Czech President signs new gun law introducing mental health checks

Doctors in Czechia will be required to alert authorities if patients who hold firearms licenses are diagnosed with conditions that could make them unfit to own weapons, under new amendments to the country’s gun law signed Wednesday by President Petr Pavel.

The legislation, which modifies some 30 laws, comes in response to the December 2023 mass shooting at Charles University in Prague—the deadliest in Czech history—that left 14 people dead and 25 injured. The 24-year-old shooter, who later took his own life, legally obtained his firearms despite reported psychological problems.

The new law mandates that medical professionals check a central firearms registry if they suspect a patient may be mentally or physically unfit to possess weapons. If the patient holds a license, the doctor must notify authorities.

The new amendments build on earlier reforms approved by Parliament in early 2024, which shortened mandatory medical checks from every ten years to every five, enabled preventive weapons seizures, required businesses to report suspicious firearm or ammunition purchases, and granted doctors access to the central firearms registry.

The revised policies also address regulations in the Criminal Code, arms trade licensing, and administrative fees, but dropped proposals for “gun pardons” that would forgive illegal possession.

The law also introduces QR and barcodes for registering weapons and ammunition to improve traceability. These tools are intended to help police better monitor who is purchasing firearms and in what quantities.

Interior Minister Vít Rakušan, who supported the changes, had also pushed for a ban on silencers for recreational shooters. That proposal was rejected in the lower house.

Though Czechia has one of the highest rates of civilian firearm ownership in the EU—with roughly 300,000 license holders and nearly 1 million registered weapons, according to the Czech Interior Ministry—it maintains relatively low gun crime. A 2023 report by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) ranked Czechia among EU countries with lower gun violence rates despite higher legal gun ownership.

The Czech gun law amendments follow growing calls to tighten oversight after the Charles University tragedy. The revised law also affects rules on arms trading, administrative fees, and the Criminal Code.

On Monday, a school shooting in Graz, Austria, left several people dead and others injured. While Czech officials said there was no domestic security threat linked to the Austrian case, President Pavel extended condolences and offered the expertise of Czech crisis counselors.

The amendments are set to take effect later this year.