The bill, which would amend the existing Weapons Act, would boost the ammo stock limit to private firearms owners from the current 5,000 rounds for sports weapons, i.e. firing on the range, and this figure would double if the bill passed into law.

Similarly, whereas the current limit for hunting weapons is 300 rounds, the figure would more than triple, to 1,000.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and specifically supply difficulties with ammunition which followed the outbreak of the full-scale invasion over four years ago is the main rationale behind the change.

A higher permitted quantity of ammunition would mean less frequent purchases and reduced dependence on supply disruptions, the government finds, and this in turn would ensure better preparedness for crisis situations.

The bill's framers say it will make the registration, transport, and storage of weapons simpler too: The three-month period in which time a firearm must be purchased after receiving a permit to do so would double to six months.

Aku Sorainen, a lawyer originally from Finland, has advocated for changes to the Weapons Act for national defense purposes for many years now. While the changes planned in the bill are a step in the right direction, there are other areas of the law which should in his view be amended too, for instance the scope for firearms license revocation.

"In Estonia, the revocation of a firearms permit remains very rigid," Sorainen said.
In cases of minor violations by firearms permit holders, law enforcement in Estonia lack discretionary power. For example, a person will have their firearms permit revoked if they are caught operating a motor vehicle or aircraft under the influence of alcohol or narcotic substances.

According to Sorainen, Finland's police, by contrast, have discretion in cases involving minor violations, something absent in Estonia.

Additionally, the bill contains no provision to permit firearms or ammunition to be held by minors.

In Sorainen's view, the Ministry of Social Affairs' desire to tighten children's right to handle weapons is unjustified. The policy is based on the positions of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which recommended that Estonia ban the general use of firearms by children.

"The aim is, for example, to protect young people from becoming child soldiers, but in Estonia's case this is clearly excessive," Sorainen noted.

Overall, this framework would instead simply hinder the development of a responsible firearms culture in Estonia, Sorainen said.

There are an estimated 25,000 people in Estonia with valid firearms permits, as well as several thousand legal entities engaged in handling weapons.
According to a 2018 study, there were approximately 4.9 civilian-owned firearms per 100 inhabitants in Estonia. In Finland, the corresponding figure was nearly eight times that, at 32.4.

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