of § 42a are WaffG and the kinetic energy of more than 0.5 joules is.
In terms of weapons law, PTB weapons are classified as alarm weapons, irritant weapons or signal weapons and thus fall under the Weapons Act. However, in contrast to compressed air weapons , for example, they do not count as firearms , but as equivalent items, since no projectile is driven through the barrel, only hot gases. Shooting with PTB weapons within a pacified property and with the permission of the owner of the house rights is permitted without a small gun license and without a shooting permit , provided that nobody is disturbed by the noise . Shooting in public requires an official shooting permit or an excuse or justification , such as self-defense or a state of emergency , except in the cases of Section 12 (4) WaffG .
Individual evidence
- ↑ o. V. Federal Law Gazette : Rz. 10.15.4. In: General administrative regulation for the Weapons Act. Federal Law Gazette, March 5, 2012, accessed on October 28, 2018 .
- ↑ More than 500,000 Germans wield alarm weapons
- ↑ Currently 664,706 Germans have the small gun license
- ↑ Small gun license: All information at a glance , Spiegel Online, January 14, 2016
- ↑ In Düsseldorf, 80% of the weapons levy consisted of gas and alarm pistols
- ↑ § 5 Paragraph 1 No. 2 Weapons Act (WaffG)
- ↑ o. V. Federal Law Gazette : § 5 Abs. 5 Nr. 1 - 3. In: Weapons Act. Federal Law Gazette, October 11, 2002, accessed on October 28, 2018 .
- ↑ o. V. Federal Law Gazette : Rz. 6.3. In: General administrative regulation for the Weapons Act. Federal Law Gazette, March 5, 2012, accessed on October 28, 2018 .
- ↑ a b The Germans are arming themselves again, report of the daily newspaper Welt of July 31, 2016 , accessed on August 1, 2016
- ↑ a b Ministry of the Interior - More and more Germans with a small gun license . In: Deutschlandfunk . ( online [accessed November 25, 2016]). Ministry of the Interior - More and more Germans with a small gun license ( Memento of the original from November 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article206395709/Nationales-Register-Zahl-der-Kleinen-Waffenscheine-in-Deutschland-steig-erneut-an.html
- ↑ Cost regulation for the Weapons Act (WaffKostV)
