"Right" to own firearms

[terrym]

You need to be careful with anything you have that can be used as a weapon. If you carry a bat in your car and don't ever play ball then you are likely to be judged as being predisposed to use it as a weapon and it being considered a weapon as opposed to the guy who has several bats and a sack full of little league gear in the minivan. Basically you need to make sure that you don't end up being portrayed as person looking to get into a fight. My guns like many others are stored in a triple locked vault in the basement so I would have to rush by intruders on the main floor ( only floor with doors) to access the guns for self defense. Not really of any use in an emergency. Our safe storage laws pretty well prevent firearms to be used in a home invasion.

[welsh]

so one has to really wonder why comparatively safe countermeasures (both for victim and attacker) are illegal under criminal law in Canada.

You can drive yourself nuts wondering why any given provision became law, or you can just accept that it's law. I think pepper spray was caught up in a general wave of prohibitions on easily concealable weapons including stun guns and the like. It doesn't matter anyway, because if a woman carried Mace in her purse she'd be carrying a concealed weapon regardless.

Also, possession of a weapon for the purpose of self-defence in the absence of a specific and unavoidable threat is arguably illegal, based on Supreme Court rulings on self-defence.

Essentially, Canadian law allows you to own a weapon but not with the intent to use it on a person.

The status of pepper spray in the law is weird. The only reason bear sprays and dog sprays are not considered prohibited weapons is that they are not expressly designed to be used on people.

[terrym]

Also, possession of a weapon for the purpose of self-defence in the absence of a specific and unavoidable threat is arguably illegal, based on Supreme Court rulings on self-defence.

.

In America that would likely eliminate 50% of gun owners.

[Guelph1981]

Our safe storage laws pretty well prevent firearms to be used in a home invasion.

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.

[Gun Nut]

You can drive yourself nuts wondering why any given provision became law, or you can just accept that it's law. I think pepper spray was caught up in a general wave of prohibitions on easily concealable weapons including stun guns and the like. It doesn't matter anyway, because if a woman carried Mace in her purse she'd be carrying a concealed weapon regardless.

Also, possession of a weapon for the purpose of self-defence in the absence of a specific and unavoidable threat is arguably illegal, based on Supreme Court rulings on self-defence.

Essentially, Canadian law allows you to own a weapon but not with the intent to use it on a person.

The status of pepper spray in the law is weird. The only reason bear sprays and dog sprays are not considered prohibited weapons is that they are not expressly designed to be used on people.

Another thought on pepper spray, usually in a defense against animals, you are generally backing away laying down a fog for the animal to move into. Normally when I've seen PS used again people, it's aggressively sprayed in the assailants face. I've heard it suggested if you're going to do something like that, you would be further ahead to use a Hornet & Wasp spray. Over time the effects of pepper spray will apparently wear off, by contrast H & W spray require medical attention, in order to neutralize its effects. I'll leave to you all, to figure out the advantage of that.

You don't stop hunting because you grow old. You grow old because you stop hunting.
- Gun Nut

[welsh]

That, right there, is intent to do bodily harm.

This is why people get charged over what they think is self defence.

[Waftrudnir]

...
Also, possession of a weapon for the purpose of self-defence in the absence of a specific and unavoidable threat is arguably illegal, based on Supreme Court rulings on self-defence.
...

Hence my sentiment with regard to factually excercise the right to defend oneself; i.e. not being allowed to take precautions is practically not all that different than not being at all.

[trimmer21]

In America that would likely eliminate 50% of gun owners.

That's what they're afraid of.

[patvetzal]

Fifty years ago most law abiding Canadians with no history of violence COULD apply and receive a permit to carry a handgun. Back in those days most of us were felt by our government to be reasonable people, who would only use their gun for entertainment such as target shooting, hunting, or protection. Then we proved that most of us were NOT the type of people you could trust to do no harm to our neighbours or our country so our guns were restricted even more.

[DGearyFTE]

50 years ago the large urban areas that are now part of our national demographic didn't exist, nor did the spectre of gangs. I am confident to state that the stats will show that crime occurs predominantly in urban areas. And of course we know how the media thrives on those types of stories.
I am still hopeful that going forward that events will occur to revise the Castle Doctrine and become the catalyst for property rights that include firearms rights.