The recent amnesty introduced by Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, gave a temporary reprieve for thousands of Canadians who have found themselves owners of firearms that a month ago could be used for target shooting and hunting. After the RCMP recommended and the Minister approved that these firearms were to be prohibited, the owners of these firearms have effectively lost the ability to own their property for the purposes that they previously enjoyed. “The big question on the mind of every firearms enthusiast is: are mine next?” pointed out NFA President Sheldon Clare. “Many of us have gone through firearms prohibition in successive waves, first with the establishment of the prohibited class and resulting prohibition in the 1970s. The largest theft of the property of innocent firearms owners came with Kim Campbell’s huge gun grab in her despised bill C-17, and it was followed by even more prohibitions arising from the hated Liberal Bill C-68 of the Chretien era. We have seen an increasing number of firearms “re-classified” from non-restricted and restricted to prohibited during the current government’s mandate, and firearms owners are not happy. This is not how friends treat friends.”<\/p>\n
Clare continued, “An amnesty is something for criminals, and the public understands that the 15,000 or so innocent people who have suddenly been granted an amnesty have not committed any real crime. These people just happen to possess something that this government has decided that they may not own after the two year period is up. The government doesn’t seem to get it that what really needs to happen is to repeal the bad law that makes such actions routine. The scientific evidence is clear that none of Canada’s firearms laws from the 1970s to the present have done anything but harm innocent Canadian firearms owners. These laws need to be repealed, and it is shocking that this government still tinkers with them while continuing to punish innocent firearms enthusiasts.<\/p>\n
Canada’s National Firearms Association is this country’s largest and most effective advocacy organization representing the interests of firearms owners and users.<\/p>\n
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