To stem domestic violence, federal government urged to move quickly on gun regulations

Several civil society organizations, including women’s advocates, are calling on the Liberal government to swiftly flesh out firearm legislation passed last year by enacting crucial regulations and directives.

In December, Parliament approved a government bill that includes new measures to keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers.

It also cements restrictions on handguns, increases penalties for firearm trafficking and aims to curb homemade ghost guns.

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Inside the pressure campaign on Danielle Smith to make gun ownership (and more) an Alberta right

Premier Danielle Smith intends to strengthen the little-known Alberta Bill of Rights this fall to include protections for people who refuse to be vaccinated, but she’s facing heavy pressure from United Conservative activists to go much farther in her overhaul, CBC News has learned.

A group from the premier’s riding in Medicine Hat, which calls itself the Black Hat Gang, has met with senior government officials and proposed a massive new draft of Alberta’s rights document. The “gang” wants it to enshrine an array of new rights, including confidentiality of health information and “informed consent” to medical care, as well as rights to keep and bear firearms, to use “sufficient force” to defend one’s property, and “freedom from excessive taxation.”

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As burglars torment L.A. neighborhood, anxious residents consider buying guns, hiring security

A palpable tension hangs over Encino as news of the latest burglary spreads through the San Fernando Valley neighborhood after months of reported break-ins.

It’s all people seem to talk about while walking their dogs or in group text chats with neighbors. Some residents want to form a neighborhood watch, while others are taking quotes from private security companies to patrol the streets outside their multimillion-dollar homes.

At least 10 burglaries were reported in Encino in the last month, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Residents say there have probably been more in this Valley neighborhood, which is home to roughly 60,000 people.

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Gun-control group fears Liberals have ‘abandoned’ efforts on assault-style firearms

A prominent gun-control group fears the Liberal government has abandoned its commitment to enact a comprehensive ban on assault-style firearms, citing “no tangible progress” on key steps to fulfil the pledge.

In an open letter to Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, PolySeSouvient spokeswoman Nathalie Provost expresses concern that “we won’t see these measures materialize in our lifetimes” as the clock ticks toward a federal election that must be held by October of next year.

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Tackling US gun violence as a public health crisis. Will it help?

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has declared gun violence a public health crisis, a move aimed at curbing the US’ role in leading the world in shooting deaths.

In a first-of-its-kind report urging action, the country’s top doctor noted that a majority of Americans or their family members have experienced gun violence.

A public health approach could help, Dr Murthy argues, as it did with changes to seatbelt safety in vehicles and warnings about health impacts of smoking cigarettes. He hopes to remove politics from an issue that has bitterly divided lawmakers and instead have Americans look at the impacts and the data.

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RCMP Has Taken Custody of 2,123 Newly Labelled Prohibited Firearms Since 2020 Order

With the gun buyback program yet to kick into gear, the RCMP has released data on the number of newly listed prohibited firearms that have been taken out of circulation since 2020.

The federal police force says it has taken custody of a grand total of 2,123 such firearms, which have been surrendered, seized, or obtained through other processes.

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Ottawa will let gun shop owners use couriers for buyback program

OTTAWA — Retailers participating in the federal gun buyback scheme should be able to turn in banned firearms using courier companies starting this fall, as the Trudeau government gears up to begin the first phase of the long-awaited program.

On Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced regulatory changes that will allow retailers to surrender banned firearms using courier services, a move critics say is long overdue and that gun-control advocates celebrate as a “critical” first step in a program that has been mired in controversy.

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Canada’s Gun ‘Emergency’ Not So Urgent After All

While there are profound similarities between Canada and the United States, we would do well to remember that those cultural similarities simply hide the profound differences. And, of course, there are governmental differences as well.

For example, they don’t have a Second Amendment. There is nothing there to limit the government and preserve the right to keep and bear arms.

More than that, though, in the wake of Nova Scotia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that he needed to unilaterally do something about guns. It was an emergency.

An op-ed at the Canadian publication The Globe and Mail, however, is questioning that now.

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Ottawa plans to launch controversial firearms buyback program during election year

Ottawa is planning to roll out a mandatory buyback program for military-style firearms during the 2025 election year, after the program was delayed by Canada Post’s refusal to participate, sources say.

With only months to go before its launch, details of the vast logistical operation remain in flux, federal officials have told Radio-Canada.

The government likely will need to adapt the program on a province-by-province basis, due to its struggle to find partners willing to collect and transport AR-15s and other weapons that were banned in 2020.

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Canada Post refusing to collect banned guns for Ottawa’s buyback program

Canada Post is refusing to collect firearms that were banned by the federal government in 2020, complicating Ottawa’s plans for a buyback program to remove 144,000 firearms from private hands, federal sources say.

The Crown corporation informed the government of its position in a recent letter. It said its decision was based on concerns about its employees’ security, according to federal sources who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

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‘The costs have ballooned’: Liberal government failed to anticipate difficulty of gun ‘buyback,’ association says

OTTAWA — The organization tasked with helping retailers navigate the Trudeau Liberals’ mandatory gun “buyback” says the government has bitten off far more than it can chew and is now discovering the difficulty with the sheer volume of items it may have to expropriate.

Wes Winkel, president of the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA), said the government apparently didn’t anticipate that its ban on “assault-style” firearms involved a massive number of parts and accessories that could be captured by the buyback’s planned expropriation, which will require gun owners and retailers holding inventory of those items to be compensated.

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