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Prince Edward Island > Opinion > Local Perspectives

LETTER: Apply rules equally

Contributed | Posted: May 26, 2020, 1:15 p.m. | Updated: May 26, 2020, 2:45 p.m. | 2 Min Read
The federal government firearms ban announced May 1 includes nine principal models of semi-automatic rifle, including the AR-15, which has been used in a number of U.S. mass shootings, M16, M4 and AR-10, as well as their component part known as the “upper receiver. It also bans the Ruger Mini-14 rifle, which is the style of gun used in the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal in 1989.
The federal government firearms ban announced May 1 includes nine principal models of semi-automatic rifle, including the AR-15, which has been used in a number of U.S. mass shootings, M16, M4 and AR-10, as well as their component part known as the “upper receiver. It also bans the Ruger Mini-14 rifle, which is the style of gun used in the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal in 1989. - Government of Canada photo

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When PM Justin Trudeau announced the new regulations concerning the banning of a long list of “military-grade assault rifles” on May 1, I thought it was a pretty heavy-handed approach to the gun violence across Canada.

One of the big reasons for these new regulations was they were supposed to make Canadians feel safer now that these weapons were no longer legally available for sale to all Canadian citizens.

Regardless of where you stand on these new regulations (I personally don’t own a firearm), there was one statement from Bill Blair, minister of Public Safety, when he was announcing these new regulations that really stood out, that First Nations people will be exempt.

Can anyone out there explain to me how it makes any sense to prohibit one group of Canadians from buying certain types of firearms, but it’s perfectly legal for another group of Canadians to buy those same firearms? Are all Canadians not considered equal?

I know this letter is going to brand me as being a racist, but all I want is for all the regulations to be applied the same for all Canadians. After all, PM Trudeau is fond of saying, “we’re all in this together.”


John E. Clow,
Summerside

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