A German court has ruled that members of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party can be banned from owning firearms, citing the party’s right-wing “extremist” views.
In its July 1 judgment, the 22nd Chamber of the Düsseldorf Administrative Court explained that the AfD members and affiliates engage in “anti-constitutional activities” and are presumed ineligible to own weapons under the country’s strict gun control laws.
The decision, which can be appealed, comes after a married couple, both of whom are AfD members, filed a precedent-setting lawsuit against the revocation of their firearms licenses. The court ruled that the couple fulfilled the criteria of ineligibility and must surrender or destroy all 224 of their firearms. They were also ordered to destroy any other weapons they have, and all of their ammunition.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, has formally placed the AfD under suspicion of working to undermine the country’s democracy. That classification was upheld in May by an administrative court, which rejected an AfD lawsuit over the designation.
“Merely membership in a party suspected of anti-constitutional activities regularly leads to the presumption of ineligibility under gun law under the applicable strict standards of gun law, even if the party has not been banned by the Federal Constitutional Court on the grounds of unconstitutionality,” reads an English translation of the Düsseldorf Administrative Court’s decision.
Continuing, the ruling explains that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution assessed that the AfD demonstrates a strong indication of anti-constitutional behavior, which was confirmed in an earlier judgment by the Higher Administrative Court for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Noting that AfD members are not “automatically unreliable under firearms law,” the ruling adds that its decision “does not violate the party privilege of Article 21 of the Basic Law” because “the reliability check under firearms law is carried out on a personal basis; any actual disadvantages for parties are not protected by Article 21 of the Basic Law.”
Earlier this year, the German government had announced their intentions to seek to remove the eligibility to own firearms away from those with right-wing views, expressing upset that more than 1,000 right-wing voters own guns legally.
Left Party politician Martina Renner sharply criticized the government for not fulfilling its promise to crack down on right-wing gun ownership, and for being too slow to remove gun licenses from far-right extremists.
According to Germany’s Basic Law, political parties have the right to be freely established. Still, the Federal Constitutional Court can determine if a party has failed to conform to democratic principles.
The AfD was founded in 2013 as an alternative to the center-right Christian Democratic Union. Although it has been branded as extremist by mainstream media for its opposition to immigration, Islam, and membership in the European Union, the party has grown in popularity among young voters in recent years.
Analysis from the polling company Dimap revealed that 16% of voters aged 18-24 supported the AfD in Bavaria’s state election last year, a nine-point increase since the previous election.
Speaking with CNBC, an AfD spokesperson explained the party is gaining traction among younger voters due to its messaging and social media strategies.
“The AfD is far ahead of other parties on all social networks because it is much more credible in comparison and because it represents positions that are in the interest of citizens.”
