Editing Overview of gun laws by nation (section)

====Czech Republic====
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 300
| header            = Gun safes for visitors at a Czech courthouse
| image1            = Gun safes for visitors firearms at a courthouse in Prague, Czech Republic.jpg
| alt1              = Gun safes for visitors at a courthouse in Prague
| caption1          = Gun safes for civilian firearms at a courthouse in Prague. It is forbidden to carry any weapons within a courthouse. Visitors can leave their firearms at gun safes upon entry, before undergoing airport-style security check.
| image2            = Interior of a gun safe for visitors at a courthouse in Prague, Czech Republic.jpg
| alt2              = CZ 75 D, magazine, chamber round and a pepper spray within a visitor's gun safe at a courthouse in Prague, Czech Republic.
| caption2          = Visitor's unloaded pistol and a pepper spray within a courthouse gun safe
}}

{{Main|Gun law in the Czech Republic}}

{{See also|History of Czech civilian firearms possession}}

Gun laws in the [[Czech Republic]] adhere to the [[Directive (EU) 2021/555|European Firearms Directive]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Gawron|first=Tomáš|url=https://advokatnidenik.cz/2020/10/23/od-smernice-k-implementaci-co-prinasi-a-co-znamena-poslaneckou-snemovnou-pcr-schvalena-novela-zakona-o-zbranich/|title=Od směrnice k implementaci: co přináší a co znamená Poslaneckou sněmovnou PČR schválená novela zákona o zbraních|language=cs|date=23 October 2020|newspaper=Advokátní Deník|access-date=22 December 2023|archive-date=28 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328152550/https://advokatnidenik.cz/2020/10/23/od-smernice-k-implementaci-co-prinasi-a-co-znamena-poslaneckou-snemovnou-pcr-schvalena-novela-zakona-o-zbranich/|url-status=live}}</ref> Legal accessibility is comparable to those [[Member state of the European Union|EU countries]] which consider firearms to be primarily tools of individual or collective safety (i.e. [[Firearms regulation in Switzerland|Switzerland]], [[Gun law in Austria|Austria]], [[Gun laws in Poland|Poland]], [[Baltic states]], [[Firearms regulation in Finland|Finland]]) and not just sporting instruments ''(see [[Gun politics#European Union|Gun laws in the European Union]])''.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2023-12-22|last=Sanlaville|first=Tanguy|title=Examens, contrôles des antécédents : après l'attaque de Prague, au coeur de la loi tchèque sur les armes à feu|url=https://www.marianne.net/monde/europe/examens-controles-des-antecedents-apres-l-attaque-de-prague-au-coeur-de-la-loi-tcheque-sur-les-armes-a-feu|website=marianne.net|language=fr|access-date=26 December 2023|archive-date=24 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224234820/https://www.marianne.net/monde/europe/examens-controles-des-antecedents-apres-l-attaque-de-prague-au-coeur-de-la-loi-tcheque-sur-les-armes-a-feu|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | last = Gawron
 | first = Tomáš
 | title = Srovnání české zbraňové legislativy s jinými evropskými zeměmi [Comparison of Czech Gun Laws with other European Countries]
 | work = zbrojnice.com
 | date = 15 January 2024
 | url = https://zbrojnice.com/2024/01/15/srovnani-ceske-zbranove-legislativy-s-jinymi-evropskymi-zememi/
 | access-date = 7 November 2024
 | language = cs
 }}</ref>

[[Right to keep and bear arms]] is considered to be an attribute of liberty in the country.<ref name="roundtable" /> It is explicitly recognized in the first Article of the [[Gun law in the Czech Republic#Current law|Firearms Act]]. At the constitutional level, the [[Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms]] protects the "''right to defend one's own life or life of another person also with arms under conditions stipulated by law''" (see ''[[Self-defence law (Czech Republic)|Self-defence law in the Czech Republic]]'').

