What Are Gun Restrictions Like In Canada?
In the United States, school shootings and mass shootings are hellishly common.
It seems like every day we hear of a new atrocity, more families ripped apart by violence. Easy access to guns is clearly a serious problem in the country, and despite what some people in the NRA might think, the guns very much make all the difference.
"If people are the problem, stop giving them weapons of mass murder." –Me, in my latest podcast episode.
I live in a country full of guns as well. I'm Canadian; I'm sure half the people in my nice cozy suburb have a rifle tucked away somewhere. I know Americans think we don't have weapons here, but that could not be further from the truth.
The difference is in the gun culture, and our reasonable safety restrictions on gun ownership.
Firearm restrictions are federal regulations in Canada, so the general rules are the same throughout the country. If you want to examine the law itself, feel free: Here's a link to the curent iteration of the Firearms Act.
If you don't feel like wading through legalese, I'll give you a very basic rundown of what these restrictions look like.
I won't go into the sale and transportation of guns, but I'll cover the hoops that your average Canadian gun owner has to deal with.
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Here, a kid as young as 12 can obtain a minor's license for hunting, target practice and shooting competitions. It requires safety training, child and parent interviews, testing and regular checks to ensure compliance with laws and regulations.
The child needs to be supervised by an adult who also has training in firearm safety, for obvious reasons. You can't just give a kid a license and send them off into the woods alone, that would be ludicrous.
For adults, the requirements are similar.
Like kids, adults who want to own firearms need to go through a safety training course and pass the basic certification test before they can apply for an acquisition license.
You need that license to purchase firearms and ammunition. This is just to ensure you know how to handle a weapon like a responsible adult and you understand how to hold it without shooting your neighbor's dog by mistake.
There are a number of reasons that any Canadian, child or adult, might be denied a license. If you have a felony, if your interviews raise concerns about your mental health or living situation, or if you have a history of domestic violence or substance abuse you will likely be denied.
This doesn't stop every violent person from getting a gun, of course, but it does help limit access. It makes it harder for a suicidal person or an abusive boyfriend to get their hands on a weapon.
If you pass all of the tests and put in an application for your license, the local RCMP will perform a background check to ensure that you're eligible to own a firearm.
After a mandatory 28-day waiting period – to prevent a rage-filled or suicidal person from buying a gun on a whim – you'll be granted your license if you pass muster.
Buying or transporting a gun without that license isn't just a fine; it'll land you jail time. We take it seriously.
The police will check in on you now and again to ensure that your firearms are being safely stored and handled properly, and your friends and family can report you and request that your license be revoked if they believe you're behaving recklessly.
A person who makes comments about hurting themselves or others can, and probably will, lose the privilege of owning a firearm.
Murder and suicide are generally frowned upon, and Canadians like to prevent them from happening whenever possible.
There are a number of weapons, accessories and ammunition that are prohibited under Canadian law. Most hunting rifles you won't struggle to obtain, but if you want a handgun or incendiary rounds, you're probably shit out of luck.
If there's no logical reason for a civillian to own it, you're not going to be able to buy it. We also limit the number of rounds you can buy, so as to try and prevent stockpiling.
Now, these restrictions don't work 100% of the time. We've had incidents where people have been able to stockpile weapons and ammo because their friends and families ignored the rules and sold them illegal weapons.
Some of our absolute worst mass shootings have happened thanks to the massive idiots who decided they could just ignore the law if they felt like it.
But generally speaking, the incidents of gun violence in Canada are relatively rare. Mass shootings with multiple deaths are even less common, and school shootings almost never happen.
In Canada's history, we've seen a total of 18 deaths in shootings that took place in daycare, elementary and high schools. This includes the deaths of the shooters and other people they shot before arriving on campus.
At least two of those deaths included people who just happened to be shot on school grounds; one a former student killed in a shooting unrelated to the school, and a teacher who was killed by her estranged spouse on her way to work.
Most of these incidents were one-off shootings where the perpetrators aimed at a specific person. Mass shootings where the perpetrator went in with the intent of mass death are ridiculously rare.
In post-secondary schools like college or university, the number of deaths on campus sits at 25. Again, most of these incidents involved one person killing a specific individual.
There are exceptions, of course, like the École Polytechnique massacre which was an act of misogynistic terrorism. The massacre took the lives of 14 women and the shooter.
15 out of the 25 deaths were from that one incident, almost 36 years ago.
If you don't believe me, ask Politifact. They already did a handy-dandy fact-check and laid out the incidents for you to read.
General gun violence is a bit more common, but still rare enough that shootings make front-page news across the whole country.
Bottom line, Canadians can and do own guns.
We love guns. We use guns. We geek out about guns.
We just make an effort to keep common-sense in mind, and ensure that everyone who legally purchases a gun will use it responsibly.
Solidarity wins.
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