Justice - Judgments: AfD members must hand in weapons
Members of the AfD must hand over their firearms in accordance with current court rulings. The Administrative Court of Düsseldorf made this decision in two proceedings. The court found that members of a party suspected of constitutional hostile activities, in accordance with the Weapons Act, should be classified as unreliable, and dismissed the appeals of two AfD members whose gun ownership permits had been revoked (Az.: 22 K 4836/23 and 22 K 4909/23).
The plaintiffs, a married couple, were therefore obliged to surrender or destroy their firearms - in the case of the husband, 197 weapons, and in the case of the wife, 27 pieces - as well as their ammunition.
The AfD had been designated as a suspected case of constitutional hostile activities by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster confirmed this designation on May 13.
The Administrative Court of Düsseldorf allowed the appeal against the judgments due to their fundamental significance, which the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westfalia would have had to decide upon.
The AfD's designation as a potential case of constitutional hostile activities by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was upheld by the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster, echoing the Administrative Court of Düsseldorf's earlier rulings against the party. These court rulings, including the recent ones against two AfD members (Az.: 22 K 4836/23 and 22 K 4909/23), highlight the administrative court's stance against extremism within political parties. As a result, members of the AfD are now required to comply with these court rulings and surrender their firearms, as per the Weapons Act, due to their perceived unreliability.
