Thanks.
For the record, I'm a gun owner, a veteran and I work in law enforcement. In my agency there are a lot of lawful gun owners and a fair number of hunters and other sport and competitive shooters.
The Canadian "gun lobby" (i.e. CCFR, NFA etc.) are mostly on the right track but, in my opinion, they have to re-work their message a bit. They are
not protecting gun ownership "rights". This doesn't exist in Canada. Legally owning a firearm is a privilege, much like legally driving a car, flying a plane or practicing brain surgery. They are protecting the privilege of gun ownership by lawful owners. A privilege can be rescinded for bad conduct but it should only be rescinded from those who misbehave (criminals, for example), not the entire community. (We all know how much "group punishment" was enjoyed at BMQ. :nod
. They have to abandon the gun "rights" narrative. This is too easily countered by the anti-gun coalitions and the government and too easily equated to the "evil NRA".
I'm also of the opinion that they have to distance themselves from the "Canadian Citizens Concealed Carry" crowd. Mainstream Canada is not ready for that extreme version of firearms ownership nor is there a general need for it here. Unlike the US, not even our cops carry off-duty as a rule. The argument has been made that civilian gun owners are better shots than cops. To an extent I can buy that, but it's equally (if not more) important to know WHEN to shoot and when not to, something none of our mandated civilian firearms safety training covers.
So, I support legal firearms ownership. I support registration of restricted firearms. I find magazine capacity restrictions unrealistic (the Parkland shooter had 10 round magazines). I believe that police and the CBSA should be properly resourced and empowered to combat illegal/illicit firearms trafficking and misuse. And, once that's done, I believe that our existing firearms laws - properly and consistently applied - are more than sufficient to deal with Canada's "gun crisis".