Gun ownership increased significantly: right-wing extremists are arming

Gun ownership increased significantly
Right-wing extremists arm

It is not known how many right-wing extremists in Germany have illegal weapons. How many do it legally, however, do. Whatever you know: there are more and more.

The number of right-wing extremists with weapons permits known to the authorities has increased further in the past year. As the federal government announced in a response to a small inquiry from the left-wing parliamentary group, at the end of December the security authorities across Germany had around 1200 actual or suspected right-wing extremists who legally owned weapons – an increase of almost 35 percent compared to the end of 2019.

"The increase proves the increasing threat posed by neo-Nazis and racists," said Bundestag MP Martina Renner. "As expected, the involvement of the secret service has not proven to be an effective measure against the arming of the right-wing scene," added the domestic politician from the Left. "In right-wing extremism we continue to see small groups collecting weapons and making preparations for the so-called Day X," said the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, in an interview last December.

The new gun law came into force in February 2020. Since then, before a gun license is issued and every three years thereafter, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has to be asked whether the domestic secret service has the person as an extremist on their radar. The number of so-called Reich citizens and self-administrators remained unchanged year-on-year. As of December 28, 2020, 528 people from this group of people had either a gun possession card or a gun license.

"Reich Citizens" do not recognize the state and German laws and refuse to pay taxes, social security contributions and fines. Since 2016, the security authorities have been trying to withdraw their weapons permits from members of the scene. By the end of 2019, they had succeeded in 790 cases. Those affected often complain, which is why the proceedings take longer.

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