In a recent high-profile incident, such behavior was even demonstrated by a sitting Riigikogu MP; the Ministry of the Interior now seeks to impose stricter regulations on the use of such items.

The new regulations are likely also to apply to mock weapons used in military-themed activity games.

Under current Estonian law, ownership and use of starter pistols and other warning or signaling weapons in Estonia is relatively easy.

Anyone of legal age can purchase blank-firing weapons from a store.

At first glance, these weapons often look almost identical to regular firearms.

On one hand, they can be used for self-defense to deter potential attackers.

Yet on the other—and far more frequently—their use causes headaches for the PPA.

Anneli Annist, who oversees firearms licensing at the PPA, said: "For some reason, people have been firing them off in public, but these weapons look exactly like real firearms, which leads to a sense of fear among the public."

The authority responds accordingly; if an individual pulls out such a weapon in a public space, the PPA would be within its rights to open fire using live rounds in this case, regardless of the offending weapon only being a replica or blank-firing item.

"And we are seeing such firing incidents nearly every week," Annist added.

Last November, MP Jaak Valge, formerly of EKRE, fired off a starter pistol in Falgi Park in central Tallinn and adjacent to the British Embassy, sparking a major PPA response.

That MP has retained his seat at the Riigikogu.

The government is now drafting new firearms legislation – which, as a sitting MP, Valge ironically will be able to vote on when it reaches the Riigikogu, addressing how to regulate starter pistols and other warning and signaling weapons.

Riita Proosa, an advisor at the Ministry of the Interior, said: "One option would be to allow permit-licensed businesses to sell these weapons."

"Another is to impose a registration requirement on companies," she went on.

"What we certainly don't want is for these weapons to disappear from circulation entirely. We just want to attain some level of control," Proosa added.

One suggestion has been to alter the appearance of the items as sold, so that they no longer resemble real firearms.

This could be done, for instance, by having them painted in bright colors as opposed to the blacks and grays used with most weapons.

However, this could lead to the reverse problem arising: Miscreants might then paint real firearms in bright colors, to disguise their true intent.

"We do not currently support this color solution," Proosa said.

Another option was that starter pistols used in sports, for instance, could have an entirely different profile, one which looks very different from a regular, lethal firearm.

Current law classifies airsoft and paintball guns used in military-themed games as toys, even though they, too, often resemble real firearms, particularly to the untrained eye.

In fact, "there have been cases where an airsoft gun has been converted into an actual firearm," Proosa said. "Currently, the firearms law does not clearly regulate them," she added.

The planned legislation would need to be approved by the government before passing to the Riigikogu for processing.

Valge was ultimately fined €300 and was stripped of his firearms ownership license.

He did not give a clear explanation for the rationale behind his actions, and later expressed regret and remorse for them.

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