Law with a jam

Gun ban for the whole of Vienna ready in the drawer

(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

The proposed ban on stabbing weapons for the whole of Vienna and the rest of the country could already be passed. The draft law has been in place since April, the "Krone" was able to find out. A decision has so far failed due to disagreement over whether the draft could also turn innocent people into "perpetrators".

Mayor Michael Ludwig, Federal Police Director Michael Takacs and Vienna's Chief of Police Gerhard Pürstl recently spoke out more clearly than ever in favor of a weapons ban zone for the whole of Vienna during the major night-time campaign against youth crime. Speaking to the Krone newspaper, Ludwig emphasizes that he is in favour of "a general ban on weapons for the entire city", which must be "consistently and completely controlled", as has already been successfully implemented at Praterstern.

He has been advocating this since 2019, "because no one can explain to me why someone needs to be out and about in the city and in public spaces with a machete or a gun". More weapons do not mean more security, but more insecurity. The highlight: the draft law for this already exists, as the "Krone" found out.