I have a friend who lives in Canada. He was in the Canuck Special Forces and is a former SWAT operator. After playing in the proverbial sandbox, he got out of the military and now works as a police chief north of the border. He told me something interesting about Canadian law.
A bunch of us were together a few years ago teaching a week long firearms and tactics course here in the US. During a break he said that he usually goes hiking near his house. He said he carries a short barreled 12 gauge shotgun when he goes. I think he said it had a 7-inch barrel. He carries it for the bears.
In Canada, he said, all citizens can legally own and carry sawed-off shotguns. There’s no special pay or tax he has to get to buy, own or carry it.
Interestingly, I did some training in one Canadian province where the cops couldn’t carry guns off duty. They had to leave their guns in the police department when they left. I couldn’t believe it. The cop who told me that hated the policy. He mentioned how running into people he arrested at the supermarket while he was with his family is not a good thing, especially when those same people had threatened to kill him and his loved ones.
I have one last story about how our gun loving allies to the north live, from yet another province. Years ago I attended a tactical course where I met a civilian from Canada. He told me that the government actually outlawed guns where he lived, so his father went out and buried several guns near the family well. The Canadian government didn’t come door to door to collect guns, of course, but he figured just in case they did, he’d at least have some guns that the government would never take away.
While I’d like to be able to buy short barreled shotguns without having to pay extra for an NFA tax stamp, I like that I can take my gun home as a cop. Guess all that means is what you likely already know about me–that I’m glad to be an American and live where I live.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of Guns.com.
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