Armenia border residents will be allowed to carry hunting riflesFebruary 12, 2021 - 13:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian citizens living in border settlements will be allowed to carry hunting rifles when the parliament approves amendments to the Law on Weapons. The new bill is drafted by lawmakers Armen Khachatryan and Sergey Bagratyan from the ruling My Step bloc, according to Armtimes.com. "The restriction that a person has to carry a smoothbore gun for at least five years before being allowed to carry a rifle will be removed. The move will definitely boost their sense of security, they will also be able to hunt, defend themselves from wild animals," Khachatryan has explained. "They may never use the weapons throughout their lives, but owning a weapon already builds confidence." The lawmaker said he has discussed the matter with the mayor of Kapan, a city in the northern province of Syunik, and the mayor has confirmed that the move is a necessary one. Asked whether the amendments could cause a spike in violent crime, Khachatryan said only those who are not registered in medical institutions and have never been convicted will be allowed to carry weapons. After the 44-day in Nagorno-Karabakh, many villages and towns in Syunik have become border settlements, where residents worry for their safety. For example, the border now passes through the Armenian village of Shurnukh, some families having lost their property and homes as a result. Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. U.S. believes peace is “possible” in South Caucasus The United States continues to believe that peace is possible in the South Caucasus, Vedant Patel said. |