Austria Cracks Down on Gun Laws Post Graz School Tragedy
Raises minimum age for purchasing firearms in Austria - Austria raises the minimum age for gun purchasers
Want to buy a gun in Austria? Better wait a bit longer, and you'll need to prove your emotional stability more rigorously. After the horrific shooting at a Graz school that claimed the lives of ten innocents, the Austrian government is toughening its gun laws.
Starting from now, the minimum age for purchasing certain high-risk weapons is going up. Instead of being 21, you'll have to be 25 to get your hands on those babies, as Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) announced. Plus, the "cooling-off" period between gun purchases and pickups will stretch from three days to a full four week marathon.
The psychological tests golfers undergo before they can swing their clubs pales in comparison to the mental examination gun buyers will face in the future. In the light of recent events, data exchanges between the Austrian Armed Forces and weapons authorities will be possible, Stocker declared. In this case, sharing is apparently caring—especially if you want to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Sadly, the Graz school shooter had slipped through the cracks during his military service's psychological screening, and the armed forces couldn't share that info with the gun authorities.
Turns out, many potential recruits are currently failing their mental health assessments. In 2019, a whopping 32% of those deemed unfit were deemed so for psychological reasons, and in 2024, that number climbed to around 40%, shared Michael Bauer, spokesperson for the Austrian Armed Forces, on the X platform. If the shooter had been treated the same way, he might still be dishing out orders instead of bullets.
Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPO) put it simply: "If you're dangerous, you shouldn't have a gun." The option of obtaining weapons in certain categories at 18 remains available, but the requirements for access will be tightened, added the Interior Ministry. And don't worry, hunters—you're not about to lose your weekend hobby.
To prevent future tragedies, the number of school psychologists will double over the next three years, pledged Stocker. "School psychology shouldn't be the exception but the rule," said the head honcho. School security will also be beefed up, with increased access restrictions and a police presence remaining throughout the school year.
Beate Meinl-Reisinger, chairwoman of the liberal NEOS and Minister of Foreign Affairs, promised a police presence at schools until the end of the academic year. A compensation fund of 20 million euros will support the grief-stricken families and the school.
The Graz school tragedy was perpetrated by a 21-year-old Austrian ex-student who took the lives of nine students and a teacher on June 10. His motives remain unclear, but investigations revealed he held school shooters in high esteem.
- Graz
- School Tragedy
- Austria
- Christian Stocker
- Gun Control
- Stiffened Gun Laws
- Mental Health Checks
- Amidst Austria's stiffened gun laws following the Graz School Tragedy, the government is planning to enhance community policies regarding vocational training for school psychologists, aiming to double their number over the next three years.
- In the realm of general-news and crime-and-justice, Austrian politics is focusing on vocational training for psychologists as part of a broader strategy to enhance school safety and prevent future tragedies, such as the Graz School Tragedy.
