Gary Mauser: Has Banning ‘Assault-Style’ Weapons in Canada Improved Public Safety?

Commentary Four years ago, the federal government prohibited “1,500 types” of “assault-style” firearms. Has public safety improved as promised? The 2020 ban instantly made it a crime for federally licensed firearm users to buy, sell, transport, import, export, or use hundreds of thousands formerly legal rifles and shotguns. According to the government, the ban targets “assault weapons,” but in reality they are classic semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have been popular with hunters and sport shooters for more than 100 years. Ottawa announced at the time that newly prohibited firearms were to be confiscated and their legal owners to be “grandfathered” or receive “fair compensation.” That hasn’t happened....