MOSCOW, July 11 (RAPSI) – Russian National Guard has proposed to deny the right to own weapons for people previously convicted of grave or especially grave crimes or those responsible for crimes committed in state of intoxication, RIA Novosti reported on Tuesday citing Guard’s high-ranking officer, general-major Leonid Vedenov.

Controversy surrounding potential need to toughen legislation on weapon ownership took a new spin after an incident in the Tver region in early June. Back then a drunken person killed nine people using a hunting rifle.

Vedenov said that ban for certain groups of citizens is a priority task for the Guard and that its proposals will be suggested to the government. According to general-major, currently 4.3 million Russian citizens own over 6.6 million registered weapons.