J.R. Cox Raises $60,000 in 4 Days to Fight Liberal Gun-Ban Order
TheGunBlog.ca — J.R. Cox, the owner of two Canadian gun stores and ranges, raised almost $60,000 in four days for a lawsuit to stop the government’s mass firearm confiscations against hunters, sport shooters and stores.
More than 850 people, including the owner of TheGunBlog.ca, donated $57,418 as of 2:15 p.m. in Toronto today through GoFundMe.com. (Click the image at top to go to Cox’s page.)
‘Not Only the Money’
“It’s not only the money, it’s also the number of supporters,” Cox told TheGunBlog.ca in a telephone interview from Calgary yesterday.
He’s welcoming donations of as little as $5 or $1.
“We aren’t talking gun rights. We’re talking rights.”
—J.R. Cox
Cox, the owner of The Shooting Edge in Calgary and Target Sports Canada near Toronto, estimates his lawsuit will cost about $100,000.
He pledged to donate any leftover funds equally among Canada’s three largest gun-owners’ associations.
‘Tyranny by Cabinet’
The court challenge aims to stop the governing Liberal Party’s sudden and sweeping May 1 cabinet decree threatening honest citizens with criminal charges unless we surrender our guns within two years.
“This was tyranny by cabinet,” Cox said. “This is an abuse of power. Canadians should be up in arms about this.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said May 1 his crackdown against safe and responsible hunters, sport shooters, firearm collectors and businesses “will limit the devastating effects of gun-related violence and help make our country safer.”
Arbitrary Assault
The arbitrary assault, drafted in secret with the federal police, specifically targets Canada’s 2.2 million federally licensed firearm users and 4,400 businesses.
Cox is among at least five people and groups working on legal challenges to block an attack that violates fundamental principles of justice and parliamentary democracy.
‘Rule of Law Was Ignored’
“It was the rule of law that was ignored,” Cox said. “We aren’t talking gun rights. We’re talking rights.”
Greg Dunn and Caitlin Taylor of Dunn & Associates in Calgary are the lead lawyers, with Brendan Miller of Walsh LLP.
They will file in a federal court in Alberta, Cox said. They have 30 days from the May 1 decree known as an “Order in Council.”
“People have to realize that this doesn’t have to do with guns,” Cox said. “This is a small portion of government deciding the fate of all Canadians without basis in fact or data.”
J.R. Cox Comments
On raising almost $60,000 in a few days:
I think it’s epic. I think it’s amazing. It’s so exciting.
I cut the retainer cheque to the law firm. I didn’t know what I’d raise.
We’ve gotten money from people who are anti-firearm, but pro-democracy. They know that this is not how you do stuff in a democracy.
On accounting transparency:
We went to our external accounting firm. We want them to do a report to validate what was collected and confirm that it went to Dunn & Associates for this court challenge.
We want this to be super transparent.
If we fail, or if judges decide to combine challenges for whatever reason, the money follows. We are not going to waste this money. We are going to keep it in the fight until it’s spent.
On support for and from the shooting and legal communities:
Every group, every organization, every individual has their own objective.
We are talking among ourselves behind the scenes.
We don’t want to be working across purposes.
We know that a bad case and a bad decision is detrimental to all of us.
- Cox on LinkedIn: The Day Democracy Died … May 1st 2020
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