EDITOR’S NOTE: Seven University of Tennessee at Knoxville students in summer 2025 completed a special “Going on Assignment” reporting course in Prague, Czech Republic. Knox News is publishing the pieces to highlight their work.
After fatal shootings at Prague’s Charles University in December 2023, Czech citizens pushed for more gun laws. However, since the day of the shooting, no new legislation has taken effect regarding gun ownership and acquisition.
The situation is not quite the same as the Tennessee legislature rejecting tougher gun laws after the mass shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School. A law was passed by the Czech Republic’s upper house in March and signed by the president in June of 2024, but it does not hit Czechs’ cobblestone streets until 2026.
A stone memorial in downtown Prague honors the 14 people killed and 22 wounded in a shooting at the close of 2023.
One of the reasons behind the law’s delay is the opposition it faces from certain political parties. Supported by the parliamentary security committee, the up-and-coming gun legislation has received pushback from other parties. These parties include ANO, a right- wing party led by former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš, and SPD, another far-right party led by Tomio Okamura, as reported by Radio Prague International.
On the other side of the legislative coin is many Czechs who believe the new law does not go far enough. The 2026 law will include the following: all guns being tagged in an online registry, health checks every five years instead of the usual 10, and gun store owners reporting suspicious purchases of guns and/or ammunition.
Some 64% of Czechs favored adding more to the law, such as mandatory psychological tests and the right for police to seize weapons under the right circumstances, according to BRNO Daily. In particular, 87% agreed with the mandatory psych test. There is no indication of such an examination being added in the future.
Even before the added restrictions, gun licenses were already difficult to obtain in the Czech Republic.
Once cleared, Czech citizens have to pass a challenging written test. This section has a daunting reputation, since only half the applicants pass, according to Radio Prague International in 2016. Further, you must wait six months after you fail.
Applicants also have to demonstrate competence with a firearm, along with understanding each piece of the weapon. This not only takes months but also a hefty amount of money – at least $89 US – for the chance to take these assessments.
Czechs often leave items at the memorial to shooting victims.
One new development is increased Czech interest in firearm licenses. Radio Prague International reported in January 2025 that there was a rise in gun license holders from year to year. This climb in licenses is a response to what citizens believe is a “deteriorating security situation worldwide,” RPI said.
Liga Libe is an organization that represents “Czech owners of legal weapons and security as such” and compares itself to the American NRA on its website. The organization’s president, Pavel Černý, declared, “I believe that our legislation is balanced and the whole world may even envy us for it. The legislation is strict enough so it only allows people of certain abilities to obtain a license.”
He highlighted how when a government goes to an extreme in banning certain things, those illegal items tend to increase in circulation. “On the other hand, there are countries that don’t allow even small pocket knives; however, that doesn’t make them safer. It is quite the opposite actually, with criminality and terrorism on the rise,” he said.
Černý also highlights the crime rate of the city in recent years. “Yet there is almost no shooting in the streets here, acts of violence are, let’s say, rare. We are also one of the safest countries in the world.”
The bottom line for new gun owners is not so much on the object itself rather than the people who get their hands on it. Černý argued, “A gun – like a car – is neither good nor bad. It is a tool, an object. Just like a chainsaw. It depends on the owner – whether they are good or bad, with good or bad intentions. Whether they are responsible and skilled, which applies whether you are sitting in a car or holding a gun.”
Černý was happy with the state of gun laws in the country, and as someone who runs tests for gun ownership, he has seen all types of people apply. He believes the tests do a good job at weeding out people who are not completely committed to being safe with a firearm, and more laws would just hurt those who already take ownership seriously.
There is no specific date announced yet for the new Czech law taking effect in 2026.
Sam Becker recently became a Journalism & Media major at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and has finished a Global Communication course. 2025
Sam Becker recently became a Journalism & Media major at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and has finished a Global Communication course.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Czech gun legislation stumbles forward