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The Liberal government’s ominous press release spoke volumes about the government’s intentions and once again, law-abiding gun owners appear to be in their crosshairs.
However, the problem for gun owners is that the press release offered some sobering statistics on gun crime that most Canadians wouldn’t overlook. Albeit, with a bit of a spin. Read on.
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| Will more guns now be banned by the RCMP? |
The Liberal press release claimed, “There were 2,465 criminal violations involving firearms in 2016, an increase of 30% since 2013” and “Gun homicides were up by two-thirds — from 134 in 2013 to 223 in 2016.”
What the press release failed to mention, however, was that the majority of gun-related homicides were affiliated to gangs, not to law-abiding gun owners. And, the Liberals chose the year 2013 as their comparison year because 2013 had Canada’s lowest rate of criminal homicides in 50 years, and the lowest rate of gun-related homicides ever recorded by Statistics Canada. Why did the Liberal government choose 2013? It seems fairly obvious that it was for the shock value, creating the look that gun violence was skyrocketing out of control and something had to be done. Statistics can be misused, especially to make a political point.
Also giving fire to the Liberal’s renewed attack on gun owners is a December 2017 Ekos Research poll that claimed 69 percent of Canadians favoured an outright ban on guns in urban centres.
But gun owners and the National Firearms Association (NFA) aren’t taking the Liberal’s new gun control strategies lightly. According to a NFA press release, “This bill is an all-out attack on firearms owners and users, and just like we led the charge against the failed long-gun registry and won — we will lead the charge again against this seriously misguided legislation,” said Sheldon Clare, president of the NFA. “And we anticipate the same result — firearms owners and users in Canada when motivated are a very strong political force, and this bill will certainly motivate them.”
The problem lies with the Liberal’s misguided attempt at curtailing gun violence by targeting hunters and target shooters with legislation that will clearly do nothing to stop criminals from being criminals; rather, just put further burden on law-abiding gun owners and giving more power to the RCMP to determine what firearms should or shouldn’t be legal. Which, according to firearms lawyer Ian Runkle in a post on Reddit, will lead to further bans.
“They set up a new framework for grandfathering with future bans. Why do that if you’re not planning future bans?”
And Trudeau’s clear misunderstanding of current firearms laws is an embarrassment. Following is a tweet from Trudeau’s Twitter account: We’re also introducing stronger and more rigorous background checks on gun sales. And if you want to buy a gun, by law you’ll have to show a license at the point of purchase. Right now that’s not a requirement. (Bold mine)
Last time I checked, even buying ammunition or simply holding a firearm in a gun shop required showing a licence. For our nitwit PM who claims to be a gun owner himself to not know this is asinine. It is clearly stated on the RCMP’s website that...
In Canada, a firearm may only be transferred to one of the following:
● an adult (18 or older) with a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) that is valid for that class of firearm...
If there’s any good news for gun owners, a recent poll from polling firm Angus Reid shows that 56 percent of Canadians disapprove of Prime Minister Trudeau while only 40 percent approve. Even the embattled Donald Trump has a better approval rating than that of our clown prime minister. ■
For previous Outdoor Pursuits click here.
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