The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill on medical contraindications for the possession of weapons and strengthening state control over their turnover, follows on May 26 from the data on the website of the lower house of parliament.
The draft law introduces a number of amendments to Federal Law No. 150-FZ of December 13, 1996 " On Weapons "and Federal Law No. 323-F3 of November 21, 2011"On the Basics of Public Health Protection in the Russian Federation".
The explanatory note to the draft law states that as of May 1, 2021, there are more than 3.6 million citizens in Russia who have a permit to store, carry and use more than 6.3 million weapons. At the same time, according to the authors of the bill, the existing mechanisms for monitoring the condition are not sufficiently effective and do not allow timely and guaranteed identification of medical contraindications for carrying and using weapons, which creates risks of emergency situations.
The list of basic concepts of the law is proposed to expand with new ones — "medical contraindications to the possession of weapons", which will determine diseases or conditions that prevent a citizen from using weapons. This list will be established by the Russian government. It is also proposed to add a new article to the law, which introduces a ban on the acquisition, storage, carrying and use of weapons by persons who have not passed a medical examination for the presence of contraindications to the possession of weapons.
The presence of such contraindications will be established by the results of medical examination, only state and municipal medical organizations will be able to conduct it.
"The adoption of the bill will significantly strengthen the mechanisms of state control over the circulation of weapons, eliminating the possibility of falsification of medical documents, which will prevent people with mental and other medical disabilities from taking possession of weapons. In addition, the procedure for interaction between government bodies and state organizations with citizens is simplified through the digital transformation of the services provided, " the authors of the bill concluded.
The bill, prepared by members of the United Russia party, was submitted to the Duma on May 17 after the shooting at the Kazan gymnasium.
On May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to work out a new regulation regulating the types of weapons allowed for civilian circulation. On May 13, the head of the Russian Guard, Viktor Zolotov, proposed to tighten the rules for obtaining weapons. In particular, he recommended to issue certificates for the possession of weapons only in state clinics.