Some guns used for hunting could be affected by new ban: firearms lawyer

A lawyer specializing in gun laws believes new gun bans could prohibit many rifles and shotguns commonly used for hunting.

Edward Burlew, a defense attorney from Ontario, shared his concerns with Gormley about the federal government’s announcement.

Burlew believes most 10- and 12-gauge shotguns would fall under the ban, due to the restriction on anything with a bore of 20 millimetres or higher.

“This is so predatory that it’s hard to believe they said, ‘Oh geez, we overlooked this 20-millimetre thing.’ This has been common for the last 50 years. It’s not something new,” he said.

“It’s either gross oversight, gross negligence, or it’s deliberate. I don’t know which.”

He said 10-gauge shotguns are used for shooting grizzly bears and sometimes whales, while their 12-gauge counterparts are more common.

“If you don’t have one, that’s sort of weird. It’s like the ‘belly button gun.’ … Everybody’s got a belly button (and) everybody’s got a 12 gauge,” Burlew said.

He also took issue with the government’s lack of an announcement for paying gun owners and shops who have to turn in their now-restricted firearms.

“They’ve gone to all these businesses … and said, ‘Your inventory’s worth zero. Maybe we’ll give you some money, but we don’t know when and we don’t know how,’ ” he said.

He worries about the economic impact it could have on the 4,000 businesses and 45,000 employees in the gun sales industry.

You can hear the entire conversation on cjme.com under the On Demand tab.