Former Defence Minister Elisabeth Rehn (Swed. People’s Party) and former Prime Minister Harri Holkeri (National Coalition Party) are in favour of a total ban on private ownership of handguns.
According to the newspaperIlkka, the veteran politicians feel that possession of handguns should be allowed only for officials who need the weapon at work.
Rehn and Holkeri signed an initiative for new gun legislation put forward by Kirkkonummi resident Jan Bade, which has been on the Internet since the Kauhajoki school killings last month, where student Matti Juhani Saari killed ten people at a vocational school before turning his gun on himself.
The petition, which was closed on Thursday, was signed by more than 57,000 people.
Rehn and Holkeri plan to be present when the petition is submitted to the Ministry of the Interior.
Jan Bade says that he has received a number of death threats from firearms enthusiasts on online message boards. He says that he plans to file a complaint with police.
