Estonia's new coalition government plans to deny citizens of Russia and Belarus from owning firearms in Estonia. But the change could take months to implement, said incoming interior minister Lauri Läänemets.
"The weapons permits of citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus will be repealed and new permits will not be issued," the coalition agreement states.
In addition, Läänemets wants to reexamine weapons permits to all individuals who have expressed hostility towards Estonia.
"Because there are bound to be people with Estonian citizenship who could sport anti-Estonian or anti-Ukrainian views and ideas not compatible with the security situation today. It means they need to be addressed," he stated.
The Estonian Association of Gun Owners proposed similar change to the Firearms Act already in early March.
In a letter to the interior minister, the gun owners' association pointed out that Estonia had 1,300 Russian citizens with a firearms permit.
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