Dear Editor,
In response to Arlene Van Hove, I, too, was dismayed when I saw our MP come out opposed to the proposed Liberal gun ban.
Now that I’ve done a bit of investigating of this issue, I’m confused rather than dismayed. Turns out there are a significant difference between Assault rifles and Assault-style rifles. Assault rifles like the AK-47 we all see in videos from the US are already banned in Canada.
What is confusing many people like me is that there are a lot of rifles made to look like assault rifles but in striking power and operation they are identical to the hunting rifles most of us grew up with.
When I see a rifle with a pistol grip, I automatically think it is an assault rifle that will fire burst of 10 or more shots with one pull of the trigger.
Turns out that guns like the AK-15 sold in Canada is a semi-automatic with a five-shot clip, exactly the same as a hunting rifle but likely a smaller bore intended for target shooting or varmint hunting. It is an “assault-style” rifle but it is not an assault rifle. It is a regular rifle with a pistol grip instead of a straight stock.
My understanding is that here are two main differences between a hunting rifle and an assault rifle.
An assault rifle is an automatic which fires multiple bullets with one pull of the trigger.
A hunting rifle requires a separate trigger pull for each shot, thereby being much slower. The second difference is that an assault rifle can hold 30 or more bullets whereas in Canada hunting rifles cannot hold more than five shots.
We need the Liberal government to clearly explain what kinds of guns they want to ban in Canada.
Assault rifles are already banned so what are they adding to the list. If it is shotguns used for duck and goose hunting and semi-automatics used to shoot varmints then I am against it.
If it is some other type of assault rifle not presently banned in Canada then I support it.
Can our politicians of both stripes please clear up my confusion?
David Nielsen, Walnut Grove
