After the horrible shooting rampage in rural Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead and others injured, you knew the federal government was going to take measures when it comes to gun legislation.
Governments of all parties and at all levels can be reactionary. Something comes up and they take steps to reduce the chance of these types of incidents from happening again.
We’ve heard talk from the federal Liberal government since they were elected in 2015 about tougher new gun laws. They upped the rhetoric last year during the federal election. And there’s strong support in voter-rich big city and suburban ridings for stricter gun legislation.
So it was only a matter of time before the Liberals took action.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his announcement last Friday, saying that the government would ban 1,500 models and variants of assault-style weapons.
This ban is in addition to an existing ban on most assault-style weapons that has been in place since 1978. You haven’t heard many calls for the 1978 ban to be repealed, and no government with a sense of self-preservation would look at eliminating the 1978 ban.
Trudeau did this without going through parliamentary procedures. He seems to think that this legislation was so essential that it couldn’t wait for MPs to gather again, even though his new firearm ban will pass through the House of Commons and the Senate, and even though this country has, for the most part, operated quite well with the previous gun laws.
This does not mean we shouldn’t have gun control of any kind in Canada. We need laws that strike a balance. And generally Canada has done a very good job of finding that balance on gun laws.
Yes, we had the wasteful long-gun registry for over a decade that cost Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars and had no tangible benefits. But outside of that, our laws have worked.
The requisite due diligence and screening process is there. We’ve had bans on certain types of firearms for more than 40 years. There is absolutely no need for the average citizen to own the types of firearms that have been banned in this country for decades.
And you can argue that there is no need for people to own the types of firearms that Trudeau wants to ban now, although it might be better if that ban were to be left up to municipalities than the federal government, as some have suggested.
The tough question is whether the new firearm ban will change anything or save lives. There’s going to be a tremendous cost, as the federal government has said there will be a buy-back program for those who currently own such firearms that are now outlawed.
In the case of the individual who perpetrated the crimes in Nova Scotia, it’s believed he was using guns that were obtained illegally.
Our regulated system is far more effective than what exists in the U.S., which has done next to nothing to curb gun violence in that country, and has led to the U.S. being among the world leaders in gun-related violence. We’ve seen all of these mass shootings in the U.S., but the only real response to the situation has been the thoughts and prayers statement.
We need guns in society. We need certain types of firearms. There are certain goofballs out there who would like to see an outright ban on firearms of all kinds; they don’t get that a gun can be a tool for farmers. They likely think that hunting should be banned, too; evidently, they have never dined on moose meat or deer sausage.
And they don’t understand that some firearms are there for collectors or for shooting practice.
There is a balance to be found between having a ban on certain types of firearms, and preserving the rights of firearm owners, while keeping Canadians safe. The federal government might think they’ve improved that balanced, but ultimately they haven’t done anything to make us safer, and that’s why Trudeau’s promise announced last week will be a costly waste.
It’s not as bad as the long gun registry of nearly a decade ago, but still a waste.
