Gun amnesty starts on Monday

People will be able to hand over their illegally held or unregistered firearms to the police without any fear of being legally challenged as of next week. On Monday, 1 December the third gun amnesty in Slovakia will be launched. The aim of the amnesty is to lower the number of illegally held guns and ammunition in the country and to reduce the risk of people using such firearms in the commission of criminal acts. The amnesty is set to be in place until 31 May, 2015, and during these six months, people will be able to hand over their illegally held or unregistered firearms to any police department. According to the Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, the number of crimes committed using firearms has shrunk by 50 percent since the first gun amnesty was called in 2005.