Members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party cannot legally possess firearms under the country’s gun control law, as the party is considered a suspected extremist group.
The Düsseldorf Administrative Court ruled Monday that a married couple must surrender all of their firearms, dismissing a lawsuit filed by the couple over the revocation of their firearms license.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency BfV has formally suspected the AfD of working to undermine the country’s democratic constitution, a move confirmed in May by an administrative court that dismissed an AfD lawsuit over the designation.
The couple has a large number of firearms – 197 guns in the case of the husband and 27 guns in the case of the wife – which they must now surrender or destroy. They are also required to give up all ammunition.
However, the court in Düsseldorf does allow an appeal against the decision, as it could have significant consequences for other members of the political party.
