Slovak lawmakers advanced to its second reading the Interior Ministry's draft revision to the law on firearms on Wednesday, September 9. The amendment introduces a second round of the so-called firearms amnesty.
According to the draft, every person who between October 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010, hands over a gun or ammunition in their illegal possession to the police will not be prosecuted for it. The draft amendment also reacts to the findings of the Slovak Constitutional Court of May 20, in which some provisions of the existing law were found to be in contradiction of to the constitution, the SITA newswire wrote.
The ministry estimates that the number of illegally held firearms and ammunition will decrease thanks to the amnesty, and will also help identify guns that might have been used in criminal activities. During a previous firearms amnesty in Slovakia between April 14, 2005, and April 14, 2006, citizens surrendered 3,490 illegally held guns.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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