by Andrew C.
I live in the frozen wasteland of Canada and get my news via the Morse code receiver in my igloo. Hearing furious beeping, I slid inside from the backyard curling rink to find myself facing the news that our gun control regime has given up the pretense of respecting civilian gun ownership and began moving guns from legal ownership status to prohibition. Before I explain any more, it’s important to understand the mess of our gun laws to some degree so here’s a quick primer. Be warned, none of it makes any sense . . .
In Canada, all private firearm ownership is illegal. You are granted the privilege to own guns by possession of a license. The licensing scheme has three major classes–Unrestricted, Restricted, and various flavours of Prohibited (all arbitrary and unfair, primarily based on what you owned when the government passed sweeping ineffective gun control legislation).
We have three major classifications of firearms that reflect the licensing. “Unrestricted” firearms may be used anywhere the law does not prohibit their use (like the bush, for hunting). “Restricted” firearms may only be used at designated ranges, and require onerous paperwork to posses and transport, all of which has no proven public safety benefit but does create a pretty decent employment program for paper-pushers (this includes all handguns and arbitrarily-chosen rifles, including all AR variants). “Prohibited” firearms are effectively disallowed from being used, with the arbitrary exception of some classes of firearms (these include the AK family and all kinds of other ‘scary’ stuff).
All this gun control gibberish is overseen by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), popularized worldwide by Brendan Fraiser and, less positively, for killing restrained suspects in custody, sexually assaulting female employees, framing farmers for terrorism, and breaking-and-entering private residences to steal guns from the citizenry during a natural disaster. To read up on their history, please see this enlightening Wikipedia page.
The RCMP has repeatedly exhibited hostility towards civilian firearm ownership but has somehow remained in control of it in Canada. On February 26th, they began advancing a new phase of their goal of prohibiting firearms in Canada by re-classifying a line of guns (the Swiss Arms family) that were previously Unrestricted or Restricted, and made them Prohibited.
For those following along despite the convoluted web of senseless rules, police corruption and maple syrup, this is sort of analogous to the NY SAFE Act that turns previously-allowed property into instant contraband. The Swiss Arms rifles have been in circulation in Canada for ten years and have NEVER been used in the commission of a crime nationwide.
The government is not planning to pay out any of our brightly-coloured rainbow money to compensate owners during confiscation. There has been talk of reversing this stance, which would only mean wasting multiple millions of dollars of taxpayer money on the RCMP’s inability to classify previously-purchased firearms appropriately.
But wait, it gets better!
Not content to sit back on their wave of epic accomplishments in the name of public safety, late on Feb. 28th we Canucks are learning that a subset of CZ 858 rifles are now being moved to Prohibited status as well. The details are still coming out on this one, but one thing is clear: these rifles are common and popular, much more than the Swiss Arms family ever was. This means the RCMP is dropping their previous program of slowly confiscating obscure firearms to maintain a low profile.
This is effectively a frontal assault on the gun-owning public of Canada. In a distinctly un-Canadian fashion, they haven’t even said “sorry” while stating they were planning to steal our property.
I am writing this for two reasons:
1) Hoping any Canadian who reads your blog sees this. The time for action is now if you own any firearm. You WILL lose that privilege (in Canada our government has decided that they know better than to permit us the natural right of self-defense, and ownership of arms is a privileged) if Canadians do not fight back against this NOW. To learn more on what you can do, please visit the National Fireams Association and Canadian Shooting Sports Association‘s websites. Join both groups.
2) To let gun owners around the world know the statist agenda of civilian disarmament is being pushed forward everywhere. Those who are in worse condition than Canada will likely recognize what I am describing as having happened where they live; those better off, heed warning. Similar events will come to you if you let them. Stay vigilant!
Thanks and sorry,
~ Andy, from America’s (not-disarmed-without-a-fight) Hat
[NB: It doesn’t look like he’s been around here for a few months, but Canadian reader Marty penned a “view to America’s future” just a bit over a year ago. In it, he mentions his ownership of a now-Prohibited Swiss Arms CQB rifle. We wish Marty the best. -Ed.]
Crap. And I liked Dudley Do Right. Sigh.
They grandfathered machine guns, but they can not grandfather these in too? Does Canada not have an ex post facto law on the books?
I suppose they could grandfather them but we don’t really care. We want sweeping changes to the laws. NOW. I have a sneaky feeling too that we might see just that.
