“To all who care”: Initiative of Charles University academics, students and victims' relatives seeks to change firearms laws
Nine months after the terrible attack at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, a group of students, academics and family members of victims have launched an official petition. Entitled “To all who care”, the petition aims to push for tighter legal restrictions on the ownership of firearms in Czechia.
Czechia has a long history with the use of firearms, and is one of a handful of countries around the world with the right to bear such weapons enshrined in its constitution. However, in response to the brutal attacks at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts last year and other gun-related tragedies in Czechia, one group is petitioning for change. Made up of academics, students, graduates and relatives of victims, they are seeking to change both legislation and the attitudes of the general public. I asked the group’s spokesman, Dr David Vichnar, about the goals of the petition and the current legislation.
“By all available sources and evidence, we are led to believe that the current Czech gun legislation is remarkably loose and benevolent, compared to other EU countries and countries of the so-called civilised world.”
Dr Vichnar outlined the petition’s three specific proposals, the first of which is limited access to semi-automatic rifles. One such weapon was used in the attack on 21th December last year, and Dr Vichnar argues that they belong in the hands of the police or the army, but not ordinary civilians.
“The second is a rather odd legalisation of access to silencers. Again, these have been banned across most of the European Union. Elsewhere, no civilian can buy a gun, let alone a semi-automatic rifle, with a silencer. In the Czech Republic, since 2020, through some legislative oddity, this is legal. We think the faculty tragedy from last December would not have been nearly as bloody or as extensive, had these two provisions been in place and put into law.”
Aside from these two practical issues of access to weaponry, I asked Dr Vichnar about what the petition is demanding that concerns gun owners themselves.
“The third, more general concern that we want to draw public attention to is the lack of psychological care and assessment of the psychological fitness of each applicant for firearm ownership. As far as we understand the legislation, there is a medical check-up with your GP, in which they check your vision, your hearing and your sensory competence. But as far as [GPs] are concerned, they do not need to check with any psychologist or psychiatrist whether you’re actually compos mentis enough to own a firearm, or whether you do not present a danger, unless the applicant themselves admits to having a history of psychological problems or treatment.”
Dr Vichnar summarised the view of the petitioning group:
“We feel this lack of psychological care, or care for the soul, presents a problem. We feel that only sensible, rational and harmless-as-can-be-ascertained individuals should have access to firearms.”
