doing a school project on gun laws in Canada. i have some question could you guys help

[Chris_m]

Hi i i just have a few questions on your opinion on gun laws in Canada i don't need a lot of people to answer but more the merrier.

1. should we need to apply for all these licences on permits to be able to go hunting or even to just own a gun??

2. What is considered to be a firearm for purposes of the Firearms Act and for offences related to the Firearms Act in the Criminal Code? personal experience: i do small game hunting so i was looking at the high powered pellet guns but i cant buy one because i dont have a licence.

[jwirecom109]

moved, wrong section

[CaperJim]

1 - As long as you don't have a criminal record, you should be free to purchase a gun. The mandatory safety course is nice though for completely inexperienced people to become familiar with and handle a firearm.

2 - Anything that ejects a projectile at 500 feet per second or better is considered a gun. I'm think that includes airsoft, paintball guns, potato launchers, etc, but not completely sure

[Gaidheal]

What school is assigning projects right now?

Something doesn't quite add up... highschoolers here start final exams this week I think.

[CaperJim]

Something doesn't quite add up...

Don't let them know you're on to them

[kennymo]

1) I would prefer not, the previous system required a person to be 16 years old, and a quick visit to your neighbourhood cop shop for a background check. Accomplishes basically the same thing as our current license at far less cost to the taxpayer. There was (and still is) a safety course you must also take if you wish to purchase a hunting permit. Exact details on that vary by province.

2) As previously stated, anything that can discharge a projectile over 500 FPS. Also, the receiver of any unassembled firearm, or even a deactivated firearm that has not been deactivated as per the current standards on such things. Older government approved deactivations are grandfathered into law.

You will find that the grievances of many are not over the fact that licensing, training, etc...exist in Canada, but that they have been written into law in such a fashion to discourage firearm ownership and give us a legal tightrope to walk to continue owning firearms for hunting and target shooting. What did Allan Rock say about the firearms act? "It has nothing to do with public safety"? He was one of the architects of the Firearms Act, several others of which have said te same. Yet it was sold to the general populace as 'safety'. And we've been stuck fighting that stigma ever since...

[TheCenturion]

1: I prefer licensing to having a background check/waiting period/whatever each individual time you purchase a firearm. The license is inexpensive and has a very low barrier to entry. However, firearms ownership should be decriminalized in general. I also like the requirement of a training course; it at least means somebody has shown you the basics. It would be better if the training course included live fire, but I don't know how practicable that would be in real life.

2: Currently, the law says a firearm is something that can discharge a projective at > 500 feet/second. This means it's dead simple to build a potato cannon, for example, that you'd then require a PAL to operate.

[Chris_m]

is is a final assignment so i decided to do a write up on gun laws in Canada

[CaperJim]

If you have a spud cannon that's capable of greater than 500fps, and you take it apart, are left with a few lengths of pipe, one of them is the receiver. But it's just a simple pipe.

Another issue - how do you lock out one of these guns?

[Chris_m]

thanks for all the help so far.