Knife protests in Lower Saxony: Security measures at festivals tightened!

Knife protests in Lower Saxony: Security measures at festivals tightened!

The discussion about knife bans in Lower Saxony is gaining momentum. Between November 24th and December 15th, 2024, 28 violations of the newly introduced weapons ban zone were documented at the Christmas market in Hanover alone, as the police reported. Given an increase in knife attacks, particularly among young people, the state government considers the situation alarming. Interior Minister Daniela Behrens emphasized that over 3,000 knife crimes were recorded in Lower Saxony in 2023, which corresponds to a significant increase of 12 percent among young people and 18 percent among adolescents. This concern led to the tightening of gun laws, which has been in force since October 31, 2024.

Details of the new gun law

As part of the so-called “security package”, gun law was fundamentally changed. From now on, carrying knives at public events, including folk festivals and markets, is expressly prohibited. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser explained that this would also make it possible to control the bans. According to the new regulations, only very limited exceptions may apply for certain professional sectors or under special conditions. These changes were decided by the traffic light coalition, which met with approval in the other federal states. However, critics express concerns that the exemptions may be difficult to implement in practice and see the ban as a potential criminalization of law-abiding citizens.

The new laws allow state governments to ban the carrying of weapons and knives in areas particularly prone to crime. The general definition of “inaccessible” has also been clarified, which may lead to confusion among citizens. These measures are intended to ensure a faster response to acts of violence after the knife attack in Solingen in August sent an alarming signal. However, analyzes of the legal situation show that the restrictive interpretations of the law could in practice lead to a restriction of citizens' rights, such as Knife Blog and NDR reported.