Harper links guns to home safety
But shooting intruders is illegal in most situations, critics warn
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, after years of cautiously linking gun ownership to farmers and duck hunters, now says firearms are needed by rural Canadians for their own security so they can shoot people who pose a danger.
But a spokesman for the Canadian Bar Association is urging Canadians to realize that they do not have an automatic right to defend themselves at home with a gun, and could end up facing criminal charges if they do so.
Harper’s comments are being promoted by the Conservatives’ election campaign manager, who says she is “proud” of how Harper said gun ownership is “important for safety for those of us who live a ways from immediate police assistance.”
The Conservatives are distributing emails to supporters about Harper’s remarks, to raise funds and to spread allegations that the opposition parties would restore the long-gun registry.
Harper’s unusually blunt remarks have already sparked a political firestorm.
On Monday, the National Firearms Association (NFA) applauded Harper for making a statement that was “long overdue.”
The association said all Canadians — rural and urban — should have a clear right to use firearms to defend themselves against an intruder who breaks into their home.
“There are people who have experienced violence in their homes and it’s not just in rural areas,” NFA president Sheldon Clare said in an interview.
He said that when someone now uses a gun to defend themselves from an intruder, they undergo a police investigation, can face charges, and end up paying legal fees in a “process that becomes the punishment.
“I think that people should not have free licence to just shoot other people,” said Clare. “But if you’ve got someone breaking into your house and life and limb are clearly at threat, I think there is a need to understand the most basic tenets of English common law — which is a person’s home is their castle.”
But Eric Gottardi, chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s criminal justice section, rejected the notion Monday evening that Canadians have the legal right to defend their homes with a gun. “It’s not true. It’s a common misperception that is much more true in the United States than it is here.”
In fact, Gottardi stressed that people should be aware of what they can and cannot do if someone breaks into their home.
“Deadly force through the use of a gun would never be justified unless that situation turned into one that was life-threatening. And at that point, you’re really talking about self-defence. At 3 a.m., if someone is breaking into your house, you might think that your life is in danger. But the reality is that if it’s an unarmed intruder and you blow them away, you’re going to be arrested for murder.”
Ultimately, Gottardi said, if a homeowner uses his gun to kill an intruder, the central question would be: “Were you at risk of death? And that’s the only time firearm use in your own defence is going to be justified.”
Opposition parties said Harper was stoking fears for political gain.
Liberal MP Wayne Easter said the consequences of Harper’s remarks could be dangerous if interpreted the wrong way by a gun owner.
“Someone who hears that might say, ‘Well, I don’t need to lock my gun up. I need to have it close at hand so that if somebody sets foot on my property and I think they are trespassing, away we go’.”
Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control, reacted in an emailed statement to the Citizen. “The suggestion that rural people have firearms in case the police cannot reach them in time is not really consistent with Canadian law on lawful use of force but smacks of American arming for self protection.”
The controversy began quietly late last week, when Harper appeared at a public event organized by the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
When asked about gun control, he spoke of how the Tories are pushing another bill through Parliament that simplifies gun licensing and stops firearms officers from bringing back a gun registry “through the back door.”
“It’s a tool that many people use in their lives, obviously in their livelihoods,” Harper said about firearms.
“My wife’s from a rural area. Gun ownership wasn’t just for the farm. It was also for a certain level of security when you’re a ways from immediate police assistance.”
That comment inspired an email sent out to Conservative supporters the next day by Jenni Byrne, the party’s campaign manager.
“As someone who grew up in a rural part of our country, I was proud to hear what the Prime Minister had to say yesterday,” wrote Byrne.
“He said that gun ownership is important for safety for those of us who live a ways from immediate police assistance.”
“Our Conservative party recognizes that guns play an important role in the livelihoods, recreation and safety of many Canadians.
“And we’re standing up for responsible gun-owning Canadians.”
Easter, a former solicitor general who is now the Liberals’ public safety critic, said Monday that this is not the message Canadians should hear from their prime minister. “One thing that police always say is, ‘Do not take justice into your own hands,” said Easter.