The Autonomous Women’s Center agrees with most of the provisions proposed in the draft of the new Law on Weapons and Ammunition. However, AWC considers that certain provisions should be regulated more precisely or differently, in order to avoid varying interpretations and to ensure more efficient exchange of information among institutions.

The Autonomous Women’s Center welcomes the inclusion of the term imitation of firearm in the definitions section of the draft law, the tightening of conditions for the acquisition and possession of weapons, the introduction of the possibility of extraordinary medical checks for the possession of a weapon, and the ban on military-tactical training.

However, AWC believes that the provisions of the law should be further amended so that:

• the term civil shooting range is defined as a space for the use of weapons intended for shooting or training not only with firearms, but also with 3D-printed, air, sports, and imitation of firearms, in order to ensure that the prohibition of training minors applies to all categories of weapons (except sports weapons within sports clubs), and that the ban on military-tactical training applies to all categories of weapons;
• a permit for the acquisition of weapons for individuals applies to one piece of weapon only;
• during the security background check, the opinion of household members living with the applicant must be obtained regarding the request to possess a weapon, and that this opinion is collected without the presence of the applicant;
• hunting associations and hunting grounds are prohibited from allowing minors access to firearms and hunting weapons;
• hunting associations and hunting grounds are prohibited from allowing minors to participate in hunting;
• an obligation is introduced to register individuals who possess or manufacture string-propelled weapons (crossbows).

The entire text of proposed amendments to specific articles, with explanations, are available only in Serbian HERE.