(Canadian Press)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Gun Control

Sask gun shops seeing record handgun sales following feds’ latest attempt on gun control

May 31, 2022 | 5:00 PM

The proposed national freeze on handguns is helping gun shops in Saskatchewan see some record sales numbers.

The federal government introduced new gun control legislation Monday which included a ban on buying, selling, transferring, or importing handguns anywhere in the country.

Donald Deforest, owner of Eagle Firearms in Tisdale, told paNOW that ever since this was announced people have been coming in droves.

He believes this is a situation where you tell someone they can’t have something and all of sudden that’s all they want.

“People who were sitting on the fence, thinking they’d like to do something but just never got around to it, are suddenly taking time to get their orders in.”

Animal Evacuees

Battlefords Humane Society; Furbaby's helping animal evacuees

2h ago

Denare Beach update

Fire claims structures in Denare Beach, evacuation order remains in place

3h ago

Broadway School update

Broadway School building and land to be sold soon: SHA

23h ago

Deforest noted he couldn’t remember another time when he sold this many handguns. He also expects this to continue until the proposed legislation is officially approved.

Another shop seeing strong handgun sales is Arnie’s Gun & Archery in P.A.

“I’ve sold more (Tuesday) than I’ve probably had in six to eight months,” said James Brake, manager of Arnie’s.

He, along with Deforest, believes this move will only hurt law-abiding gun owners and do little to deter crime.

According to Statistics Canada, firearms are more likely to be used in suicides than homicides. In 2019, there were 708 firearm-related deaths across the country with 75 per cent being deemed to be suicides.

“We’re not having that conversation, we’re talking about gangs might kill you, you better get the guns out or your kids will be shot. It’s people killing themselves,” added Brake.

In his opinion, the federal government should focus more on people’s mental health. He did acknowledge the current system, while not perfect, is better than the U.S. as those with mental health issues can have their firearm license revoked.

Included in the bill is giving the courts the power to require that people who are considered a danger to themselves or others surrender their firearms to police.

Meanwhile, Brake does believe there is at least one good thing to come from this legislation.

It’s proposed that licenses be taken away from people who’ve been involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment, including stalking.

“We don’t want people who shouldn’t have guns to have guns.”

Other measures brought up in the legislation are increasing criminal penalties, giving law enforcement personnel more tools to investigate gun-related crimes, and strengthening border measures.

—

Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow