Do members of the Greek Parliament carry guns but have no idea how to deal with a firearm? It could be possible… The Greek Police announced on Friday that firearms licences have to be re-examined and the licence owner has to prove he has specific knowledge of the gun type he owns, that is beyond elementary knowledge. Licence owners will have to prove their skills before a three-member committee set by the police.
Police decision comes after a recommendation by the Minister of Public Order & Citizen Protection Nikos Dendias.
Among the new requirements is the proven mastery handling of the firearm and proven basic knowledge of safety rules (loading, storage etc).
- The committee will also take under the magnifying glass all firearms licence owners and see if there is still reason valid to carry a gun or if the person has the right to carry a weapon of another type.
- The licence can be withdrawn if the committee decides negative on license owners’ ability.
- Those with firearms license who do not proceed to renewal test within a set time frame will see their license been revoked.
- Licence and tests will be needed to be renewed every three years.
- Applicants for licence renewal will have to pay a fee to the state registers.
Buzz about MPs & Guns
The issue of guns-carrying lawmakers caused furore when “alarm bells went off May 20 after security guards at the parliament spotted a member of parliament with a weapon.” The MP was member of extreme-right Golden Dawn. Nobody was injured and the incident was violence-free”, however a debate sparked as to whether MPs should be allowed to carry guns inside the Parliament .and thus given “the deep ideological splits could devolve into political violence.”
Golden Dawn lawmakers do not miss a chance to ‘verbally attack’ the lawmakers of other parties and humiliate the institution of the Parliament.
However it wasn’t only Golden Dawn member carrying a gun or having a firearms license, which is easy to obtain.
60 MPs have firearms licence
Greek media reported of a total of 60 lawmakers -from 300 – carry guns. Samaras’ MPs top the list with 19 guns followed by Golden Dawn with 10. Three MPs from KKE, two from PASOK and one from SYRIZA. Among them, there is only one woman, Liana Kanelli from KKE.
The question is, of course, how many of them can really deal with a gun and how much they know about safety rules.
MP’s gun goes off inside the airport
On Tuesday, the gun of another Golden Dawn MP went off inside Athens International Airport. Media reported that the incident which took place as the MP was giving away his weapon to airport security guard before boarding on a flight to Thessaloniki. Allegedly one bullet was inside the gun. It went off in the hands of the security guard, the bullet has reportedly hit the ground. It was a miracle that nobody was injured.
Whether MPs can prove they have the skills to carry a gun or not, a debate among the political parties goes on about banning guns from the Parliament all together. At the same time, many Greeks wonder: why do lawmakers need a gun inside the Parliament?
