The Absurdity Of Canada Banning More Firearms
Seriously, what is an Assault Style Weapon?
The Canadian government added “104 families of assault-style firearms, encompassing 324 unique makes and models and their variants” to the list of prohibited firearms. Previous to this, they added more than 1500 firearms to the prohibited list in 2020.
While it is a crazy statement to make that removing firearms from law-abiding citizens' hands will keep us safe from crime, that is not the absurdity of these recent moves.
A Little Background
Canada has good firearms laws on the books right now. To purchase any firearm, you must possess a possession and acquisition license (PAL). To get this license, you must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and apply for the licence.
These licences are renewed every five years and allow the holder to possess, purchase, and transfer ownership of firearms in Canada.
Thorough background checks are done on all applicants, and there are a myriad of reasons that a person would be denied a licence.
Firearms in Canada fall into three categories, and according to the RCMP website as of the writing of this article, these are the definitions:
Non-Restricted Firearms
This class includes any firearm that is neither restricted nor prohibited. Most common rifles and shotguns are non-restricted, but there are exceptions.
Restricted Firearms
Handguns that are not prohibited firearms
Firearms that:
are not prohibited firearms
have a barrel less than 470 mm in length
are capable of discharging centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner
Firearms designed or adapted to be fired when reduced to a length of less than 660 mm by folding, telescoping or otherwise
Firearms of any other kind prescribed to be restricted firearms in the Regulations
Prohibited Firearms
Handguns with barrels equal to or less than 105 mm in length
Handguns designed or adapted to discharge a 25 or 32 calibre cartridge
This does not include handguns for use in international sporting competitions governed by the rules of the International Shooting Union and where the handgun is prescribed to be restricted
Firearms adapted from a rifle or shotgun, whether by sawing, cutting or any other alteration, and that, as so adapted are:
less than 660 mm in length
660 mm or greater in length and has a barrel less than 457 mm in length
Automatic firearms, whether or not altered to discharge only one projectile with one pressure of the trigger
A firearm that is not a handgun and that
discharges centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner;
was originally designed with a detachable cartridge magazine with a capacity of six cartridges or more; and
is designed and manufactured on or after December 15, 2023
Firearms prescribed to be prohibited firearms in the Regulations (including firearms prescribed by make and model; any firearm with a bore diameter of 20 mm or greater; and any firearm capable of discharging a projectile with a muzzle energy greater than 10,000 joules).
It is important to note that handgun ownership is frozen in Canada. This means that there is effectively a current handgun ban in Canada because no one can buy, sell, import, export, or transfer ownership of a handgun.
Also, restricted firearms may only be kept in a safe at the owner's home or transported between the home and an authorized range or gunsmith. These weapons can not be taken out into the woods to shoot.
Another point to note is that the government can add any firearm to the restricted or prohibited list at any time.
Your Guns Are Now Banned But…
These firearms are being moved from the non-restricted or restricted categories to prohibited. So, what does that mean for people who currently legally possess them?
They get to keep them but can not use, transport, or transfer ownership.
So, these firearms are now only allowed to sit in the gun safes of these law-abiding citizens.
The government is working on a ‘buy back’ program but has made little to no progress so far.
So why is this absurd?
Simple.
The firearms were only ever allowed to be transported to and from a shooting range. The restrictions on restricted firearms are very strict, and a simple deviation off your approved route to and from the gun range can land you in a whole lot of trouble!
For law-abiding citizens, a firearms offence can be as simple as forgetting a trigger lock.
Drug dealing gang members, on the other hand, get caught with guns that were never legal in Canada and are let out of jail to continue their criminal activities the same day.
The average Joe who likes to shoot his AR-15 at the range or compete in three-gun matches is not the one committing gangland assassinations in crowded public areas. These people are infinitely paranoid about following the laws and regulations to the letter because any deviation will ruin their lives.
The guns that the Canadian government banned weren't on the streets to begin with; they were locked up securely in people's homes, and now that they're prohibited, they are still locked up in people’s homes.
All that has changed is that these firearms can not be bought anymore, and the ones that are in private homes can never leave those homes.
Criminals never legally purchase firearms, so for them, nothing has changed.
Guns For Ukraine
I love how government officials who have never spent a day in uniform speak with such authority on which firearms are ‘weapons of war.’ The assault rifles that most militaries use often have a civilian variant, which is modified to comply with civilian laws and is restricted to being semi-automatic.
The firearms in civilian hands in Canada were never designed to be used in war; they were designed to be shot on a range or in competition.
They are sporting firearms.
Suggesting that Canadian firearms owners could donate their firearms to the war effort in Ukraine demonstrates how tone-deaf and ignorant the Canadian government is.
I have a better idea. Let’s focus on solving our internal problems before we start spending money on wars that don’t involve us.
Assault Style Weapon is Not a Type of Firearm
I’ve already written about this on Medium, and you can read that article through the link below for free:
What Exactly Is A Military Grade Assault Style Weapon?
Final Thought
When criminals have guns and use those guns to kill each other in the streets, that is a problem which needs solving. You know what does nothing to solve that problem?
Punishing law-abiding citizens who have a hobby that involves shooting.