Seventeen people in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt have lost their permits, and another 122 cases are under review, a newspaper reported.
Seventeen individuals in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt have lost their gun permits due to their membership in the “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) party. This was reported by the newspaper Bild.
According to the report, the move was prompted by a ruling from the Higher Administrative Court in Magdeburg. Seventeen people have already lost their gun permits and hunting licenses, while another 122 cases are currently being reviewed. “To protect society from extreme threats involving weapons, the state need not wait until crimes are committed or harm is caused; it can minimize risks in advance,” the court’s ruling stated. This marks the first instance in the country where hunters have had their weapons confiscated solely on the basis of their party affiliation, Bild noted.
“In 17 cases, the competent firearms authority has already revoked the permits; appeal proceedings are currently underway regarding 12 of these cases,” a representative of the regional Interior Ministry told the newspaper. Saxony-Anhalt has approximately 13,000 hunting license holders and 20,000 members of shooting clubs. Now, following the court ruling, authorities will have to verify who else is an AfD member or an active supporter of the party.
The “Alternative for Germany” party plans to file a constitutional complaint. “The local firearms authority has now requested lists of shooting club members to verify compliance with the law. This is arbitrary. We will file a constitutional complaint,” stated Florian Schröder, the AfD parliamentary group’s spokesperson for hunting policy in the Landtag (state parliament). In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD party has been officially classified as a right-wing extremist organization. Consequently, as reported by Bild, members who are hunters are deemed “legally unsuitable” to own firearms under Section 5 of the Weapons Act. Approximately 3,500 people belong to the AfD in this East German federal state. In the state elections held in early September, the AfD finished first by a wide margin, securing 43.8% of the vote.
The AfD has also been classified as a right-wing extremist organization in four other federal states (Thuringia, Saxony, Brandenburg, and Lower Saxony). However, in February, the administrative court in Gera, Thuringia, ruled that AfD members could not have their gun licenses revoked—or be denied a license—solely on the grounds of their party affiliation. The court held that there was no evidence of a “combative, aggressive attitude” on the part of the Thuringian AfD branch toward the free democratic constitutional order.
In all other federal states, the suitability of a gun owner is assessed on a case-by-case basis rather than automatically based on party membership.
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