BC FIREARM AMNESTY: THERE IS A BETTER WAY!

CJ Summers in on September 23, 2016

As most of you know – the RCMP are operating a BC gun amnesty running from October 1st to October 31st, 2016.

There are a variety of ways that people can find themselves in possession of firearms; maybe you let your PAL expire, maybe your grandparents were hunters and left you an abundance of seasoned firearms that were used to provide food during dinners growing up, maybe you bought a house and discovered a hidden stash of guns. Whatever the reason, this is an opportunity to get rid of them.

This BC gun amnesty provides a chance to hand in your unwanted firearms, no questions asked – unless the firearm is linked to a crime.

However, a few issues arise within this BC gun amnesty.

First, there is no “hand in” or “drop off” portion to this initiative. The only accepted way is for you to call the RCMP, at which officers will show up at your home address and they will take any unwanted firearms and ammunition. Are you completely comfortable with this prospect? Additionally, firearms handed in will be destroyed, no matter the historical or cultural significance. There are other ways to hand in your unwanted firearms, but they are not being highlighted or even touched on by the Ministry of Public Safety. These locations are open year round, not just for a single month.

The drop off points I am referring to are your local gun shops like Wanstall’s, Reliable Gun, and Lever Arms in Vancouver – just to name a few here in the lower mainland alone. These businesses are home to professionals that can safely take the firearm off your hands. This would avoid the prospect of taking RCMP officers off our streets for a glorified pick up. There is also the possibility of making money off of your used firearms. The BC gun amnesty will not pay a dime for anything.

The firearms industry did reach out to the RCMP to suggest that that local shops be drop off points but this partnership was shunned by the Ministry of Public Safety and RCMP. It is safe to say that this cooperation would have led to greater quantities of firearms being turned in and potentially preserved due to historical significance.

We can all agree that firearms should not be in the hands of those who are not trained to handle them safely.

The benefits of taking these unwanted firearms to shops greatly outweigh the benefit of having an RCMP office come into your home to retrieve them.

  • Hand in unwanted firearms (Check)
  • Make money (Check)
  • Preserve our history and culture (Check)

Please take a moment to research all of your options to hand in or drop off unwanted firearms.

 

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