The government wants to amend the law to allow gun owners to store more ammunition. Currently, 5,000 rounds are permitted for sporting firearms, the new number would be 10,000. For hunting firearms, 1,000 rounds would be allowed, currently it is 300.
The changes are necessary because there were problems with ammunition during the war in Ukraine. More ammunition means purchases are made less frequently and there are fewer issues with supplies.
The new law will also make firearm registration and storage easier. The time to obtain a firearms license will increase from three to six months.
Lawyer Aku Sorainen says the changes are good, but there are still flaws in the law. For example, in Estonia, a firearms license is immediately revoked if a person makes even a small mistake. In Finland, the police can decide whether to revoke the license.
Sorainen also disagrees with the idea that children should not be allowed to handle firearms. He believes this is an unnecessary restriction.
In Estonia, there are about 25,000 people with firearms licenses. For every 100 people, there are nearly 5 firearms in Estonia. In Finland, the same number is much higher – 32 firearms per 100 people.