The Senate, the upper house of Czech parliament, has approved the right to use arms to defend oneself and others under legal conditions to be embedded in the constitution as a reaction to the EU’s pro-regulatory stance on firearms acquisition and possession.

The amendment comes as a reaction to a petition signed by 102,000 people, including a number of top elected officials. It was launched by hunters and other arms owners in reaction to the European Commission’s effort to limit the possession of arms, including legally possessed ones.

This right was included in the Senate-proposed amendment to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, which is part of the constitution. Senators, therefore, passed the amendment as expected.

Based on the amendment, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms will include a new article saying that ‘the right to defend one’s own life or the life of another person even with the use of a weapon is guaranteed under the conditions set by the law.’

According to the authors of the bill, this constitutional change will prevent the right to bear arms from being restricted by common law and will strengthen the position of the Czech Republic in the debates on further EU regulations.

Now President Milos Zeman must sign it into law. The president cannot veto a constitutional bill against common pieces of legislation.