Weapon or Firearm

[awndray]

Before the PAL I had a FAC (Firearm Acquisition License) issued by the FEDs. It didn't say Weapon Acquisition License.

The reason for that is simple. You don't need a license to acquire any other form of weapon.

[Kilo Charlie]

Just another nomenclature thing for people to be offended by. Hunters are just as bad. I've seen people get all high and mighty when people call a detachable magazine a clip.(Even though it says "clip" right on the Savage package). I myself am bothered by anyone who calls cartridges "bullets", or calls bullets "tips". Mostly because I've gone to a store like the one in Smith's Falls where the salesman gave me a smug look when I asked for "25 calibre bullets for reloading". His response was "Umm, well, there's several .25 calibre bullets. .25-06, .25-35, then when I said, "not CARTRIDGES. I asked for BULLETS", ...oh....you mean TIPS? Nah, we don't sell those."
I do refer to my firearms as either rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader. I never call them weapons. As many have pointed out, that has an aggressive connotation.

[Snowwalker]

Yes, anything can be a weapon, including firearms. However, we don't hunt with weapons, not unless you're hunting people, which as i understand it, is illegal.

When the term "Assault Weapon/Rifle" gets used at the truckstop lunch counter, I always ask the person "What is an Assault rifle?". They normally go on about how an assault rifle is a weapon that is used to attack people. Then at some point I take my spoon in my hand and ask them what I am holding. They say "A spoon!" to which I reply "So if I hit you with it, does that not make it an "ASSAULT SPOON?"

[skypilot]

When the term "Assault Weapon/Rifle" gets used at the truckstop lunch counter, I always ask the person "What is an Assault rifle?". They normally go on about how an assault rifle is a weapon that is used to attack people. Then at some point I take my spoon in my hand and ask them what I am holding. They say "A spoon!" to which I reply "So if I hit you with it, does that not make it an "ASSAULT SPOON?"

FINALLY, the RCMP are getting the tools they need......PATROL CARBINES. When we the public get them, Wendy Kookier, the liberals, and media calls them Assault Rifles.

Not much BIAS eh?

[skypilot]

Me 2 KC. I usually ask for bullets if I'm buying reloading stuff. I usually ask for a specific caliber and grain "cartridge" or box of shells in caliber and gr.

Patrol Carbines for RCMP, Assault Rifle, black rifle baby killers for the rest of us........all in the spin, sorry "nomenclature."

I'm sure the clip/mag Academy nomenclature was simply a way to haze, punish and intimidate cadets.

[MikePal]

From the CC of C

“weapon”
« arme »
“weapon” means any thing used, designed to be used or intended for use

• (a) in causing death or injury to any person, or
• (b) for the purpose of threatening or intimidating any person

and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, includes a firearm and, for the purposes of sections 88, 267 and 272, any thing used, designed to be used or intended for use in binding or tying up a person against their will;

FINALLY, the RCMP are getting the tools they need......PATROL CARBINES.

Well doesn't that muddy the waters.....In the hands of a LEO ..they are correctly called 'Weapons' !!!

So it's technically an Assault Weapon....but in the hands of a Civilian, the same gun is just a Rifle...

[400bigbear]

Damn I must be considered as " weaponing up " . Personally I am more worried about a sicko with a lighter than a firearm .

TD

[urbansherpa]

My "evil looking" AR-15 is a firearm. My fire-breathing S&W 500 magnum cannon is a firearm.
If I threaten to throw a rock at you it is a weapon. It's all in the delivery....the intention.

Many Americans buy 'firearms' solely for self-defense. Those firearms ARE weapons. I think that is why you'll see them referred to as 'weapons' on American gun websites.

By definition, police and military carry weapons.

That is why you don't say "for self-defence" when you transfer a handgun (wildlife carry notwithstanding). You purchased it "to take to the range". If you buy it to protect yourself from bad-guys you will not be approved.


CCC Definition
“weapon” means any thing used, designed to be used or intended for use

• (a) in causing death or injury to any person, or
• (b) for the purpose of threatening or intimidating any person

[Brampton Mike]

I own firearms...I do not own weapons!

[welsh]

CCC Definition
“weapon” means any thing used, designed to be used or intended for use

• (a) in causing death or injury to any person, or
• (b) for the purpose of threatening or intimidating any person

With respect to the Criminal Code and firearms, that's incorrect. Firearms are always considered weapons in the Criminal Code, regardless of their design, use, or intended use. You left out the bit that comes next: "without restricting the generality of the foregoing, includes a firearm," not to mention the circular logic whereby a firearm is defined in the code as a "barrelled weapon." This is established in case law, for example people who carried a concealed firearm and then said it was not a "weapon" and so they were not carrying a concealed weapon.

Again, whether we actually think of our rifles and shotguns as weapons is another question entirely.