Nobody – not even Justin Trudeau’s Privy Council – believes his “handgun freeze” can reduce violent crime.
Everyone, gun owner and gun hater alike, wants to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals, but many are “skeptical as to whether a national freeze on the buying and selling of handguns would be effective,” the Privy Council Report says.[i]
“I don’t know exactly what impact it will have,” said Talal Dakalbab, assistant deputy minister of public safety, in his testimony before committee.[ii]
The Privy Council report specifically noted that the federal government’s “freeze on the buying and selling of handguns [is] overly punitive towards law-abiding firearms users.”[iii]
The report also noted “the majority of handgun-related crimes were caused by those who had obtained their firearms illegally” so banning legal owners from buying/selling handguns won’t reduce violent crime with guns.
A Distressing Note
Nationwide, firearm owning participants were informed that the government imposed a temporary import ban on restricted handguns in August 2022 and that individuals and businesses could no longer import handguns.
“While a few expected this would negatively impact their ability to partake in sport shooting or collecting antique firearms, most in the group felt this action to be reasonable and did not expect this measure to impact them personally.”
Therein lies our greatest challenge as a community.
Our attitude should be,
“An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”
Instead, the attitude of many gun owners is,
“It’s not MY guns they’re after, so why should I care?”
No matter what kind of firearms you love, you should care because they’re coming for your guns too. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But once all the black rifles and handguns are gone, all that’s left is hunting rifles and shotguns.
If you believe “they” will never seize and destroy your guns, you’re not paying attention. Worse, you probably haven’t been paying attention for a very long time.
“Gun control” advocates will never be satisfied until ALL guns are removed from Canadians.
Heidi Rathjen was crystal clear about this way back in 1995.
“We have an agenda and our task will be completed when all firearms have been prohibited, but as you can see, our position has been consistent over these five years and will not change,” Rathjen told the committee on Bill C-68.[iv]
That we, as a community, refuse to face this fundamental objective almost 30 years later does not bode well for our longstanding culture of safety, our proud hunting heritage, our shooting sports, or our way of life.
“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately,” Benjamin Franklin wisely noted over 220 years ago.
An attack on one gun is an attack on all guns.
An attack on one gun owner is an attack on all gun owners.
It is to our community’s eternal shame that we steadfastly refuse to face this.
Privy Council Survey Results
Atlantic Canada
- gun crime urban centres such as Halifax and St. John’s a major issue
- impression is firearm-related crimes increased
- hearing about firearms-related crime on an almost daily basis
- federal freeze on the buying and selling of handguns is overly punitive towards law-abiding firearms users
- the majority of handgun-related crimes were caused by those who had obtained their firearms illegally and, as such, this action would do little to address the issue.
Quebec Anglophones, Greater Toronto Area
- most reacted positively to the implementation of a national freeze on handguns
- participants speculated the handgun freeze was the first step toward a permanent ban on handgun ownership in Canada
- regulation alone would likely not work because if a person is committed to obtaining a firearm for criminal use, they’ll be able to, no matter how strict the laws are
Greater Vancouver Area[v]
- handgun freeze would have little to no effect on firearms related crimes because criminals are not deterred by new regulations
- concern this might lead to the growth of an unregulated and illegal market for handguns and further exacerbate the prevalence of drug and gang violence
- when asked whether a handgun freeze or a handgun ban would be appropriate, these participants said neither, because they won’t address drug- and gang-related violence.
Northwest Territories
- felt a handgun freeze or ban would not have a significant impact on their communities because ownership of handguns in the North was rare
Sources:
For those interested in digging deeper, all geographic reports for 2022 (the latest year available) are found at https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.915571/publication.html
[i] https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/bcp-pco/CP12-4-2022-9-eng.pdf
[ii] https://www.blacklocks.ca/public-skeptical-of-gun-bans/
[iii] See Citation 1
[iv] https://www.ourcommons.ca/content/archives/committee/351/jula/evidence/134_95-05-16/jula134_blk-e.html
[v] https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2022/bcp-pco/CP12-4-2022-5-eng.pdf
No Appetite for Handgun Ban in Canada’s Senate