'Feeling of insecurity': Gun ownership on the rise in Germany

A new survey shows an increasing number of people throughout Germany hold a certificate needed to carry a gun.

In total, there are currently around 5.4 million privately owned weapons in Germany, or 66 weapons per 1000 inhabitants.

In the past twelve months, the increase amounted to around nine percent compared to the same period last year.

In relation to the population, the proportion of gun licence holders is highest in the far northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein, followed by the southern state of Saarland.

The Police Union (GdP) told RP Online that the rise is due to a "latent feeling of insecurity" among the population.

"Since the events in Cologne's Cathedral on New Year's Eve 2015, more and more people are feeling insecure,” said the GdP chairman Oliver Malchow, referring to the sexual attacks on women at that time by groups of young men from North African and Arab states. 

"The problematic increase in firearms licenses shows that we must work to restore a sense of security to many citizens,” Malchow said. “A first important step would be a greater police presence on the street." 

In Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 162,952 firearms licenses were registered on June 30th. 

At 7.1 percent, the increase over the same period last year was below the national average. Yet there are many gun holders in the western state.

For every 1,000 inhabitants, there are around nine firearms licences. Only in Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein is this figure higher. 

The northernmost German state also recorded the highest annual increase with around 15 percent. 

Germany has one of the strictest gun laws in Europe. To get a gun, Germans must first obtain a firearms ownership license, and need one for each weapon they buy, or a license to carry.

Applicants for a license must be at least 18 years old and undergo what's called a reliability check, which includes checking for criminal records, whether the person is an alcohol or drug addict, whether they have mental illness or any other attributes that might make them questionable to authorities.

Authorities also have the right to revoke this license under questionable circumstances. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, 1,236 firearms ownership licenses were revoked in 2018.

While Germany has had a few high-profile incidents involving guns over the past year - such as the murder of a Kassel politician by a right-wing extremist - it has one of the lowest rates of gun related deaths worldwide.

to arm oneself - Bewaffnen sich

latent feeling of insecurity - (das) latente Unsicherheitsgefühl

firearms ownership license - (die) Waffenbesitzkarte

License to carry a firearm - (das) Waffenschein

Assaults - (die) Übergriffe