Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/08/30/canadas-prime-minister-manda.html
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It’s not enough that Canada has single-payer universal health insurance to disprove American Libertarians’ contention that it’s the Ro-o-od to Serfdom. It’s not enough that it shows American xenophobes that welcoming immigrants doesn’t turn a liberal democracy into an Islamic republic. Now this move might show America’s ammosexuals that a society where pistols are banned won’t transform into either a criminals’ paradise or a totalitarian dictatorship.
That said, I eagerly await the flood of fallacious arguments and semi-racist contentions about urban crime that are sure to follow in a thread like this.
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“[L]ead an examination of a full ban on handguns and assault weapons in Canada, while not impeding the lawful use of firearms by Canadians.”
Except for the millions of Canadian who lawfully use those firearms today. o_0
ETA - looks like there are only about 300K legal Canadian handgun owners, so updating this post.
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I anticipate half the comments to focus on the definition/impossibility of defining “assault weapons”, an unfortunate choice of language IMO.
That said, this is a very preliminary instruction to look into the possibility of a ban, and will be vigorously opposed by Canada’s gun lobby, who take their talking points from the NRA, and by the Conservative Party for political reasons.
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No offense intended to the author; we just all know how any post about even hypothetical gun control (in other countries, no less) always turn out…
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The law won’t impede the lawful use of firearms that it doesn’t ban.
Which is kind of like saying "Everything that isn’t forbidden is still perfectly legal 
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I agree it is a poor and vague term that makes serious discussion about firearms and their control difficult. Which makes it all the more shameful that the industry itself embraced it, as summarised in Teh Wiki here:
The firearms industry itself introduced the term “assault weapon” to build interest in new product lines.[8] Phillip Peterson, the author of Gun Digest Buyer’s Guide to Assault Weapons (2008) wrote:
The popularly held idea that the term ‘assault weapon’ originated with anti-gun activists is wrong. The term was first adopted by manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and dealers in the American firearms industry to stimulate sales of certain firearms that did not have an appearance that was familiar to many firearms owners. The manufacturers and gun writers of the day needed a catchy name to identify this new type of gun.[23]
No doubt. Still, the fact that it’s even being discussed by a sitting government must be astounding to Americans.
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With all the good guys with guns in America and so few to stop the bad immigrants in Canada I await the day most crime will move north of the border.
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After all Maxime is starting his own. I really hope he succeeds and they split the vote on the right. Because the thought of any of those clowns in the PMO is outright terrifying.
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As if on cue:
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You might be expecting the wrong kind of criminal. The kind that puts down their gun to clap along died out down here long ago.
For reference, the existing handgun regulations are summarized here: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/restr-eng.htm
Of note is the “Authorization to Transport” (the owner has to obtain it before transporting the restricted firearm from their residence to the shooting range and back, including the time and date, as well as the route that the transport will take; any unauthorized transport is already illegal).
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As I write this from San Francisco there are a number of police and media helicopters overhead because someone just fired a gun on campus at a local high school. So yeah I’m not really feeling the love for laws allowing easy access to handguns right now.
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Godspeed, Canada!
I used to enjoy target shooting as a young man, but my wife and I decided long ago that we’d prefer living in a country that isn’t as lousy with firearms as the US.
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Are legally owned assault rifles and handguns used in crimes much in Canada?
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Canada’s gun laws, and especially their handgun laws, I wouldn’t classify as “easy access”. (Their laws nicely linked in the post above yours.)
Indeed it is an example of “common sense laws” some people have been espousing.
The mandate is examining going from highly restricted to full ban.
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As someone who hears gunfire fairly regularly in my neighborhood, I have to agree.
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This is a good question. I don’t have the statistics on-hand but there is definitely a problem with criminals using firearms that were stolen - either during home burglaries or gun shop or pawn shop burglaries, in the commission of crimes. Guns seem to be one of the items that are most easily fenced.
It’s kind of like the herd immunity thing with vaccinations, the more firearms present in a community, the more guns there are available for the commission of crimes and suicides. I’m grateful for all of the responsible gun owners that keep their firearms safely locked up, and the ones who take classes in safely and responsibly handling firearms.
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