Members of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have had their right to own a gun revoked due to fears its politics are too extreme. The AfD, which opposes mass immigration, is currently the country’s second most popular party, Associated reported. It won 15.9% of the vote, second place, in the June 9 European Parliament election on June 9.Germany’s Dusseldorf Administrative Court on Monday ruled AfD members are banned from owning firearms under the country’s weapons legislation. It denied a married couple who sought to get their arms possession permits reinstated after they were revoked, per the Brussels Signal. The couple, with more than 230 firearms between them, were ordered to hand in their weapons to the government or destroy them, and same goes for all ammunition. The court will allow an appeal, given the case sets precedent for other members of AfD. .German intelligence (BfV) has officially designated the AfD of suspect in making attempts to undermine the country’s democracy. The political party sued over the designation, but a lower court dismissed it in May. Members of political parties suspected of anti-democratic ideas should be listed as “unreliable” under firearms laws, the court decided. “Membership of a party that is suspected of anti-constitutional tendencies alone regularly leads to the presumption of unreliability under weapons law according to the applicable strict standards of weapons law,” the court said.“Even if the party has not been banned by the Federal Constitutional Court on the grounds of unconstitutionality. For the assessment of whether such anti-constitutional tendencies exist, the assessment of the offices for the protection of the Constitution is a weighty indication.”“The federal party AfD was classified as a suspected case by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which was confirmed by the Higher Administrative Court for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia … The chamber has agreed with this.”
