No penalties for bearing arms

15 February 2007

BRUSSELS — “Anyone carrying a pistol, a revolver or a semi-automatic weapon today can escape punishment”, legal expert Tony Van Parys said.

After the racist murders committed by Hans Van Themsche, who freely purchased a gun in Antwerp last year and shot two people dead, one of them a toddler, politicians hurried to introduce stricter legislation concerning bearing unlicensed arms.

“The goal was a noble one, but in trying to achieve it Minister of Justice Laurette Onkelinx’s team acted in too much haste and with not enough caution”, former Minister of Justice Tony Van Parys told Het Laatste Nieuws, Belga reports.

The new legislation on weapons basically forbids anyone to carry one unless one has a license. “But that legislation has not come into force yet”, Van Parys said. “The old law is still in force, but the penalties for its violation are no longer applicable”.

Subject: Belgian news