Gun Control Notes

Canadian Firearms Safety Course
By: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police www.rcmp.gc.ca The Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC) was developed in partnership with the provinces and territories, national organizations with an ongoing interest in firearms safety, and many firearms and hunter education course instructors from across Canada. This course was developed to meet the mandatory requirements of section 7 of the Firearms Act.
The legislation stipulates that individuals wishing to acquire non-restricted firearms must take the CFSC and pass the tests OR challenge and pass the CFSC tests without taking the course. Individuals wishing to acquire restricted firearms must take the CFSC and the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC) and pass the tests OR challenge and pass the tests without taking either course.
Topics covered in the CFSC include: * the evolution of firearms, major parts, types and actions; * basic firearms safety practices; * ammunition; * operating firearm actions; * safe handling and carry procedures; * firing techniques and procedures; * care of non-restricted firearms; * responsibilities of the firearms owner/user; and * safe storage, display, transportation and handling of non-restricted firearms.
“FSEA was established in March 1996. Its mandate is to provide dedicated management and expertise needed to implement and to administer a firearms safety education and awareness program in a positive, proactive and professional manner in order to instill in the general public a continuing sense of responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others.”
10 Myths about Gun Control in Canada http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/tenmyths.html TOP 13 COUNTRIES BY # OF GUNS PER CAPITA | United States | 88.8 | 1 | | Yemen | 54.8 | 2 | | Switzerland | 45.7 | 3 | | Finland | 45.3 | 4 | 32[5] | Serbia | 37.8 | 5 | 58.2[6] | Cyprus | 36.4 | 6 | | Saudi Arabia | 35 | 7 | | Iraq | 34.2 | 8 | | Uruguay | 31.8 | 9 | | Sweden | 31.6 | 10 | | Norway | 31.3 | 11 | | France | 31.2 | 12 | | Canada | 30.8 | 13 | |

LAW -- December 21, 2012 at 3:19 PM EDT
U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons
BY: COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

Screen shot of automatic weapons.
By Jonathan Masters, online writer/editor for the Council on Foreign Relations
Introduction

