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RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERSHIP
Under the Firearms Act, which took
effect Dec. 1, 1998, firearms owners in Canada have until
January 1, 2001 to obtain a licence (renewable every five
years) and until January 1, 2003 to register each firearm
(one time only).
The BC Institute Against
Family Violence encourages firearms owners
to comply with these requirements because:
- the old law did not
require a permit to possess a firearm, only to acquire one
- persons at risk from
family violence have a say in preventing their abuser from
obtaining or keeping a licence
- the new law will provide
police with the information to enforce orders prohibiting
possession of firearms and
- police attending domestic
disputes will have information about each of the firearms
in the house
In 1996, 32% of all domestic
homicides involved firearms. In the 59 domestic firearm homicides,
rifles and shotguns were used in 70% of cases. Legally acquired
firearms are also used to threaten and intimidate spouses.
Separating spouses are particularly at risk of violence.
However, under the Firearms Act
many of these owners will not be able to acquire a licence
or will face revocation of their licence because of a history
of psychiatric treatment or domestic violence.
The Canadian Firearms Registry
On-Line now contains data on 425,454 gun owners and 1.3 million
firearms. This system is accessed by police an average of
1500 times a day.
For more information visit:
Canadian Firearms Registry
www.cfc-ccaf.gc.ca
Gun Control Coalition www.guncontrol.ca
This page last updated February 8, 2010. R. Croft.
Copyright (c) 1996 - 2018 BC
Institute Against Family Violence.
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