Royal Canadian Mounted Police Arbitrary Banning of Legal Firearms Ottawa Ontario

  A Vaughan gun lover, hunter and sports enthusiast is speaking out against a decision by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to prohibit two semi-automatic rifles that have been legally purchased and owned in Canada for more than a decade. Mauro Ulisse, 40, said he was left shocked and angered after a decision to outlaw the Swiss Arms and CZ-858 rifles came down from the national police agency last week. Although there has yet to be an explanation about why these steps were taken, Mr. Ulisse said he believes the rule change occurred because the RCMP believes these two models — one from Switzerland and the other from the Czech Republic — can be easily converted into automatic rifles, which are prohibited in Canada. Despite not being an owner of either gun, Mr. Ulisse is concerned they will next come for his four AR-15s, which he said are on a list of guns the agency is considering outlawing. Furthermore, he bemoaned the 12,000-plus people who have lost the ability to use the guns they purchased and have owned for up to 12 years. “At the stroke of a pen, they have made thousands of gun owners criminals overnight,” he said. “You can’t go buy a car and then, five years later, someone tells you it can be converted into a weapon and, therefore, it’s illegal. I don’t see how they can do this.” Mr. Ulisse added he finds the decision by the RCMP to ban the guns wrong headed. He believes that with modern technology any firearm can be converted into an automatic gun that releases multiple shots with one pull of the trigger. “Nowadays, you can convert anything, all you would need to be is an experienced gunsmith, so that argument is neither here nor there,” he said. Days after the decision became public knowledge, resulting in a wave of anger from some of the country’s two million gun owners, the Conservative government stepped to the fore, announcing there would be a five-year amnesty on the decision allowing those already owning the guns to avoid prosecution. Steven Blaney, public safety minister, said he will bring forward the amnesty to ensure owners can continue to possess the guns “without threat of criminal charges”. However, Mr. Ulisse is concerned this amnesty will not work. “To have this weapon without a licence is against the law, therefore, you are a criminal,” he said. He said the fact the police agency will not give compensation for the weapons’ cost, between $1,000 and $4,000, adds insult to injury. “We’re not talking chump change, we’re talking millions of dollars here,” added the member of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association. He is not the only one upset by the move. Tony Bernardo, representative from the same association, said his members are up in arms over rule changes. “This issue is not settled, not even close, you still have the spectre that people are in possession of unregistered firearms,” he said about the changes and subsequent amnesty. “The amnesty is great, it’s a lifeboat while they fix the problem …(we have thousands) of people who have been turned into criminals and many don’t even know it.” He said his organization will continue to advocate on behalf of gun owners until something is done to resolve the situation. “This is a serious issue, we’re continuing to fight this,” he added. The RCMP has not returned repeated calls.