"Right" to own firearms

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Originally Posted by Guelph1981

I live i an apartment so no basement to put a safe. I do have a locked gun cabinet in my bedroom with a pistol cabinet on top that is full of ammunition. If i heard someone breaking into my place it wouldnt take me too long to grab my keys off my dresser and unlock my gun cabinet, grab a shotgun, unlock my ammo cabinet and grab a few shells before i was out to the door. Im not saying i would use a firearm in a home invasion situation but our storage laws definitely wouldnt prevent me from doing so.

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Nothing in the criminal code prevents you from using a firearm to defend yourself if you believe that your assailant is going to use force that would cause grievous bodily harm or death on you. That also applies if you use knives, bats, or your fists.

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Originally Posted by arclight

I disagree that the storage laws exist to prevent firearm use in defence situations. They are designed to prevent unauthorized access to the firearms. If you look at the RCMP storage and transport of firearms website, non restricted firearms have to be stored unloaded and either secured with a secure locking device, or stored in a safe/vault/or a room designed to store firearms. The same applies for restricted firearms. You can also keep the ammo in the same container. You can buy a rapid access pistol safe, store a pistol in it without a trigger lock and place a loaded magazine inside the safe. It is perfectly legal. If you are involved in a shooting make no statements to the police until you have spoken to legal counsel. Advise the police "I fully intend to cooperate with your investigation, but I must speak with legal council first". After that all you give them is name, DOB, and address. Most people are hanged because of comments they made to the police without speaking with a lawyer first.

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Excellent post and I agree with your summary. The RCMP training videos and manuals all stressed that the storage laws were to help prevent easy access to suicidal people and in domestic situations.

If they had been truly hard on storage you would not be allowed to have a shotgun sitting on your coffee table with a trigger lock on it and unloaded and be legal which is the present situation.

They could have written the law very different "all guns must be in a commercial safe and the room containing the safe must be alarmed" or words to that effect.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

If they had been truly hard on storage you would not be allowed to have a shotgun sitting on your coffee table with a trigger lock on it and unloaded and be legal which is the present situation.

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Neither would the rules permit keeping a gun unlocked in remote areas, as they do.

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Originally Posted by welsh

Neither would the rules permit keeping a gun unlocked in remote areas, as they do.

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Or for predator control on farms and such like.

But the exceptions to the rule ie remote wildlife areas are not well defined and depending on the LEO you might get charged and you might not.

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Originally Posted by welsh

Neither would the rules permit keeping a gun unlocked in remote areas, as they do.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

Or for predator control on farms and such like.

But the exceptions to the rule ie remote wildlife areas are not well defined and depending on the LEO you might get charged and you might not.

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As you say Gilroy, the definition of "remote" is not defined. Can I have my rifle/shotgun unloaded and unlocked sitting in the corner of my cabin in case a bear or coyote decided to attack my dog, or myself? My cabin is on a main back road about 6 miles from a town. It's surrounded by bush for a few miles or so, but is that considered remote? My definition is that it is.

Moose.

There are two separate exceptions to the storage requirements.

One is for remote wilderness area.

Second is for predator control.

An example for remote wilderness area would be if you were on Baffin Island and counting snow geese in a survey. You could have a shotgun out without a trigger lock in your tent,with the gun unloaded but ammunition separate.I think this fits the definition.

On the other hand you might leave your rifle in a tent while Moose hunting north of Timmins and your camp is on a well traveled logging road .Your gun gets stolen while your out grouse hunting.I think you might get charged.

In your situation and for most farmers,backwoods people, where there is a threat of predators like coyotes,its permissible to have your gun not trigger locked and unloaded with ammunition stored separate and you would not be charged.Two separate exceptions .