The Canadian government wants people’s AR-15s. They want them all.
What’s more, they think they can get them. Their plan includes a “buyback” where they’re going to pay for those guns. On the plus side for their plan, they’re offering more than the paltry $100 some American buybacks offer.
On the downside for the plan, what they’re offering won’t be much better for some people.
The federal government is proposing $1,337 in compensation for turning in an AR-15 rifle under a mandatory buyback program.
Public Safety Canada has released a price list detailing how much money owners of banned firearms can expect to get under the program.
At the higher end of the scale, forfeiting a Swiss Arms SG550 could net an owner $6,209.
Ottawa will seek input from gun owners, businesses and industry on the proposed compensation amounts from now until Aug. 28.
The mandatory buyback program would cover the more than 1,500 models and variants of what the government considers assault-style firearms, banned two years ago.
The problem is, those sums for most AR-15s aren’t exactly going to encourage a lot of people to trip over themselves to sell their guns to the government.
You see, from what I’ve learned about Canadians, they’re often just as defiant as Americans, particularly in the more rural areas. They just tend to be a bit more polite about it.
They’re not going to sell their guns to the government. They’re just going to stash them away, put them in cases that could contain anything, and only take them out when there’s no chance of anyone seeing them. They’re not going to sell them to Trudeau’s government.
Now, I will give the Canadian government credit. They’re creating a list of variable amounts instead of treating all AR-15 style rifles as the exact same with regard to costs. That’s smart if your goal is to encourage people to sell them back.
If you offer a paltry amount–say, a couple of hundred dollars–then no one is turning anything in.
But no government is ever going to pay what such a weapon is actually worth. It’s generally going to be a fraction of the value of such a firearm, particularly when you factor in the fact that there aren’t unbanned weapons with the same utility.
I’m mighty much afraid that while the Canadian government is going to try their ban, they’re going to find out that Canadian politeness doesn’t necessarily equate to docility. They’re not going to roll over no matter how much you offer.
Meanwhile, the criminal class in Canada will be relieved no matter how many are sold to the government. They will know they won’t have to face a private citizen with an AR-15, pretty much no matter what. They can do as they wish without any fear of meeting someone with such a weapon, and that’s a good thing for them. Even those folks who have them aren’t going for them during a break-in. Not as a first-line option, anyway.
Don’t be surprised to see Canada’s violent crime rate creep up following the buyback.