The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
Make Finland the Land of Shooting Badassery Again
The Guardian (Miranda Bryant) reports:
Finland plans to open more than 300 new shooting ranges to encourage more citizens to take up the hobby in the interest of national defence.
It is hoped that shooting in the Nordic country—which last year became Nato's newest member and which shares a 830-mile (1,330km) border with Russia—could become as popular as football or ice hockey.
Ah, the elephant bear in the room, which in this instance the article does talk about.
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….
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the popularity of voluntary training courses aimed at teaching reservists and civilians how to defend Finland has doubled. There has also been a big increase in the number of Finns applying for gun licences….
This of course puts one in mind of The White Death. Keep up the spirit, Finns.