On Monday, the federal government proposed a national handgun freeze that would suspend the importing, buying or selling of handguns across Canada.
One Vernon gun store, Eagle Industries Ltd., has been selling guns for years. Owner David James Brown said the business made the decision two months ago to start shutting down the store’s gun section, but with ammunition and guns now difficult to find, the decision has been hastened.
“There has been a steady stream since the announcement by our illustrious leader for people looking for handguns,” Brown said.
The customers are either people who have handguns but who want more or people who have got a licence but didn’t have a handgun yet and are now desperate to get one while they still can, Brown said.
Daniel Fritter, the owner of Calibre, Canada’s longest-running gun magazine, said he’s heard from local gun owners that they’re heavily opposed to the legislation and claim it won’t stop illegal usage. He said the current system requires licensed gun owners to go through numerous background checks.
“The frustration is just that everyone is having to respond to this massive change when it’s literally codified in law,” Fritter said.
There’s been an uptick in the region of people purchasing handguns as they react to the proposed legislation. Brown mentions that this new legislation will not only hurt gunowners, but local stores as well.
“It’ll make it extremely difficult for some people to survive as a business if you cannot buy and sell handguns anymore,” Brown said. “There are a lot of people who rely on that for a good percentage of their income.”
Brown said the legislation won’t stop crime in the big cities “because legal gun owners are not the people who are shooting people.”
Fritter said gun owners are also concerned about what the new legislation will mean for those looking to pass down their guns to family members.
“I have some friends who have firearms that were handed down from service in World War II and stuff,” said Fritter, who added he owns historical firearms. “With this law’s passage, these guns will end up inevitably in the smelter.”
Added Brown: “I have a few (handguns) and we don’t know if we can pass them down or not pass them down. It’s just not good for the general public.”
Fritter said he’d rather see the money being used for the new legislation instead go toward local projects like social housing.