By Kayleigh Hamilton
This is the last place you would ever expect to adopt gun rights.
But they shocked everybody with a sudden change.
And now everybody in their country is safer after they embraced the right to bear arms.
Europe has always sneered at America for our Second Amendment and our desire to defend our lives and liberty with guns.
They believe they are too cultured for guns, and that guns are the domain of stupid American rednecks who aren’t as intelligent or refined as they are.
But now that much of Europe is under threat from Vladimir Putin, suddenly many Europeans are realizing they may have been wrong about guns.
After all, you cannot fight back against Putin’s army with tea and crumpets. Guns are much more helpful and effective in a dire situation like that.
Finland, a country that up until now was known mostly for its hockey and heavy metal, has figured out that it is time to try out gun rights for its people.
They share a border with Russia, and they want to make sure they are prepared if anything happens.
According to Bearing Arms, “The government of Finland has also given us a very important reminder that, even today, individual gun ownership serves as a check on tyranny and as a means of ensuring that a free people stay that way.”
It then links to an article from The Guardian, which shows what Finland is doing to train its people to handle guns correctly: “Finland plans to open more than 300 new shooting ranges to encourage more citizens to take up the hobby in the interest of national defense.
“It is hoped that shooting in the Nordic country – which last year became NATO’s newest member and which shares an 830-mile (1,330km) border with Russia – could become as popular as football or ice hockey.
“There are about 670 shooting ranges in Finland, down from about 2,000 at the turn of the century. By 2030, the government plans to increase the number to about 1,000.”
This is a major development for a nation in Europe, a continent that has looked down on America’s gun rights for many years now.
Here is what Jukka Kopra, a Finnish member of Parliament, had to say: “The present government aims to increase the amount of shooting ranges in Finland from roughly 600-700 up to 1,000. This is because of our defense model, which benefits from people having and developing their shooting skills on their own.”
Pro-gun advocates have been making the case for years that guns save lives, and in Finland, they could end up saving a huge number of lives.
After all, if Finland experienced an invasion like Ukraine did, it would be extremely bloody.
Now, they are hoping that an armed population can deter Putin from trying to take over Finland by force.
They are training their citizens in how to handle guns, and in the process, they are making the country and their citizens safer from harm.