The right to self-defense with the use of firearms was enshrined in the Czech Republic with a change in the constitution, according to AFP and TASS. The amendment was approved by the Senate, which completed the process of its adoption.
Firearms owners in the Czech Republic fear that the European Union may restrict their right to use it. The Czechs previously had the right to use firearms for legitimate self-defense, but in 2017 the EU adopted a directive banning civilians from possessing certain weapons.
According to AFP, the enshrinement of the right to self-defense in the constitution is aimed at ensuring that the European directive does not violate the existing rights of gun owners in the Czech Republic.
The text “introduces a clear right to protection of life, implying that this may include protection with weapons,” said Senator Martin Chervik, the project’s former police chief. He noted that the right to protection extends not only to the protection of one’s life, but also to the protection of others.
Following the adoption of the European directive in 2017, the Czech Ministry of the Interior said it would affect almost all of the country’s 300,000 firearms licenses.
The amendment to the Czech constitution was adopted after a petition signed by 102,000 people.