The debate over gun control in the United States has waxed and waned over the years, stirred by a series of incidents involving mass killings by gunmen in civilian settings.
The killing of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Ct. in December 2012 prompted a national discussion over gun laws and initial calls by the Obama administration to limit the availability of military-style assault weapons.
Gun ownership in the United States far surpasses other countries, and the recent mass shootings, in particular, have raised comparisons with policies abroad. Democracies that have experienced similar traumatic shooting incidents, for instance, have taken significant steps to regulate gun ownership and restrict assault weapons. They generally experience far fewer incidents of gun violence than the United States.
United States
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Supreme Court rulings, citing this amendment, have upheld the right of states to regulate firearms. However, in a 2008 decision confirming an individual right to keep and bear arms, the court struck down Washington DC laws that banned handguns and required those in the home to be locked or disassembled.
A number of gun ownership advocates consider it a birthright and an essential part of the nation 's heritage. The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world 's population, has about 35-50 percent of the world 's civilian-owned guns, according to a 2007 report by the Swiss-based Small Arms Survey. It ranks number one in firearms per capita. The U.S. also has the highest homicide-by-firearm rate among the world 's most developed nations (OECD), though some analysts say these statistics do not necessarily have a cause-and-effect relationship.
Federal law sets the minimum standards for firearm regulation in the United States; however individual states have their own laws, some of which provide further restrictions, others which have more lenient guidelines.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibited the sale of firearms to several categories of individuals, including persons under eighteen-years of age, those with criminal records, the mentally disabled, unlawful aliens, dishonorably discharged military personnel, and others. In 1993, the law was amended by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which mandated background checks for all unlicensed persons purchasing a firearm from a federally licensed dealer.
However, critics maintain that a so-called "gun show loophole," codified in the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986, effectively allows anyone, including convicted felons, to purchase firearms without a background check.
As of December 2012, there were no federal laws banning semi-automatic assault weapons, military-style .50 caliber rifles, handguns, or large capacity ammunition magazines, which can increase the potential lethality of a given firearm. There was a federal prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines between 1994 and 2004, but Congress allowed these restrictions to expire.
Canada
Many analysts characterize Canada 's gun laws as strict in comparison to the United States, while others say recent developments have eroded safeguards. Ottawa, like Washington, sets federal gun restrictions that the provinces, territories, and municipalities can supplement. Federal regulations require all gun owners, who must be at least eighteen-years of age, to obtain a license that includes a background check and a public safety course.
There are three classes of weapons: non-restricted (ordinary rifles and shotguns), restricted (handguns, semi-auto rifles/shotguns, sawed-offs), and prohibited (fully automatics, etc.). A person wishing to acquire a restricted firearm must obtain a federal registration certificate, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Modern Canadian gun laws have also been driven by prior gun violence. In December 1989, a disgruntled student walked into a Montreal engineering school with a semi-automatic rifle and killed fourteen students and injured over a dozen others. The incident is widely credited with driving subsequent gun legislation, including the 1995 Firearms Act, which required owner licensing, the registration of all long-guns (rifles and shotguns), while banning more than half of all registered guns. However, in 2012, the government abandoned the long-gun registry, citing cost concerns. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/12/gun-policy.html __________________________________________________________________
Important notes from Part III Firearms and Other Weapons of Canada’s Criminal Code R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46 o http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-46/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-46.html#sec84
Use Offences
Using firearm in commission of offence
 85. (1) Every person commits an offence who uses a firearm, whether or not the person causes or means to cause bodily harm to any person as a result of using the firearm, (a) while committing an indictable offence, other than an offence under section 220 (criminal negligence causing death), 236 (manslaughter), 239 (attempted murder), 244 (discharging firearm with intent), 244.2 (discharging firearm — recklessness), 272 (sexual assault with a weapon) or 273 (aggravated sexual assault), subsection 279(1) (kidnapping) or section 279.1 (hostage taking), 344 (robbery) or 346 (extortion); (b) while attempting to commit an indictable offence; or (c) during flight after committing or attempting to commit an indictable offence.
Important notes from Wikipedia: Gun Politics in Canada & U.S.A. o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_States  In 1995, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, whose employees routinely carry such weapons in the line of duty, estimated that the number of firearms available in the US was 223 million.[8] In 2005, almost 18% of U.S. households possessed handguns, compared to almost 3% of households in Canada that possessed handguns.[9] In 2011, the number was increased to 34% of adults in the United States who personally owned a gun; 46% of adult men, and 23% of adult women. In 2011 47% of the adult U.S. population lived in households with guns.
MORE LINKS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada ~ Gun politics in canada wiki http://www.globalnews.ca/pages/story.aspx?id=6442774059 ~ Global news article http://guncontrol.ca/overview-gun-control-us-canada-global/ ~ Overveiw of gun control http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/positive-steps-gun-control-u-only-benefit-canada-193422640.html - Article on gun control benefitting canada http://o.canada.com/2012/12/17/gun-control-is-a-start-but-the-united-states-has-bigger-issues-than-just-availability-of-weapons/ ~ Article on Why gun laws wont solve american gun violence problems.

Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada ~ Gun politics in canada wiki   http://www.globalnews.ca/pages/story.aspx?id=6442774059 ~ Global news article   http://guncontrol.ca/overview-gun-control-us-canada-global/ ~ Overveiw of gun control   http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/positive-steps-gun-control-u-only-benefit-canada-193422640.html - Article on gun control benefitting canada   http://o.canada.com/2012/12/17/gun-control-is-a-start-but-the-united-states-has-bigger-issues-than-just-availability-of-weapons/  ~ Article on Why gun laws wont solve american gun violence problems.