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Legis Telum: Amendment to Act on Weapons Unconstitutional
Monday 13 September 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, September 13 (TASR) - The amendment to the Act on Weapons and Ammunition submitted by Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic in reaction to the shooting spree in the Bratislava borough of Devinska Nova Ves last month violates the Constitution in more items than one, Ludovit Miklanek and Daniel Turecek from the Firearm Owners Association Legis Telum said at a press conference held on Monday.
According to them, the amendment applies the principle of collective guilt, and there are plans to dispossess people of their property without compensation. The confiscations will affect approximately 60 percent of all firearms in Slovakia, ruining whole sporting disciplines and firearm collections while causing losses to the tune of hundreds of thousands of euros. It will affect 157,000 people, whose integrity has been validated by a prosecutor and confirmed by law.
The amendment won't improve people's safety, while opening the way for the uncontrolled proliferation of illegal guns. The Association calls on MPs to vote against the proposal, which is to be discussed in Parliament via a fast-tracked procedure.
According to the Association's representatives, the issue needs to be discussed by experts without any political and time pressure in order for a new proposal to be drawn up, one that wouldn't generalise a universal ban but rather re-define the conditions for a firearms certificate holder.
"An individual snapped, leading to collective guilt being applied in Slovakia. We don't know what happened and how it happened to this day, however," said Turecek about the massacre in Devinska Nova Ves. He added that the issue with which the amendment deals is too serious and complex for the document in question to be drawn up within seven days. Also, the seven-day period during which the amendment was submitted for comments was too short for any professional evaluation. "We are no militants, and most certainly are not on any weapons lobby payroll. However, following the events in Devinska Nova Ves, the holders of firearm certificates have been labelled with shameful names," he said.
A total of seven people (plus gunman Lubomir Harman himself) were shot dead in the shooting spree. Another 15 people were injured, with 13 of them requiring admission to various hospitals across Bratislava.
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