I was inspired to write this diary by this diary, written by xofferson on April 23. I thought this was a powerful diary, asking the question of why so many tens of thousands of Americans are killed each year by firearms. I've held off publishing it until Daily Kos was a bit quieter than most of this year.
What I want to do is to provide a diary of my own experience in becoming a legal firearm owner in Canada, which I did earlier this year. I hope this will provide a case-study in how Canada's firearms laws work, so fellow Kossacks will understand the Canadian system. Perhaps my US sisters and brothers will take away some thoughts and ideas as to what may be done to fix the various systems in your country which, as xofferson argues, are broken.
BACKGROUND:
My Dad was never a hunter, but he did own a few rifles when I was growing up; a Winchester 30/30, a Lee-Enfield .303, and a generic .22 single-shot. This was before the current Canadian firearms regulations, during the 1970s, when I was in my teens. Us kids often did target shooting with the .22 at the cottage. Shooting, although not hunting, was part of our "growing up" in suburban/rural Canada.
In my last year of high school, I joined the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve, the equivalent of your National Guard. I only spent six months with it, before I got pissed off, but in that time I qualified on semi-auto rifle, full-auto rifle, and sub-machine gun.
The point of this is that, like many Canadians, guns were a part of my culture; not a major part, perhaps, but there in the background. They aren't something weird or scary to me, but they aren't something to obsess over, either.
THE TIME AFTER:
I've been interested in history, especially military history, most especially the history of WWII, since I was in my teens. This is an interest I share with my Dad. I've been playing tactical board wargames of WWII since then as well; this, unfortunately is NOT an interest I share with my Dad, as he has little interest in games of any sort. However, this did give me an interest in the characteristics of weapons, and I learned a lot about muzzle velocities, various small arms actions, designs, and so on.
But I'm also interested in the warfare of the 18th Century, as a re-enactor, so much so that in early 2007 I bought a reproduction Brown Bess musket from an outfit in the US.
Here's an interesting bit. Wheellock, matchlock, and flintlock long arms, even if reproductions, are considered antiques in Canada, and you don't need any sort of license to own one. The logic is that no-one has ever "gone postal" with a muzzle-loader. Given a minimum reload time of 20 seconds, even if you're very, very well-practiced, it's just not something that's ever going to happen.
So, in Canada, even with our "restrictive" laws, if you want to make bangs, target shoot, or even go hunting, it's possible to do so without any sort of license as long as you restrict yourself to these types of firearms. Frankly, I think it would give some bragging rights to take down a deer with a flintlock. I might even try it some year.
MY RECENT EXPERIENCE:
All firearms laws in Canada are federal. The provinces and territories have no say in our firearms laws; the laws apply across the country, although there are a few minor exemptions in the far north, and several major cities (notably Toronto) are trying to further restrict handguns within their jurisdictions.
I decided I wanted to buy a Russian Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 rifle. Why? because I'm also interested in re-enacting the Red Army of WWII. Red Army re-enacting is kinda cool, for several reasons:
- it's relatively inexpensive;
- it's co-ed, there are lots of roles for women that are historically accurate;
- the contribution of the Red Army in defeating the Nazis tends to be overlooked in North America. Really, it was the Red Army that did the main part of the job; the rest of us did clean-up.
As a re-enactor, my main interest is firing blank ammunition ("making bangs"), although both the Mosin and the Bess can fire live ammo as well, and I have live ammo for both.
The Mosin-Nagant is a bolt-action long gun. It falls into the category of Non-Restricted firearms in Canada, along with lever-action and semi-automatic rifles, and break-action, pump-action, and semi-automatic shotguns. (Some handguns can be obtained with a Restricted PAL, but this requires an additional course. Other handguns and all automatic firearms are Prohibited.)
Since I did not have a license to buy a Non-Restricted firearm, this is the process I went through:
- In November, 2007, I visited the local campus of the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC), where the Firearms Safety Course (FSC) is offered. I was surprised to find that the earliest opening would not be until February. I didn't expect there would be so many applicants after hunting season began in mid-November. But I signed up, at a cost of $50, and received my FSC handbook, which I was told I should study before the course. The handbook is about 200 pages, with lots of illustrations.
- Come February, after doing my "homework", I attended the course. It went over three evenings. There were about 18 men attending and one woman. There were about 7 hours of instruction, by 2 instructors, with a fair bit of hands-on instruction with all the types of non-restricted firearms. This was followed by a written test at the end of the second evening, and a hands-on, "practical" test on the third evening. Although I found the "practical" test pretty stressful, I scored 95%, and 100% on the written test. The pass mark on both tests was 70%. No-one in my class failed.
I will also state that I learned quite a lot from this course. It was very worthwhile, in spite of my earlier firearms training in the Reserve. I would recommend it, or a similar course, to anyone who intends to handle firearms.
- Having passed my test, I mailed off to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for my Possession and Acquisition License (PAL), at a cost of $60.00. I required two references from people who had known me for more than one year. My best buddy supplied one; my great-aunt supplied the other. I also had to provide a recent photo of myself, endorsed by the photographer. Another friend supplied this. I got my PAL in the mail on Apr. 2.
Canadian laws require that the spouse of any PAL applicant sign the application, in addition to the references. This wasn't an issue in my case as I'm single, but it is an additional safeguard against possible home-violence situations.
- I bought my rifle through the internet from P&S Militaria, in Quebec. (Sorry if my American friends are interested in Jean's products, but he won't ship to the U.S. anymore; the border regs are just too much trouble.) I emailed him to say I was interested in a particular rifle, he emailed me back with the total price, including tax and shipping ($240.00), and I mailed him a money order, along with a photocopy of my PAL. On Apr. 23 I got a letter from the RCMP approving the transaction, and several days later, I got my rifle in the mail.
Total elapsed time from deciding to get a license and firearm until I had it in my hands: apx. six months.
It seems to me that if there's something that you want, six months is not so long to wait for it. Hell, I've shopped for a car for 18 months on one occasion, and I'm still looking for the right piece of land to build my home on after three years. I guess I'm just not into the "instant gratification" culture.
In order to buy ammunition for my Mosin, I have to show my PAL. I've only done this twice, in two different stores. In one case it seemed like an afterthought by the dealer; in the other I actually had to prompt the dealer. This seems like a bit of a weak point in the system.
During this process, the Canadian government got $50 from me for the FSC, plus $60 for the PAL and about $28 in tax on the transaction on my rifle. My PAL is valid for five years. I can renew up to about six months after the PAL expires by paying another $60. If I wait longer than that, I will probably have to take the FSC over again.
When I want to do target shooting with either or both of my guns, I can use a number of rifle ranges operated by the Nova Scotia provincial government across the province. The closest one is about a 20 minute drive from where I live. I have to phone in advance for access, but there is no charge for the service.