Any American Second Amendment enthusiast who wonders what gun rights in the U.S. will look like if certain lawmakers get their way needs to look north for their answer.
On May 1, 2020, the Canadian government announced the prohibition of some 1,500 models of popular semi-automatic rifles as well as specific components. Then last December, another 324 models of these standard weapons were prohibited.
And the amnesty period established for Canadian gun owners to comply with the draconian law expires on October 30.
Ottawa is playing word games with its controversial confiscation scheme
Amazingly, government officials toss around “buyback” to describe the confiscation. That way, those who are not paying attention may believe the action is something other than a blatant attack on property rights and the right to armed self-defense.
Canada is teeming with outdoor enthusiasts, and they are not fooled by the rhetoric coming out of Ottawa.
Prime Minister Mark Carney had the gall to tell a podcast last month that the government was not forcing citizens to hand over their legally obtained firearms.
Resistance to the Canadian government’s gun control program is growing
“This is not about confiscation,” Carney claimed. This is about voluntary return of firearms for compensation…We’re not confiscating guns. People aren’t going around confiscating guns…That is a mischaracterization. What it is is an opportunity for Canadians to return guns for compensation.”
That misguided sentiment was backed up by Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasanaree, who asserted that the government grab has “always been voluntary.”
Carney added that gun grabbers were not targeting hunting rifles or sports shooting.
Of course, it’s all a game of words. There is nothing “voluntary” about a mandatory “buyback” that is trying to take millions of rifles and handguns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.
It just sounds nicer.
Automatic firearms have been illegal in Canada for decades, so anti-gunners can stop mislabeling the program as going after “military grade assault weapons” as they are already prohibited. The most recent ban is composed almost entirely of sporting weapons that are in everyday use.
There’s the matter of just how many of these targeted weapons are in Canada. A government report four years ago estimated that as many as 500,000 of the specified firearms are in circulation.
Then there are more recent estimates as low as 144,000, though last year’s expansion of the list means there are likely many more weapons the government wants to eradicate.
Whatever the total is, it is certain that nowhere near that amount is being handed in to federal officials to be destroyed. Adding to the problems faced by Ottawa officials is that multiple provinces declared that the government will not confiscate firearms from their good citizens.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told her constituents that no provincial authority will assist federal officers in collecting firearms. “We have already taken action,” Smith told local media. “We told the municipalities no; you can’t have a handgun ban. That’s not municipal jurisdiction.”
Smith added that Alberta officials made it evident to law enforcement that they will in no way participate in the confiscation. “We have told municipal forces, if you want to participate in the confiscation scheme, you have to come and get a permit from the justice minister. And I have it on good authority, he will not say yes.”
Yet another issue is licensing gun owners. Alberta officials want to break away from the federal system and issue provincial licenses.
Proponents support this as a way to protect individual rights from an invasive national government. Their resistance has spread beyond rural provinces to even Ontario, where the Provincial Police declared that their officers will not participate in the gun grab.
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