Firearms are available to any resident subject to acquiring a [[firearms license]]. Firearm licenses may be obtained in a way similar to a driving license; by passing a proficiency exam (in [[Czech language]] only), medical examination and having no [[criminal]] record. Unlike in most other European countries, Czech firearms legislation also permits citizens to carry [[Concealed carry|concealed]] weapons for [[self-defense]]; 260,027 out of 316,859 gun license holders have a concealed carry license (31 December 2023).<ref name="zbrojnice-stats-2023">{{cite web
 | last = Gawron
 | first = Tomáš
 | title = Zbraňové statistiky 2023: Růst počtu držitelů zbrojních průkazů zpomalil, setrvalý nárůst registrovaných zbraní [Firearms statistics 2023: Increase of number of license holders slowed down, gradual increase of registered firearms]
 | work = zbrojnice.com
 | date = 8 January 2024
 | url = https://zbrojnice.com/2024/01/08/zbranove-statistiky-2023-rust-poctu-drzitelu-zbrojnich-prukazu-zpomalil-setrvaly-narust-registrovanych-zbrani/
 | access-date = 8 January 2024
 | language = cs
 }}</ref> The most common reason for firearm possession by Czech gun owners is protection, with hunting and sport shooting being less common.<ref name="Eurobarometer">{{Citation
| last       = Eurobarometer
| first       = Directorate General for Communication
| year       = 2013
| title       = Flash Barometer 383: Firearms in the European Union – Report
| location       = Brusselss
| url       = http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_383_en.pdf
| access-date       = 26 March 2017
| archive-date       = 21 March 2017
| archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20170321132451/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_383_en.pdf
| url-status       = live
}}</ref> Additionally, people can join government endorsed advanced shooting training courses with their privately owned firearms and become members of the [[militia]]-style [[Designated Reserves (Czech Republic)|Designated Reserves]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.czdefence.cz/clanek/ozbrojeni-civiliste-a-budouci-bezpecnostni-krize | title=Ozbrojení civilisté a budoucí bezpečnostní krize }}</ref>

The beginnings of Czech civilian firearms possession date back to 1421, with the first use of firearms as the primary weapons of [[Hussite wars|Hussite militia]] ''(see [[History of Czech civilian firearms possession]])''. Firearms became indispensable tools for the mostly-commoner militia in a war for religious freedom and political independence. Firearms possession became common throughout and after the Hussite wars. The universal right to keep arms for "''all people of all standing''" was formally affirmed in the 1517 {{Interlanguage link|St. Wenceslaus Agreement|cs|Svatováclavská smlouva}}. Throughout its 600-year history, Czech firearms legislation remained permissive, with the exception of the periods of [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)|German Nazi occupation]] and of the [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|Communist regime]].

The English term ''pistol'' originated in 15th-century [[Czech language]].<ref name="Titz">{{cite book|title=Ohlasy husitského válečnictví v Evropě|year=1922|publisher=Československý vědecký ústav vojenský|first=Karel|last=Titz}}</ref> ''Mariánská skála'' in [[Ústí nad Labem]] is Europe's oldest continually-open shooting range, established in 1617.<ref>{{Citation
| last       = Kindlová
| first       = Veronika
| year       = 2015
| title       = Nejstarší střelnici v Evropě najdete na Mariánské skále v Ústí nad Labem
| url       = http://www.rozhlas.cz/sever/expres/_zprava/nejstarsi-strelnici-v-evrope-najdete-na-marianske-skale-v-usti-nad-labem--1553992
| access-date       = 1 October 2017
| archive-date       = 1 October 2017
| archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20171001214516/http://www.rozhlas.cz/sever/expres/_zprava/nejstarsi-strelnici-v-evrope-najdete-na-marianske-skale-v-usti-nad-labem--1553992
| url-status       = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 | last = Rudoplh
 | first = Richard L.
 | title = Banking and Industrialization in Austria-Hungary: The Role of Banks in the Industrialization of the Czech Crownlands, 1873–1914
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | year = 2008
 | page = 39
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZfGg0bn1JUAC&pg=PA39
 | isbn = 978-0-521-08847-3
 | access-date = 6 January 2019
 | archive-date = 5 November 2021
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211105225044/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZfGg0bn1JUAC&pg=PA39
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>