The Saskatchewan Government introduced amendments to legislation that would prevent municipalities from implementing bans on handguns or other firearms.
Amendments to The Miscellaneous Municipal Statutes Amendment Act, 2019 were originally introduced last fall.
Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit says it’s in response to the federal government’s recent ban on “assault-style” looking firearms, which is something the SaskParty government disagrees with.
“When you look at the restriction we already have with handguns and sporting rifles and rifles as it is, essentially, what we see is the federal government banning these firearms due to cosmetic reasons.” Ottenbreit said.
In a news release, the provincial government says Ottawa indicated its intention to pass legislation that will allow municipalities to implement bans on handguns or other firearms.
Ottenbreit says, to his knowledge, he’s never heard of any municipalities going this route, however, has heard concerns from gun owners.
“Their worry is that some jurisdictions would ban the transportation of those firearms, essentially making it very difficult to go from their place of storage – probably their homes – to the range or wherever they would be utilizing their firearms.”
He says they want law-abiding gun owners to maintain the right to safe, legal firearm ownership in the province.
“We’re going to continue the education and safety and the focus on enforcement, that’s very important,” he said. “We know that legal firearm owners in our province, and in our country, are very responsible, and we don’t feel like they should be impeded because of the minority of illegal firearm owners that are creating and committing crimes with some of these firearms.”
The federal government implemented the ban on approximately 15-hundred makes and models of “assault-style” weapons in May, and is giving owners of those models a two-year grace period to comply with the ban.
In that time gun owners could return their firearm to the manufacturer or export them.
Ottawa said after the two year period, owners must either get rid of the firearm or apply to have it “grandfathered”
Federal Justice Minister David Lametti has said those who don’t comply by April of 2022 could face sanctions under the Criminal Code.