Cracking Down on Guns

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Germany's 16 regional leaders are anxious to prevent a repetition of the Erfurt school massacre. Although parliament approved a new bill tightening the country's already strict gun controls last month, the politicians agreed earlier this week to take legislative measures even further.

There has been an outcry for changes to the law since April 26, when 19-year-old Robert Steinhäuser shot dead 16 people and himself at his old school in Erfurt. It was Germany's worst post-war mass murder.

Peter Müller, leader of Saarland and chairman of the state premiers' council, said on Monday the two houses of parliament will appoint a committee to work out a proposal for raising the legal age for gun ownership. It should be completed by the end of May, with passage by parliament possible before the summer recess preceding the September 22 federal election.

Currently, those wishing to get hold of a hunting rifle must undergo checks which can last a year, while those wanting a gun for sport must be a practicing member of a club and obtain a license from the police. Gun collectors also need a permit.

The present law covers mainly the use of weapons and storage of ammunition at gun clubs. Steinhäuser was able to obtain his weapons - a pistol and a pump-action shotgun - legally because he could prove he was a gun club member.

Tougher legislation "is not the solution"

Politicians from both left and right have called for the minimum age at which guns can legally be bought to be raised to 21 from 18. They have also called for a ban on the use of certain weapons, including pump-action shotguns (photo).

But the German gun lobby says stricter gun control would make no inroads into crime. "According to police statistics, only 0.004 percent of armed crimes are committed with a legally obtained firearm," said Joachim Streitberger, head of Forum Waffenrecht, Germany’s largest firearms lobby.

He said that there are some 10 million legally-owned guns in Germany. But at least 20 million are illegally held. "That means that tough legislation only gets in contact with 30 percent of the guns," he told DW-RADIO. "And these guns are in the hands of law-abiding citizens that are reliable and have knowledge in using guns."

Guns don’t kill, people do

According to Streitberger, the solution lies in socialization, not legislation. "I think we have to accept that there is a certain risk. And in my eyes, the problem is not the means of violence. The problem is the brain of a man that lost all inhibitions."

Chancellor Schröder and Müller said a further meeting in mid-June will examine calls to ban violent videos and computer games of the kind Steinhäuser watched and played. It will also see what steps could be taken to curb violence on television, they said.

Schröder said he had proposed creating a research foundation to keep the issue of violence and society under permanent scrutiny. But, he added that the meeting had agreed to look first at alternatives, such as widening the remit of existing bodies.