38 Reichsbürger and Extremists with Gun Licenses in Southwest Germany: Outrage over State Permission

Baden-Wuerttemberg. The Reutlingen “Reichsbürger” who shot a police officer during a raid is said to have owned more than 20 weapons – he is in custody. But there are still some extremists with gun licenses running around the country.

More than three dozen so-called Reichsbürger, self-governors and extremists are allowed to own weapons that require a license in the southwest. This emerges from a response from the Ministry of the Interior to a request from the SPD parliamentary group, which is available to the German Press Agency. A total of 31 “Reichsbürger” and self-governing persons, 6 right-wing extremists and one person who is attributed to “extremism related to foreign countries” therefore have a weapon license. The Ministry relies on a query to the weapons authorities in the country on February 1st. A year earlier, the ministry reported when asked, 23 “Reich citizens” and extremists were in possession of weapons.

The three dozen “Reich citizens” and extremists were in possession of 27 gun ownership cards, 25 so-called small gun licenses and a European firearms pass. The gun ownership was justified 17 times with sport shooting, 4 times with hunting, 4 times with so-called old possession, 2 times with inheritance and once with the use of a distress signal pistol for shipping.

The Small Arms License allows its holder to carry certain blank, irritant and signal weapons. They may only be used in self-defense or in an emergency. The weapon ownership card permits the purchase and possession, but not the carrying, of weapons. However, the card entitles you to regulated use. Holders of a card must prove a legitimate need: for example as a sports shooter, as a hunter or as a gun collector. The European Firearms Pass allows holders of gun licenses to temporarily take guns and ammunition to other EU member states or Schengen countries.

The gun license entitles you to carry a loaded firearm on your person in public. This document is reserved for a small group of people. In addition to being of legal age, reliability and personal suitability, there must also be a comprehensible need and knowledge of weapons technology and law.

But how is it that 38 “Reich citizens” and extremists are still allowed to own weapons? A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior explained that the weapons authorities simply needed time to carry out the due process and withdraw the extremists’ weapons permits. For example, deadlines for comments would have to be observed. According to the spokesman, the number will never be brought to zero – especially because the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is examining the scene and finding more and more “Reich citizens”. The scene also grew significantly during the pandemic. Most recently, 3,800 people were attributed to her in Baden-Württemberg.

The SPD parliamentary group is nevertheless outraged and accuses Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) of inaction. “It’s bad enough when extremists get guns illegally. The fact that they even hoard weapons with state permission is a scandal,” said Sascha Binder, spokesman for the parliamentary group. “Enemies of the constitution must be denied any right to own weapons.” SPD constitutional protection expert Boris Weirauch demanded that Strobl issue a ministerial decree to the weapons authorities to ensure that enemies of the constitution could no longer arm themselves. The minister must learn the lesson from the “Reichsbürger” raid on Reutlingen.

In March, a search in Reutlingen escalated during a raid against the scene – a suspected “Reich citizen” shot at a SEK officer and injured his arm. Interior Minister Strobl later spoke of a “perverse” arsenal of weapons that had been found on the man. Strobl has been insisting for years that pistols and rifles do not get into the hands of extremists and “Reich citizens”. As early as 2017, the weapons authorities were instructed not to issue any weapons licenses to “Reich citizens” and extremists and to revoke licenses that had already been granted – as far as possible. Since then, 512 weapons have been withdrawn from the scene.

Strobl is currently pushing with other CDU-led states at the federal level for a further tightening of gun laws. So far, only those who are legally reliable are allowed to own weapons. The Weapons Act distinguishes between the so-called rule unreliability and absolute unreliability. Under no circumstances may permission be granted for the latter. This applies, for example, to people who have been convicted of a crime in the past ten years. For a current or former membership in a banned association, an unconstitutional party or anti-constitutional association, the unreliability of the rule has so far been attested. So far, this has also applied in the case of proven affiliation with the “Reichsbürger” movement.

In the future, such cases should justify an absolute unreliability under weapons law – which would make it significantly more difficult to object. Strobl insists on a draft law by the traffic lights and the responsible Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser (SPD). A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior announced on Sunday that the SPD’s criticism was completely ineffective. “Perhaps the SPD comrades from the country of the SPD comrade in the Berlin traffic light dispute would like to help.”

The Greens, who rule in the southwest with the CDU and in alliance with the SPD and FDP, see both sides challenged: “Weapons in the hands of right-wing extremists, Reich citizens and other enemies of the constitution are a dangerous and intolerable security risk,” said the domestic political spokesman for the state parliamentary group, Oliver Hildenbrand, on Sunday. This is a task that has to be tackled at state and federal level: “The weapons authorities must consistently disarm enemies of the constitution and weapons law must finally effectively prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands in the first place.”

The alleged “Reich citizen” from Reutlingen is now in custody for multiple attempted murders. According to the ministry, the sports shooter had four gun licenses, a small gun license and even a permit to own explosives. The revocation of the permits is currently being processed, the ministry said in its reply to the SPD. Another new finding: The man had already caught the police’s attention at a lateral thinker demo in 2021 when he violated the uniform ban – he was therefore sentenced to a fine by the Tübingen district court.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:230507-99-593217/3