Canada’s strict gun control, including license requirements for gun ownership and complete bans on certain categories of firearms, proved impotent as a terrorist opened fire inside a Quebec mosque Sunday night.
Reuters reports that “six people were killed and eight wounded when [a gunman] opened fire … during Sunday night prayers.”
According to The University of Sydney’s GunPolicy.org, “only licensed gun owners may lawfully acquire, possess or transfer a firearm or ammunition [in Canada].” Those seeking a license to own a gun “must pass a background check which considers criminal, mental health, addiction and domestic violence records.” Additionally, applicants for a gun owner’s license must give “third party character references” and demonstrate “an understanding of firearm safety and the law.”
Those who are able to acquire a license “must re-apply and re-qualify for their firearm licence [sic] every five years,” which basically means the background check is ongoing. Also, the ownership of certain categories of firearms is prohibited and “records … of individual civilians licensed to acquire, possess, sell or transfer a firearm or ammunition” are maintained.
As law enforcement officials continue to divulge to journalists more information on the Quebec mosque attack, there is no indication gun laws had an effect in keeping the perpetrator from acquiring the weapons needed to conduct the shooting.
The attack was similar to those in other European countries with restrictive gun control laws. For example, twelve people were shot and killed on January 7, 2015, when terrorists opened fire on Charlie Hebdo headquarters in gun-controlled Paris. Just months later, on November 13, 2015, more terrorists in Paris opened fire and killed 130 innocents.
These transpired despite France’s ban on entire categories of weapons, and it requires the kind of expanded background checks that the Obama administration, Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), and gun controller Gabby Giffords pushed as a way to make Americans safe.
More recently, on July 22, 2016, a firearm-based attack in Munich, Germany, was successfully executed despite similar background checks, gun bans on entire categories of weapons, and licensing requirements for gun ownership. Nine innocents were killed in the Munich attack.
Strict gun control failed to protect innocents in Paris and Munich, and it has now failed to protect them in Quebec.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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