Uh, seeing how there's a bit of confusion about firearms and Canada and how I have my PAL (Possession and Acquisition License), here's a few guidelines. Note that I'm not setting myself up to be the end-all, know-all about all the laws. If you want the "meat" of our laws, go here:
http://www.cfc-ccaf.gc.ca/en/owners_....asp#crossing1
I was 19 when I got my PAL. It was for non-restricted (ie. rifles, shotguns) and restricted (ie. handguns). Prohibited weapon (ie. M-14, Uzi's, etc.) licenses have to be grandfathered (ie. under most normal conditions, you will not be able to get a license to buy automatic weapons in Canada).
We have uses for all of our firearms (roughly 40). Rifles are used for varmit control, shotguns for deer hunting, handguns for deer hunting in tree stands, and handguns for euthanizing pigs and other animals on the farm.
I have my collector's status which allows me to visibly wear any of my firearms on me as long as it's on my property at anytime (though, quite frankly, that doesn't mean much seeing as how anyone can carry any legal firearm at any time as long as they're "in control" of it.......which has a very loose definition). Collector's status just makes displaying and purchasing easier.
In getting my PAL, we were shown stats that show they're are roughly 25 million firearms in Canada. We have a population of roughly 30 million. That's
almost a gun for every man, woman, and child.
Our gun control laws here are, quite frankly, pathetic. We were told that the RCMP had been keeping track of gun sales since the Montreal shootings. It was later found out, that when the government called upon those stats, that the RCMP found keeping track impossible and had disposed of what records they had. We have recently spent $700 miillion on attempting to register every gun in Canada (which, I'm sure, the criminals will be the first to do *rolls eyes*). What do we have to show for it? Not much. $700 million could have put quite a few cops on the street, IMHO. They've made the law abiding citizen the criminal.
Licenses for guns were originally plastic. Now they're paper. My uncle photoshopped a bunch of his to show that he had registered Patriot missiles and chainguns to show how ludricrous and pointless this method is to our PAL instructor (who fully agreed).
The orginal people doing the registration were fired. Under free trade, the government had to put the job out to companies in North America. A Canadian company won the bid, but can you imagine what would happen if a company way down in Mexico had won? It's all ready a red tape fiasco; it'd be even worse 2500 miles away.
What about registering really old guns without serial numbers? They give you a friggin' sticker. Yes, a sticker to place on the barrel. I'm sure that won't come off when you're hunting.
I believe in having a firearms license. People who operate firearms need to have respect for them and know how to properly operate them. Registration? $700 million tax dollars down the drain. Scrap it now and cut the losses.
Why is crime lower here? It's frickin' cold! Can you imagine drive-by shootings at -15 C? "Sowwreey Lawwrry--my tongue goot stuck to tthe gune"
