Overview
- Salvador Illa presented detailed amendments to the Penal Code in the Catalan Parliament on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, asking regional parties to back the measure so it can be taken to Madrid.
- The proposal raises specific prison ranges, for example moving possession of prohibited or modified weapons from one–three years to two–four years and increasing penalties for short firearms without a licence to 18 months–three years.
- The draft makes erased serial numbers, illegal importation and weapons altered to be more lethal explicit aggravating factors and seeks to remove the current mitigation that can cut sentences when a person claims no intent to use an exhibited weapon.
- Because criminal law is national, the changes cannot take effect without a vote in the Spanish Congress, and Catalan sources say Illa has coordinated with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez while seeking support from parties in the Parlament including Junts.
- The Govern frames the reform as a tool to deter illegal arms, fight organised crime and align Spain with wider European penalties while police figures cited by the government point to a rise in the most serious violent offences that underpins the push.