CHARGING FEES TO AVOID A CRIMINAL CHARGE IS BAD POLICY

“Charging a fee for people to avoid a criminal charge is simply wrong,” according to President Sheldon Clare of Canada’s National Firearms Association (NFA). “Anyone with an expired license could be facing criminal charges merely for owning their own property – the firearms license is a defence to a criminal charge. There are many problems with Canadian firearms law, and none of them will be resolved by forcing people to pay for the privilege of enjoying the use of their property,” Clare continued. “This is more of a protection racket than good criminal law. The license effectively amounts to a coerced get out of jail free card, and paying for it is much worse than a tax.”

According to the NFA president, licensing remains one of the most egregious aspects of Canada’s firearms program. “Since the Liberal legislation of 1995, it has been illegal to own firearms in Canada without the government license, a situation which has made many non-complying Canadians into criminals for what is ostensibly a paperwork offence. Many firearms owners believe that the government ended both licensing and registration. As a result, some hundreds of thousands of gun owners have let their firearms license lapse because they thought the Conservative Government was going to get rid of the whole mess that the Liberals rammed through Parliament.”

Clare pointed out, “The firearms licensing scheme means that millions of normal, upstanding citizens who have no criminal intent whatsoever are affected. Firearm-owning people who have not committed an unsafe or violent act could go to jail for two, five, or even ten years and lose their property simply for failing to get a piece of plastic from the federal government.”

As long as the Liberal Firearms Act remains law, the freedoms, rights, and property of all Canadians remain at risk. Neither the firearm registration system, nor the licensing programs have ever truly been about saving any lives. These laws have really been about trying to change Canadian firearms culture.

Canada’s National Firearms Association is this country’s largest advocacy organization promoting the rights and freedoms of all responsible firearm owners and users.

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For more information contact:

Blair Hagen, Executive VP Communications, 604-753-8682 [email]Blair@nfa.ca[/email]
Sheldon Clare, President, 250-981-1841 [email]Sheldon@nfa.ca[/email]
Canada’s NFA toll-free number – 1-877-818-0393
NFA Websites: www.nfa.ca
French language: www.acaf.ca