German Interior Minister wants bigger crackdown on guns after Hamburg shooting
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser – who is already working on a draft law to tighten German gun rules – wants to review her own proposal after Thursday’s shooting in Hamburg, to see if it should be made tougher.
After a gunman killed six people at a Hamburg Jehovah’s Witness centre Thursday night, Faeser told public broadcaster ARD that a change to German gun laws are necessary, and the Ministry will review a draft law that it’s already working on that aims to crack down on gun ownership.
Faeser’s proposed law already envisions banning the private use of semi-automatic long guns, AR-15 assault rifles and their replicas. About 225,000 AR-15s are estimated to be in Germany, with about 60 percent in private hands. German law already bans the private ownership of fully automatic weapons.
Faeser’s current proposal meets with approval with about 57 percent of Germans, according to one recent poll.
READ ALSO: Hamburg reels after Jehovah's Witness centre shooting
Faeser made the remarks after visiting the crime scene in Hamburg Friday, saying the Hamburg attack, along with previous deadly shootings in Hanau and Halle, underscored the need for gun reform. However, she also pointed out that the gun used in the Hamburg attack would not fall under the government’s current draft law – which is why she wants it re-examined.
"The murder weapon used in Hamburg would also not fall under the ban on semi-automatic long guns. In Hamburg, the perpetrator fired with a semi-automatic pistol that he legally owned as a marksman. We’ll now examine whether such weapons should also be banned,” she said.
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After a gunman killed six people at a Hamburg Jehovah’s Witness centre Thursday night, Faeser told public broadcaster ARD that a change to German gun laws are necessary, and the Ministry will review a draft law that it’s already working on that aims to crack down on gun ownership.
Faeser’s proposed law already envisions banning the private use of semi-automatic long guns, AR-15 assault rifles and their replicas. About 225,000 AR-15s are estimated to be in Germany, with about 60 percent in private hands. German law already bans the private ownership of fully automatic weapons.
Faeser’s current proposal meets with approval with about 57 percent of Germans, according to one recent poll.
READ ALSO: Hamburg reels after Jehovah's Witness centre shooting
Faeser made the remarks after visiting the crime scene in Hamburg Friday, saying the Hamburg attack, along with previous deadly shootings in Hanau and Halle, underscored the need for gun reform. However, she also pointed out that the gun used in the Hamburg attack would not fall under the government’s current draft law – which is why she wants it re-examined.
"The murder weapon used in Hamburg would also not fall under the ban on semi-automatic long guns. In Hamburg, the perpetrator fired with a semi-automatic pistol that he legally owned as a marksman. We’ll now examine whether such weapons should also be banned,” she said.
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