Trudeau Promises Mass Gun Bans, Confiscations in Election 2019

TheGunBlog.ca — Justin Trudeau promised the biggest instant gun bans against hunters, farmers and sport shooters in Canadian history if he is re-elected prime minister.

Liberal Gun Ban Plan

  • Force PAL holders to surrender 250,000 rifles (mainly “Non-restricteds,” and also “Restricted” AR-15 target rifles)
  • Restrict or prohibit handgun ownership
  • Restrict PAL holders who have guns at home
  • Source: Trudeau presentation, Liberal Party website

Take Our Poll

Trudeau pitched his newest bans today in Toronto as the Liberal Party leader seeks to recover from scandals. Opinion polls show Liberal voters like bans.

“We’re going to ban military-style assault rifles in Canada,” Trudeau said on Twitter, referring to hunting and sporting rifles.

Refugees, Prisoners or Criminals

A Trudeau election victory will turn hundreds of thousands of honest men and women into refugees, prisoners or criminals unless they surrender their guns. His prohibitions and confiscations will kill businesses and jobs.

“Trudeau outlined one of the broadest gun confiscations of any democracy in history,” said Nicolas Johnson, the editor of TheGunBlog.ca. “This election will determine the future of firearm owners and businesses. If Trudeau wins, we’re toast.”

Restore Justice

Restoring justice for firearm users has become the top issue for hundreds of thousands of voters.

  • The Conservatives are the only party that opposes the Liberal bans and could defeat them.
  • Police across Canada also reject confiscation.

Election 2019: Three Realities and Four Possible Outcomes

  • See sample pages here

More Canadian Than Hockey

Hunting and sport shooting are at the heart of Canadian culture and heritage.

  • About 2.2 million men and women have a federal firearm licence, more than play golf or hockey.
  • Millions more family and friends of all ages hunt and shoot safely and responsibly under their control.

Criminalize and Confiscate

Trudeau’s attack plan extends Liberal criminalizations and confiscations from the past. It builds on their Firearms Act of 1995 and confirms the Liberals as the most-hostile political force against firearm users.

The Liberal website published a press release and backgrounder today:

  • We will ban all military-style assault rifles, including the AR-15. … Owners will be offered fair market prices for their weapons. … A two-year amnesty will be put in place while the program is being set up;
  • We will work with the provinces and territories to give municipalities the ability to further restrict – or ban – handguns;

  • We will make it harder for legal weapons to fall into the hands of criminals, by further strengthening safe-storage laws;

Leave, Surrender or Jail

Trudeau didn’t say what a “military-style” firearm is, or how hunters and shooters will be punished if they ignore his confiscation and expulsion orders.

Existing laws would force people to leave the country with their guns, surrender them to police, or face jail.

‘Kneecapped’

More than 260,000 adults own almost 1 million handguns.

  • All are at risk if their municipality moves against them.
  • Gun stores, shooting clubs and target ranges that depend on handgun and AR-15 shooters will be forced to shut down if the Liberals are re-elected.
  • “If this election goes poorly, the entire firearm industry will be getting kneecapped,” Payam Khoee, the president of Marstar Canada, said this week.

‘Non-Restricted’ Rifles

CBC News quoted Bill Blair, Trudeau’s minister for gun bans, as saying the Liberals will target owners of about 250,000 rifles.

  • They may spend $600 million of taxpayer money to buy the confiscated gear, CBC reported.
  • That could theoretically wipe out every one of the roughly 120,000 registered “Restricted” and “Prohibited” long guns, plus another 130,000 “Non-restricted” models.
  • The “Restricted” estimate is based on 75,634 AR-15s as of Aug. 14.

Ban Private Ownership

Update 23 Sept.: Blair told CTV News on Sept. 22 the Liberals will help municipalities ban handgun ownership outright, or force owners to keep their firearms in government-approved central storage.

Everyone Is Banned

Everyone is banned already from having any gun unless they have a firearm Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) authorized by the federal police. Being caught with a gun without permission leads to jail.

One Month to Vote, Bill C-71

Election polls are open, and the winner will be announced one month from tomorrow.

  • In June the Liberals passed Bill C-71 as a new law against every licensed individual and business.
  • Its first wave of bans targets more than 10,000 families.

‘Untapped Opportunity’

“Gun control presents an untapped opportunity for Justin Trudeau and his team to grow and solidify the voting base that gave them a majority in 2015,” Hill+Knowlton Strategies, a government advisor, said in Policy Options magazine two weeks before the Liberals presented Bill C-71.

Liberal Party Backgrounder (PDF)