Five myths about firearms promoted by the Trudeau government

The order is effectively a cabinet decree.

The order follows the tragic shooting that took place in Nova Scotia in mid-April, where a gunman set fire to 16 locations and killed 22 people.

“We have long been committed to strengthening gun control in this country,” Trudeau said on Thursday.

“Including, banning military style assault weapons. There is no need in Canada for guns designed to kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time.”

Trudeau’s decision to move forward with banning firearms legally acquired by law-abiding citizens is nothing more than a political smokescreen.

Myth #1: Automatic weapons are available in Canada

Brian Lilley took to Twitter, tweeting, “I heard one reporter ask if all automatic weapons will be banned. Then I listened to a reporter claim after the Justin Trudeau news conference mention automatic rifles and the anchor cite actual American military guns that are already banned in Canada.”

Using American data to bolster a Canadian political agenda is not only insincere, but it presumes that the Canadian people are so ignorant as to believe it.

No one is fooled.

Myth # 2: The NS shooter used legal firearms

The strange idea that the shooter used legal firearms is completely unfounded. In fact, every single firearm he owned was illegally acquired since he did not possess a gun license. Not only this, but only one weapon among the dozens he owned could be traced back to Canada. The rest were from the US.

Rod Giltaca, executive director of the Canadian Coalition of Firearm Rights, said that the Nova Scotia shooting should not be used as an excuse to change the firearms regime.

“No aspect of this unthinkable tragedy bears any connection to firearm regulations in Canada. Thus, the implied connection is purely political,” he said.

Myth #3: Criminals generally obtain their guns legally

Banning a category of firearms is not going to drive down the prevalence of mass shootings, primarily because mass shooters do not bother with acquiring firearms legally. It simply misses the mark and is a refusal to engage with the real issue.

The majority of gun-based crime in Canada is enacted by gang members who do not follow the law, but smuggle guns from the US and do not bother with permits or licenses.

But there was no mention of this problem during the press conference.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair came up with a list of firearms he believes should be banned, according to CBC on April 29.

According to a document obtained by Radio-Canada, the list includes:

• M16, M4, AR-10 and AR-15 rifles. Those styles were used in the Sandy Hook, New Zealand, Las Vegas and Orlando mass shootings. There are an estimated 83,572 in Canada.
• Ruger Mini-14s, the type of firearm used in the École Polytechnique shooting. There are an estimated 16,859 in Canada.
• Swiss Arms Classic Green carbines. There are an estimated 1,342 in Canada.
• M14 rifles, used in the Moncton shooting. There are an estimated 5,229 in Canada.
• Vz. 58 semi-automatic rifles, used in the Quebec City mosque shooting. There are an estimated 11,593 in Canada.
• CZ Scorpion EVO 3 carbines. There are an estimated 1,813 in Canada.
• Beretta CX4 Storm carbines, the type of firearm used in the Dawson College shooting. There are an estimated 1,513 in Canada.
• Sig Sauer MCX and Sig MPX carbines and pistols. There are an estimated 1,000 in Canada.
• Robinson Arms XCR rifles. There are an estimated 1,834 in Canada.

The list also includes two categories of firearms the government hopes to ban:

• Firearms with a calibre (gun barrel diameter) of more than 20 mm. For example, a grenade launcher.