An otherwise unknown Austrian provincial politician demands easier access to carry permits for Austrians.
Please vote!
Hint for those who do not speak German: Its the first of the three answers, it translates into " yes concealed carry is a good idea..

http://steiermark.orf.at/news/stories/2628527/

Thanks!

Hit it looks pretty good right now with 55,39% in favor. You mention easier access to ccw, but is it possible for your average Austrian to get a carry permit as it is today? And if it is possible, what are some of the requirements?

Today its extremely difficult for your average Joe to obtain a carry permit, except if you got a hunting permit.
But the letter of the law when a carry permit was to be granted was not changed since the 60ies. But practically by now, it was even stopped to automatically grant such permit to police for off-duty carry.
Thanks to the Schengen-treaty we now have open borders to the delight of various criminal gangs.
Its still comparatively simple to obtain a gun permit "Waffenbesitzkarte" for one or two handguns which can be kept at home or in your business premises for self defence purposes.
So the weapons your average joe is allowed to carry on the street without a CCW-permit would be knives, pepper-spray, batons etc.

Voted!

Now 56.81% in favor.

Yeah that Schengen thing is causing us a lot of problems too In regards to the waffenbesitzkarte and aquiring of handguns, is home defence/self defence a valid reason when you apply for the license? And are there any requirements of membership of a shootingclub or that you participate in a certain number of competitions every year? Around here you can only get a permit for a handgun if you are a member of a club, and you have to wait two years before you can get a license to buy your own. Also, peppersprays, batons, and most knives, are verboten to carry and to even buy a baton or a pepperspray you will need a permit from the police (which you won't be granted)

Yes, home defence is a legally valid reason to own a gun and no club membership is needed. Prior to applying one has to pass a psych test (€ 300), a safety course (€ 50) and possibly a visit by the police who would be interested where you plan to keep the gun.
A few weeks or months later you are issued the licence which is usually valid for two guns of the category B (handguns constructed after 1871 or some semiauto-rifles or -shotguns).
Off course getting a license that is valid for more guns would usually require club membership and participation in competitions. Also every 5 years or so the police will come around and will control the correct storing of your guns and competence in gun handling which is demonstrated by competition results or applying for a new safety course.  
Off course no license is needed for the ownership of guns of the category C (single shot and repeating rifles) and D (single- or multi-barrel shotguns).  

Thanks everybody for their help! We did it.
The results:


Wie ist Ihre Meinung: Sollte der Waffenzugang in Österreich erleichtert werden?

60.17% (Pro CCW) Finde ich eine gute Idee: Nachdem immer mehr Polizeiposten schließen, muss man sich selbst verteidigen können.

4.11% (undecided) Das ist ein Vorschlag, der ausführlich diskutiert gehört: Aus unbescholtenen Bürgern können mit Waffen sehr schnell Verbrecher werden.

35.71%(anti.-gun) Ich fühle mich eigentlich recht sicher in Österreich - das würde sich aber ändern, wenn ich wüsste, dass jeder mit einer Waffe herumgehen kann.

Ihre Stimme wurde gezählt.
Dieses Voting wurde beendet. Angezeigt wird das Endergebnis vom 2.2.2014 um 12.00 Uhr.