YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The new Law on Weapons will introduce improved gun control measures to regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms.

The new measures will actually set in place more stringent measures for first-time gun buyers, at the same time enabling long-time lawful gun owners with broader opportunities.

The bill was approved by the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security Affairs and has yet to pass parliament.

Handguns and automatic weapons will continue to be banned for civilians, like under the active law.

Civilians will still be able to buy only semi-automatic rifles or shotguns.

Colonel Hovhannisyan showcasing his private collection of firearms

Colonel Artsrun Hovhannisyan, an Armenian Armed Forces Reserve Colonel who is now a military scholar and an expert at the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security Affairs, told ARMENPRESS in an interview that under the new gun control law first-time buyers will be required to successfully pass a training and safety exam before receiving a license enabling them to buy a firearm. “By the way, soon another bill will be introduced parallel with this one which will impose stricter hunting rules, and an exam will be introduced in that case also. Therefore, this gun control measure can be considered as a heightened control and regulation for first-time buyers. But for current [legal] gun owners, who know the safety measures, this will create new opportunities. Meaning, professionally this will enable me to have more guns,” Colonel Hovhannisyan, a gun enthusiast and marksman, told ARMENPRESS while showing his private collection.

Hovhannisyan showing his Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifle

The measure of requiring gun buyers to pass an exam is now under consideration in the United States as well.

The new gun control law will also set minimum age requirement to 21 from the current 18 for individuals who want to buy a rifle.

Citizens successfully passing the exam and background check will get a license on acquiring a firearm for a 10-year term. But upon buying a new weapon, the buyer will have to undergo new medical checkups each time. Hovhannisyan disapproves this requirement, citing the driver’s license as an example that by having a license people can buy as many cars as they want. The colonel said he hopes that this regulation will be reviewed in the future.

From right to left: 12-gauge Winchester shotgun; Mosin rifle, Vepr-KM 7.62x39 semi-automatic carbine; CZ 550 rifle

Hovhannisyan said he wouldn’t mind allowing civilians to buy handguns, but this bill still bans it. “I am actually strongly convinced that if you want to be a developed country you must allow your citizen to responsibly train and have a firearm, get trained as a civilian – outside the military, so that whenever you were to need this citizen at wartime they’d be well trained upon being drafted into the military. At the same time, the culture of military-training sports and guns must sink in,” he said.

Colonel Hovhannisyan cited Switzerland, Finland, Taiwan, Israel and other countries as an example in this context, who have 20-36 pieces of firearms per 100 residents, and all these countries have similarities: they are surrounded by unfriendly neighbors and have interesting reserve and militia systems. “Want it or not we must become a member of this civilized camp. Regrettably, we haven’t done this since the 90s. I don’t want to go into history as to why we didn’t do it, but now we must do it. We must become like this or else we will be doomed to have problems,” the colonel warned.

Hovhannisyan inspecting his CZ-550  bolt-action hunting rifle

He dismissed criticism that the liberalization of gun laws could leader to higher crime rates. He said that there is no growth in crimes committed with legal guns anywhere in the world. Hovhannisyan said that the state must solve the illegal gun problem. “More legal guns will even act as a suppressive factor in fighting illegal guns. Illegal gun owners know that there are very few people legally owning guns in our country, therefore, the potential armed criminals know that many are unarmed and won’t be able to respond. However, when Armenia gets to a point of having 30-40 firearms per 100 residents, these would-be criminals will [think twice].

The current law allows civilians to own 3 rifles and 5 shotguns, but these limits will be changed to 10 unspecified units, meaning the buyer is free to own a total of 10 firearms of their choice.

Gun owners are allowed to open-carry shotguns and rifles only in designated areas, such as hunting location.

After 2016 and especially 2020 more and more people are applying for gun licenses, Hovhannisyan said.