On Thursday, 15 September, the Saeima passed in the first reading urgent amendments to the Law on the Handling of Weapons, as reported by the Saeima press-service.
These amendments provide for annulling already issued firearm permits held by Russian and Belarusian citizens who have permanent residence permits in Latvia. This measure would come to force 1 June 2023 and will last for an unspecified period of time.
It is also planned to ensure non-citizens in Latvia will not have the right to purchase, store, carry and transport hunting and sports arms.
As noted in the annotation to the legislative draft, it was developed to further enhance state security. According to state security institutions there are risks of citizens of those two countries who have firearms potentially causing a threat for Latvia and its society.
For amendments to come into force, the Saeima will need to pass them in the second and final reading.