Self-Defence and Firearms in Canada
Recent news stories about the use of a firearm to stop the commission of various crimes and subsequent statements from the RCMP have (again) raised the issue of armed self-defence under Canadian law. Does that right still exist? If so, how and when can it be exercised?Canada has a history of decades of political fear-mongering about firearms and so it is difficult to have an intelligent, principled debate about the use of a firearm for self-defence by a citizen. Our divide-and-conquer politicians have frequently and effectively hoisted the spectre of homicidal gun owners, assisted by “journalists” who are willing to substitute moralizing and social engineering for principled fact-finding. We are therefore at a place where calm and rational debate about civilian use of firearms for self-defence has become extremely difficult. This may account for the RCMP’s denigration of that possibility and is the stimulus for this article.
- Wednesday, January 8, 2020