It is not “ex poste facto.” Ex poste facto means making something illegal that was legal when you did it. Canadians will not be prosecuted for the ownership of banned firearms in the past, only for their possession now–which is why it is not an ex poste facto law.
After perusing the comment thread on the announcement over on the National Firearms Association’s facebook, it looks that there are many canadian gun owners who are grudgingly willing to bend over for the RCMP just to avoid a tiff. While we Americans almost universally respond to threats of confiscation with shouts of “Let ’em fuckin try!” the Canadians are busy looking for a shovel and cosmoline.
Or just vaseline. . .
There are over 500 Mayors in GA.
Every time you’re a jerk to a boyfriend you will just push her further into his arms, FWIW.
Not that I mind.
I don’t get it. A short stroke piston hits what used to be a gas key for a short period of time with enough force and the bolt carrier goes back on its merry way. Isn’t this the same thing that direct impingement does force wise? Seems to me like the same thing, just a lot cleaner.
I’d love to see a before & after picture. Their bright smiling shiny faces & then me walking past open carrying.
I live in Georgia, and I don’t need a “stand your ground” law to vote not guilty.
Yankee is a smart guy maybe a little on the left for my tastes but when it comes to guns he is not wrong often.
Here in Colorado, a court (can’t remember if state or Denver) ruled last year that public housing cannot forbid tenants from owning firearms. Public housing is run with taxpayer money and as such was not deemed “private property” when it came to forbidding firearms.
Along with the recalls, this decision was one of the few bright spots we’ve had here regarding the 2A.
the reasoning is unfortunately limited. In essence, public housing is provided by a government entity, and the government cannot deny individuals their second amendment rights. This reasoning does not apply to private property owners. HOWEVER, I think that a private landlord would have a hard time enforcing a contractual ban on the tenant’s possession of noncontraband firearms. A landlord can ban illegal activities (e.g. nuisances or drug dealing), pets that damage the landlord’s property, and so forth. But this right is limited to conduct that threaten the landlord’s reversionary/investment interest in the property. But. a landlord gives up all right to the property except ownership when he leases the property to a tenant, and a tenant can do anything that is not in violation of the law. The landlord has no right to enter without permission, cannot search an apartment or other rental housing, cannot seize the tenant’s property, and cannot lock the tenant out. The laws undoubtedly vary from state to state, but many states have tenants rights laws to prevent–and punish–landlord abuses. So to suggest that an owner of a nonpossessory interest in real property can ban firearms or concealed carry conducted according to law is a questionable proposition–but that doesn’t mean they won’t try.
Ah, the property owner loophole/intentional-ambiguity-created-for-trial-lawyers provision in the Illinois law. There is a potential benefit to it: anti-gun businesses who lease their property arguably can’t post valid no-gun signs.
are you freaking kidding me with that white pistol lanyard?
That “Press Release” is a study in propaganda. It would bring tears of joy to the eyes of Josef Goebbels himself. Revolts me to think some person(s), somewhere are actually proud of that “piece of work”.
I’d say Canada could use a good dose of what’s going on in Connecticut.
So, just as I was getting ready to start writing this the Advertisement just below the Post Comment box suddenly popped-up with…you guessed it… a STAPLES ad!
Anyway, this article and the comments made me hear Nelson’s “Haw-HAW!” laugh without having to play the audio file someone posted above. Hope those Security Guards put the MDA Petition in their toilet and used it to wipe-up…the sink…THE SINK!
I love how it starts out all 12 members and then later states that MAIG started out with 15 members. Losing a little support are they.
Doesn’t Staples have shredders?
Ah, the tired tactic of pulling people into a conversation they don’t want to be in.
I for one, like MDA. If it wasn’t for them, the Anti-Gun establishment would need to create something like them and therein lies the problem. MDA is about as ineffective and pathetic as a “lobby” group gets. If they went away, like many here want, what gets developed in their place might be better organized or appeal to a wider audience.
So kudos to them and their Bloomberg backed activities. LIke PETA, they never fail to provide me a good laugh and their existence, actually bolsters support on the opposite side, our side. Unlike PETA or some other liberal groups, some MDA members aren’t too bad looking. Ever seen a PETA activist upclose? *shudders*. Sorry for the visual but count your blessings, we’ve fought much more capable and far uglier (in apperance and rheotric) foes than the women of MDA.
You go girls!!
