Credit: Kent Simmonds- CFJC Today

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: New gun control bill a disappointing mish mash of half measures

Feb 17, 2021 | 4:59 AM

KAMLOOPS — AS MUCH AS WE NEED better gun control laws in this country, the latest measures unveiled yesterday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have me baffled.

I have no quarrel with the sweeping bans on 1,500 different models of assault rifles announced earlier, and no sympathy with those who insist assault-style weapons are needed for recreational purposes.

But the voluntary buy-back program the Liberals want to put in place is a half-hearted move. Because of that, it will be ineffective. The plan is to spend around $400 million buying banned assault-style firearms from their owners, as long as the owners want to give them up.

If they want to keep them, they can and will, though they aren’t supposed to use them. This provision is already angering anger both gun owners and gun control advocates, as compromises often do.

New Zealand’s progressive government took the bold move of making its buy-back program mandatory, as did Australia. It seems Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair are worried that wouldn’t work in Canada, but a voluntary program looks very much like an attempt to look like something is being done when it isn’t.

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Even more ridiculous is the idea of giving municipal councils the authority to ban handguns, a power a great many of them most certainly won’t want. I’d hoped Trudeau would drop that part of the plan but there it is, front and centre.

Can you imagine Kamloops councillors sitting around deciding whether somebody should go to jail for having a handgun? The very idea is nothing more than Trudeau’s offloading of a piece of what is a hot political issue, again while trying to look like he’s doing something.

Besides, provinces would have to allow their cities to take jurisdiction, while some, like Vancouver with its own independent charter, could go ahead on their own. With some cities involved and others not, the jurisdictional map will become a rat’s nest of confusion.

There are some useful parts to the new bill, such as heavier penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking, but they’re far outweighed by the uselessness of the rest.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.