Parliamentarians passed two draft laws on the right to civilian firearms - No. 5708 and No. 5709- in the first reading

law to regulate this issue is certainly needed. After all, only 1/7 of the seven million guns in the hands of Ukrainians are legal!

However, we have found corruption holes in this draft law that need to be addressed:

• As now, only certain categories of people are allowed to own short-barreled weapons - ordinary people cannot get a permit for a pistol even with rubber bullets. Unless they use well-established corruption schemes
• There are no proposals to open a register of gun owners either.
• It is also proposed to require the approval of the National Police for each employment contract for shooting range employees. Law enforcement will be able to check gun owners at least weekly
• Due to the blurred lines between administrative and criminal liability, it is possible to choose the punishment for the offender at their own discretion - from a fine of 1700 hryvnias to imprisonment for 3 years.

The ILI calls for finalising the draft law to make it truly effective!

Read more about the risks of gun ownership in the author's blog ‘Dear Laws’ by Tetyana Khutor: