Gun Licences Rise to Record for Second Straight Year in 2016
The number of Canadians with gun licences rose to a record in 2016 for the second consecutive year, as men, women and youth sought firearms for fun, sport, hunting and collecting.
The number of Canadians with gun licences rose to a record in 2016 for the second consecutive year, as men, women and youth sought firearms for fun, sport, hunting and collecting.
The following was written by Steve Barta in December 2015 after a shooting massacre in San Bernardino, California, and tweeted to the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights. The CCFR replied today, just as news was breaking of a shooting attack against police officers in Paris. Timeless relevance?
Today is the 35th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The document’s legal and political significance and symbolism are as important as they are controversial for all Canadians, especially those of us who buy, sell, own, use or work with guns.
Canadians paid $380,600 to the Coalition for Gun Control in 2002 through government funding, according to a report by the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada and published by Hoplite Tactical. Even if it was 15 years ago, it shows how gun owners, shooters and hunters finance those fighting us. This isn’t just ancient history.
The bigger story of what happened this week, beyond the micro-victory of getting the CBC to remove and fix a short video on Canada’s gun laws, is the display of power by grassroots, decentralized, uncoordinated, independent, networked actors.
The CBC temporarily removed its video on “Guns in Canada 101” to correct a few errors following a complaint to the ombudsman, after shooters, gun-rights groups and media criticized the clip and the company for the inaccuracies and misrepresentations.
(COVID-19 Update, 16 April 2020: The licensing system is shut down at the moment, so the timelines here don’t apply. See my Covid-19 news. Subscribe at the bottom for updates.) TheGunBlog.ca — Fodollah (his username on Reddit) of Toronto got his gun licence this week after roughly four months and almost $500. Congratulations! TheGunBlog.ca asked him…
Canada’s firearm industry is in turmoil over import-marking rules that start June 1, threatening gun shops, importers and consumers with surging prices, business closures and more than 5,000 job losses.
Gary Mauser, one of Canada’s leading academics on firearms, inaugurated his new website today, Justice for Gun Owners: Fighting for Sensible Canadian Gun Laws.
(Update: CBC temporarily removed the video on April 12 after a complaint to its ombudsman. Christopher di Armani saw that as a victory for shooters. I agree and develop that theme here.) The Canadian Shooting Sports Association did a superb point-by-point takedown of a CBC video on gun laws packed with errors, misleading suggestions and possibly a wrongful confiscation by law-enforcement officers.
Looking for a place in Canada to shoot pistol-rifle-shotgun matches in the expanding sport of 3-Gun? Then check out the list of clubs published today by the Hunting Gear Guy.
The Internet turns up conflicting opinions on whether it’s legal in Canada to store guns at a cottage, with a friend, or in a storage locker, so TheGunBlog.ca asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who administer the Canadian Firearms Program, and Pierre Plourde, a criminal-defence lawyer and gun-rights activist.
Ceska Zbrojovka AS’s Scorpion EVO 3 S1 gun chambered in 9 mm was approved for sale in Canada after the RCMP classified it as a “Restricted” firearm for use with five-round magazines.
Sig Sauer Inc.’s MPX firearm chambered in 9 mm is now available to Canadian shooters after the RCMP classified it as a “Restricted” carbine for use with a five-round magazine, the same as an AR-15. A “non-restricted” model may come later.
People are often astonished that most police officers aren’t into shooting or guns, don’t train often with firearms and are lousy at marksmanship. But being armed and being skilled with your arm are completely different.
The following is an interview with Natasha Saunders, the lead researcher and author of a study published yesterday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, “Risk of firearm injuries among children and youth of immigrant families.” (See TheGunBlog.ca’s First Take on the study.)
The Canadian Medical Association Journal released a study today showing that an average of one child and young adult was shot each day in Ontario between 2008 and 2012. The following is some context based on what we know and what we don’t know. TheGunBlog.ca has requested an interview with the lead researcher.
This could be the funniest video in Canadian firearms history. If you watch only one video today, make it this one.
IRunGuns LLC triggered relief, rebuke and confusion after the Canada-U.S. gun dealer downplayed new UN firearms-marking rules, contradicting industry and shooters’ groups that said the measures will cripple or kill Canada’s gun industry. The Arizona-based company may have spoken too soon.
The following is a Q&A with James Cassells, Glock Inc.’s sales manager for Canada. Cassells joined Austria-based Glock about 5 years ago after more than 30 years with the Toronto Police Service, including 10 years with its SWAT unit, the Emergency Task Force. TheGunBlog.ca spoke with Cassells by telephone on March 22 about Glock in Canada…