Doubling prison sentences for carrying weapons: on the table of the Moncloa and the Generalitat

MadridThe Spanish legislature is in stoppage time. The general elections will be in 2027 –more and more voices are pointing to the first quarter–, so now conversations are intensifying regarding projects that are in the pipeline and will have only one opportunity in these coming months to move forward. One of them, as indicated by various sources consulted by ARA, is a proposal from the Catalan government to toughen the Penal Code for crimes involving the possession of weapons, which is already on the table at Moncloa. Specifically, it is proposed to double prison sentences in the case of carrying prohibited weapons –currently they are 1 to 3 years of deprivation of liberty– and to create a new crime for the exhibition of weapons in public.

It is an approach that the Catalan executive has already transferred to the PSOE and the Spanish government months ago and that has taken on more meaning recently following the six fatal shootings that took place in the metropolitan area in little more than two months before the summer and the latest homicide with a bladed weapon in Manresa, a fatal stabbing of Carles Vilajosana by minors that has shocked the city. Also this weekend four stabbings were recorded in Barcelona and this Wednesday five people were injured in Lleida in a fight where katanas and machetes were brandished.

For now there is no agreed calendar or definitive agreement on the content, but the little time remaining in the mandate reduces the paths to success. Parliamentary sources warn that the proposal cannot be channeled through a government bill because it requires mandatory reports and there would no longer be enough time before the end of the legislature. For this reason, only two options remain: either process it through a bill presented by the PSOE or take advantage of an organic law that is in process and introduce an amendment to it. In this case, the Spanish government does not want to use the royal decree-law route either because the reform would affect fundamental rights and they cannot be regulated by this mechanism.

The details of the proposal

In Catalonia, work has been underway on this issue for some time. Following the six shootings in just over two months, at the beginning of summer, the Ministry of Interior decided to summon journalists to a room in the department to explain the circumstances of these homicides involving firearms –all linked to organized crime and drugs– and also to present proposals to address the increasing proliferation of handguns in the country. The then director of the police, Josep Lluís Trapero –who resigned from the position last week–, criticized that in Spain, carrying a handgun can lead to a two-year prison sentence, whereas in France or Germany, the penalties range from 4 to 6 years.

The Minister Núria Parlon already said then that they were working on a proposal to toughen penalties and that they had already discussed it with the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska. The goal of all this, Parlon stated, was to bring a reform of the Penal Code to Congress. Now, this negotiation is real and working documents are already being exchanged between executives with proposals to toughen penalties, as ARA has been able to confirm.

What is the proposal? Work is being done to at least double the penalties associated with carrying prohibited weapons and long and short firearms. In the most serious cases, they could even be tripled. When legally speaking of prohibited weapons, some types of bladed weapons also fall under this definition, especially the most dangerous ones, with the largest blade or when the person carrying it does not have any kind of permit to carry it, another of the main concerns of the Catalan police.

Currently, the penalty for carrying prohibited weapons ranges from one to three years in prison and the proposal includes doubling it, the same as with the sentences associated with carrying short firearms (currently also one to three years in prison) or long ones (currently six months to one year in prison). With the hardening, the aim is to seek to dissuade people who are armed and to balance Spanish legality with that of its European environment.

However, they also want to introduce a new criminal offense. According to the working proposals being exchanged between governments, it would involve creating an article that penalizes the exhibition of weapons in public spaces, even if they are not used, explain sources close to the Spanish executive. Right now, there is no article in the Penal Code that specifically punishes this conduct. Precisely this Wednesday, the 'comuns', who are a key partner of the Generalitat, also made a proposal to tighten gun control. In Parliament, they have promoted a resolution proposal to reform the weapons regulations and the Penal Code with the aim of "reducing the presence of bladed weapons and firearms in public spaces".

The data

Catalonia has been trying for some time to address the increase in bladed weapons and firearms, and some indicators have been reduced, but authorities believe that police activity is not enough, and therefore they are also calling for legislative measures. Following the implementation of the Dagger plan to tackle bladed weapons, incidents involving knives have been reduced by 31% in the first quarter of 2026. However, there are eight incidents with bladed weapons in Catalonia every day, and the police are concerned that those who wield them are often very young people. In 2025, 9,000 bladed weapons were seized, and 500 were carried by minors.

Regarding firearms, figures show that incidents in which someone has displayed or used a handgun –excluding situations of gender-based and domestic violence– went down in 2025 and have decreased in the first five months of 2026, specifically by 7.8%. However, there is data that is rising and causing concern, such as the case of real weapons. In 2025, 28% of the handguns brandished in these incidents were real. In the first quarter of 2026, this figure increased to 35%. It is also worrying that cases in which the weapon is actually fired are increasing. Up to May of this year, these cases have grown by 32% compared to the same period in 2025. At that time, they had already risen by 35% compared to 2024. These weapons are mainly linked to organized crime, although the police fear mimicry by local groups. Furthermore, the war scenario in the Middle East and Ukraine means there are more weapons available on the market.