“Police say holes in firearms records make it difficult to track the source of weapons they recover from crime scenes…”
If they are stolen… how does it matter? This pursuit for straw purchaser’s is ridiculous. It is so easy for a straw purchaser to eliminate traceability on the firearm. Just remove the serial number on the frame, and sand off the microstamp on the firing pin (if it has one). Done. This pursuit is a bunch of ineffective garbage that seeks to list my firearms on a government list. No thanks.
Sometimes the greatest tragedy in why many are leaning to the passifictic side is that they lack the conviction to execute the “love my neighbor” principle. Virulent dispositions against tyranny and apathy are required in the spirit of those who desire true freedom.
I sure hope Tennessee repeals their concealed carry bans in parks. I went to Tennessee with my family for a vacation a few years ago and chose Tennessee specifically because they recognize my concealed carry license. And what does a family inevitably do on vacation? They visit parks of course. Imagine my surprise when I saw signs at all the parks prohibiting concealed carry. We have not been back since.
However, if Tennessee repeals their concealed carry bans in parks, we will certainly be returning for vacations.
The concept of “means”, mentioned often by Luther (“/mitteln/”), helps, I think, in this discussion. God does help and protect people, but like in many areas, He usually does not intervene using HIs supernatural power (i.e., miracles). Instead, He accomplishes this through physical and “natural” means.
For example, God feeds people, but He usually does this through the means of farmers, ranchers, fishermen, rain, seeds growing, cattle eating, etc. When He does it supernaturally, such as in the feeding of the 5,000, we acknowledge it as a miracle.
Similarly, God protects people from evildoers, usually through “means” that He has given, in part for that purpose. These means include muscles, walls, sticks, and firearms — as well as a host of other things, including police, army, courts, etc. Sure, He can and does intervene at times supernaturally, but He usually avoids using miracles.
The upshot is that God has entrusted to people — including you — the responsibility for protecting others and yourself. That’s how He works.
You might be part of the armed intelligentsia if you read amicus briefs on the 1st amendment in a gun blog.
It’s fantastic. I did not know you could do that in an amicus brief.
Yuck…Indiana beckons. Not done screwing gun owners in Illinois. Stay tuned for more crap.
This is an amusing read but unrealistic. You see, tyranny is not that stupid. Tyranny knows if it overreaches, its hand will be cut off. Tyranny instead creeps in increments. Restrict magazine capacities to 15. Then 10. Then registration. Then confiscation.
CT is at the registration stage, and confiscation will be done incrementally. It isn’t the time to kick down doors. Not yet.
The people who tried to register after the deadline will be the first targets. A simple knock at the door by two local police officers. “Hi, are you John Smith? We understand you own an AR-15. Can you show us where it is?”
Some will let the police in and the firearm will be confiscated without incident. The felony charge will come later. There’s no rush. Some will refuse the police entry. The police will get warrants. After all, these suspects essentially signed an admission that they possess said firearms. After the firearms are confiscated, the arrests will be made a week or two later. They will go smoothly – no SWAT teams will be present, though they will be on standby out-of-sight. CT lawmakers will cite the smooth success of the confiscation and subsequent arrests as an example for any other felons out there still refusing to comply. “Turn them in now, Mister and Miss America.” Some will cave. Others will not.
The second stage will be random checks outside local shooting ranges. An undercover officer will observe an AR-15 at the range. Outside, uniformed officers will intercept the suspect as he walks to his car. “Hi there. Do you have identification on you? Thanks. We need to inspect your firearm…”
This time, the arrests will be made on the scene.
After this, anyone who continues to own “contraband” will have it hidden away at home and wouldn’t dare to bring it outside. That’s fine with CT. As with other crimes, it can’t catch all criminals but it at least wants to catch the observable crimes and crush the open dissension with the law. They will.
Over time, the gun culture in CT will change. It may take a generation… but there will come a time when CT gun owners will see a photo of their Georgian friend with an AR-15 and ask “how is that legal?” forgetting that it was once the norm in CT…
You had me at pot smoking lesbians
Somebody is confusing Facebook with gun broker again, I think. It happens.
Non-story. Nothing will be different tomorrow on FB. MDA just trying to puff up their chests.
I’ve never held with the relatively recent “Thou shall not kill” wording used in modern Bibles, as there is no foundation for this change from the original “Thou shall not commit murder”.
Pacifism is not & never has been a sensible way to resist violence.
Like Kitty Genovese, this woman just learned the hard way that you can’t rely on others to defend you, especially in a city.
Bad grip angle, bad trigger, bad sights, non-ambi mag and slide releases… what’s not to like about glocks? (I just bought another one!)