BUDAPEST, Hungary - Hungary's plans to introduce Europe's toughest gun control legislation, strictly curtailing the possession of legally held firearms, has outraged many local special interest groups, including private security firms, the insurance industry and sportsmen.

"Eastern Europe is still probably the easiest place on Earth to obtain cheap handguns illegally," complains Peter Kovacs, 47, a security officer and father of four. "A lot of kids have them, and old ladies get shot at point-blank range for their little savings. But if I lose my license to carry my legally obtained firearm, I would face ruin."

Many thousands of small arms and other military weapons were sold, abandoned or just traded for food by Red Army soldiers when they retreated from the region after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian mafia replaced them in this respect and now is involved in massive arms smuggling.

The recent Balkan wars as well as the continuing violent ethnic conflicts in Kosovo have also produced a constant flow of weapons through the region's porous frontiers.

The private security industry throughout Eastern Europe have experienced a surge in business in the wake of the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms ownership.

Several of Hungary's neighbors are now expected to follow suit, introducing similarly strict gun controls, which is a precondition to eventual membership to the European Union for many of these nations.

Two-thirds of the 250,000 licensed weapons in civilian ownership in Hungary are held by sportsmen and their clubs. The rest are mainly for self-defense, used by private security guards and members of highly privileged groups of civilians such as members of parliament, judges, state prosecutors, tax investigators and top civil servants.

"In future, a gun license for self-defense will be issued only in response to a specific personal threat," said Bela Ring of the Interior Ministry legal department. "And it will have to be carefully investigated and proven."

Zoltan Trombitas, chairman of the Association of Gun License Holders, thinks that legally owned weapons have not been used for a criminal purpose in Hungary for many years. "The authorities should concentrate

their resources on collecting unlicensed weapons," he said. "... Can't they understand that lawfully armed civilians constitute a powerful deterrent against violent crime?"

The government counters that it's not the task of civilians to fight armed criminals and that, in a moment of deadly confrontation, guns in civilian hands could prove a threat to innocent bystanders.

Heti Vilaggazdasag, an influential weekly journal, has welcomed the proposals to deprive private security companies of their gun licenses. The journal observes that many bank robberies begin when security guards are disarmed and their guns are turned against them by criminals.

Mihaly Vorosmarty, chairman of the Society of Private Investigators and Security Agencies, also favors tighter gun control legislation. But he fears that the legislative proposals in their present form would threaten the existence of many member companies engaged in protecting banks and security vans used in large cash transfers.

"Security agents would become easy target for violent attack if they were unarmed," he insists. "They face a special threat that must be recognized through continued permission to carry arms."

The Association of Hungarian Insurers also fears that the proposed new law could make many high-value transactions uninsurable. "Insurance is about risk," said association spokesman Gyorgy Lam. "Insurance contracts covering transfers of cash, jewelry, works of art and other treasures now prescribe the deployment of armed security agents to cut risk factors.

"If clients were prevented by the law from providing sufficient security cover, their contracts would need to be renegotiated. And the consequent rise of premiums could well escalate beyond the means of many individuals and even some financial institutions."

Lawmakers also propose limiting the number of hunting rifles and shotguns allowed per person for sporting purposes. Members of gun clubs would have to store their weapons in secure communal facilities and practice shooting only at their clubs' ranges. This alone would have a widespread restrictive effect because many clubs have neither secure storerooms nor shooting ranges.