The Catalan government has put proposals to the Spanish government to double prison sentences for carrying prohibited weapons and to criminalise displaying weapons in public, according to Diari ARA's report published on 16 September. There is no agreement or parliamentary timetable, so the current law remains in force for residents and visitors in Catalonia.

The proposals are being considered by the Spanish government at Moncloa, the prime minister's office, after discussions between the Generalitat, Catalonia's government, and the PSOE, Spain's governing Socialist party. They would require an amendment to Spain's Penal Code, rather than an immediate executive measure.

Potential penalties for carrying and displaying weapons

Under the working proposals described by Diari ARA, prison terms for carrying prohibited weapons and firearms would at least double, and could be tripled in the most serious cases. Prohibited weapons can include certain dangerous bladed weapons.

  • Carrying a prohibited weapon currently carries a prison sentence of one to three years.
  • Carrying a short firearm, such as a handgun, also currently carries one to three years in prison.
  • Carrying a long firearm currently carries a prison term of six months to one year.

The governments are also examining a new offence for displaying a weapon in a public place even where it is not used. Diari ARA reported that the Penal Code does not currently contain a specific offence covering that conduct.

Parliamentary sources told the newspaper that the change is unlikely to proceed through a government bill because the remaining legislative timetable may not allow for the required reports. The alternatives under discussion are a bill tabled by the PSOE or an amendment to an organic law already passing through parliament. An organic law is the type of Spanish legislation used for matters affecting fundamental rights.

Weapon incidents cited in the proposal

The proposal follows a series of serious incidents cited by Diari ARA, including six fatal shootings in the Barcelona metropolitan area over just more than two months before the summer. The report said those shootings were linked to organised crime and drug trafficking.

Police figures cited by the newspaper show that incidents involving bladed weapons fell by 31% in the first quarter of 2026 after the Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional police, introduced the Dagger plan. Even so, the force records eight bladed-weapon incidents a day across Catalonia.

In 2025, police seized 9,000 bladed weapons, including 500 carried by people under 18. Incidents involving the display or use of handguns, excluding gender-based and domestic violence cases, fell by 7.8% in the first five months of 2026, according to the figures cited.

The share of displayed handguns that were real weapons rose from 28% in 2025 to 35% in the first quarter of 2026. Cases in which a firearm was fired were 32% higher up to May than in the same period of 2025, Diari ARA reported.

No date has been set for a parliamentary vote on the proposed reform.

Reported by en.ara.cat, ara.cat, Diari ARA.