Gun sales have been on the rise since Bill C-21 was introduced

Five owners of this type of establishments in Quebec who contacted The Canadian Press said they were having difficulty meeting the needs of their customers. What they sometimes describe as a incredible passionsometimes as not yet seenbegan with the enactment of Bill C-21 which seeks to ban the purchase, sale, transfer and importation of handguns.

It’s not complicated, I barely have weapons on my counterlaunched Jean-François Perreault, the co-owner of the Club de tir de Lanaudière.

Ottawa said it wants to act quickly against gun violence and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is also working on regulatory changes that should take effect by the end of September.

But it is a decision of the cowards in the eyes of Jacques Tessier, treasurer of the Mauricie Sports Club, who believes sports shooters will be bullied in their training.

These people want to practice the sport the same way as someone who would play golf or play tennis, Mr. added. Perreault. Yes, it’s a gun and fires bullets, but it’s still done in a controlled environment.

One who has been a police officer for 28 years lists in an interview the many stages of the gun acquisition process. He mentioned that this includes training and investigation on mental health and criminal background. In Quebec, other requirements were added. No one comes here, buys a gun and leaves with ithe summarized.

At the Club de tir de l’Ouaouais, for example, Pierre Pharand said that the world is hanging on to the weapons left.

And why do shooters get so many weapons? Playing golf […], how many different sticks are there? I would say it is the same for the handgun. there is […] different calibershe describes.

At Londero Sports, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, on the South Shore of Montreal, vice-president Paolo Londero said he sells weapons he has not yet received.

The rampant madness is not bad today, he said. The filing of the bill has in a hurry to shopso he sold his entire inventory in two days.

Mr. Londero also sees an injustice in the announced handgun freeze. They chase the shooters who use the gun in a polite manner, going through all the process to get the guns.

kill the industry

If the bill is passed, it will have the effect ofdestroy industry, to withdraw their breadwinner to gun manufacturers and killing canadian tradition sport shooting and legal gun ownership, said Rudy, owner of Dante Sports in Montreal.

An opinion shared by former police officer Perreault who believes there it will kill the sport in the long runand Pierre Pharand of the Club de tir de l’Outaouais who doubted he would be able to renew his clients.

Bill C-21 provides exemptions including sports shooters and their coaches, the office of the Minister of Public Safety said, but only for those at high levels.

In addition, columns will be allowed to continue to purchase sport shooting handguns from their members, who will be required to remain in the range.added the director of communications, Alex Cohen, in an email.

A minimal side effect?

If the legal sale of handguns to shooting clubs and other specialty businesses continues to increase, Canadian Police Association vice-president Yves Francoeur does not see it as a public safety issue.

Criminal people do not apply for a license to get a gun and then commit a crime with it.said one who is also president of the Brotherhood of police officers of Montreal.

Weapons obtained legally can end up in the hands of people committing gun crimes, but their proportion to seizures is simple. minimal.

We are, at present, the illegal weapons, the problem, and not the legal weaponshe continued.

Only legal weapons remain may be illegalmentioned by Mr. Francoeur, describing Bill C-21 as a not in the right direction. In his view, an effective fight against gun crime requires a more global approach with strict border measures, among others.