In 2016, President of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, urged his citizens to arm themselves in preparation for a potential “Super Holocaust” carried out by Muslim terrorists.
Following Zeman’s request, gun sales have risen in the country in fear of potential attacks against the nation, which has less than 4,000 Muslims living in it.
The Czech Republic’s interior ministry is now pushing for a change in the country’s constitution that would allow citizens to arm themselves and shoot terrorists.
People in favor of the change say that it could save lives if police aren’t able to arrive on scene in a timely manner.
Parliament will vote on the proposal in the next few months to make it become law.
While most of Europe has strict gun laws, the Czech Republic is less stringent and has looser gun policies. Roughly 300,000 people in the country are legal gun owners and around 240,000 of those have a concealed carry permit. Citizens only have to be 21-years-old, pass a gun proficiency exam and a medical examination, and have a clear criminal record to own a gun. Gun owners can also use their gun in self defense.
These less stringent gun laws are unusual since countries that are part of the European Union usually have tougher gun policies. The European Union recently pushed for stronger gun control on semi-automatic firearms where guns with more than 20 rounds per magazine would be banned. The Czech Republic was strongly opposed to the directive.
