Juno News - July 24, 2018


True North's Andrew Lawton on Canadian Gun Laws


Episode Stats

Length

4 minutes

Words per Minute

191.6371

Word Count

828

Sentence Count

41


Summary

In the wake of the Danforth shooting, many are asking the question: How does someone with mental health issues get access to a gun? In this episode, we discuss the process of getting a firearms license, and how the process is designed to identify and filter out people who should not have access to guns.


Transcript

00:00:00.420 After the tragic Danforth Ave shooting in Toronto this week, the man identified by the SIU as being the shooter, Faisal Hussain, was revealed by his family in a statement to have had mental health issues for his entire life.
00:00:14.340 How does someone with mental health issues get access to a handgun?
00:00:18.240 That's the logical question and it's one that people are asking all over the country.
00:00:22.220 To understand this, we need to know how you actually get a firearm in any case.
00:00:26.500 It starts with something called a PAL or an RPAL, a Possession and Acquisition License, or for some firearms, including all handguns, a Restricted Possession and Acquisition License.
00:00:37.120 To get one of these licenses, which lasts five years, you have to go through a few steps along the way.
00:00:42.500 One of them is a safety course, the Canadian Firearm Safety Course.
00:00:46.220 It gives you all the information you need about safe handling, what the rules and regulations are, how to transport them,
00:00:51.940 and you have to do this under the tutelage of a Certified Firearm Safety Instructor.
00:00:57.460 After that, you can actually apply.
00:01:00.000 When you apply, there are a number of questions that you're asked about where you work, about your work history,
00:01:05.460 whether you've ever lost a job, whether you've been through a divorce or a bad breakup,
00:01:10.100 and there is also a question about whether you have had, in the last five years, any mental health issues whatsoever,
00:01:16.720 diagnosed or undiagnosed.
00:01:18.280 It also asks about whether you've been under the care or counsel of any mental health providers or mental health practitioners,
00:01:24.680 whether you've ever threatened your life or attempted your life,
00:01:27.400 whether you've ever threatened harm or injury to someone else.
00:01:29.980 These are questions that are meant to weed out the more violent or potentially dangerous,
00:01:35.500 potentially violent people in the country with mental illness who are seeking access to firearms.
00:01:41.540 It is a yes or no question, but it's not just your word for it.
00:01:44.780 The government is actually looking at a number of factors.
00:01:46.920 They're interviewing family. They're interviewing romantic partners.
00:01:49.900 They can even interview employers.
00:01:51.500 They can do all of these things, and if anyone along the way says,
00:01:54.320 you know what, I don't think that person should have access to guns, and that's one of the questions.
00:01:59.180 Is there any reason in your mind this person shouldn't have access to guns?
00:02:03.160 Police are supposed to then pull that person aside and say,
00:02:07.080 look, we can't give you your firearms license.
00:02:09.060 That's the way the system's supposed to work.
00:02:11.280 But what if you check yes on the box about mental health issues?
00:02:14.500 Does that mean that you are pulled out of the running for a gun?
00:02:17.400 Not exactly.
00:02:18.620 And it's important that people understand that there is a wide range of mental health issues.
00:02:23.500 There are minor anxiety and depressions, and there are very serious psychoses.
00:02:28.000 There are things that will cause someone no harm or risk to themselves at all,
00:02:32.520 and there are others that could have someone conceivably on a murderous rampage.
00:02:36.160 If you disclose in your application, the police, understandably, the CFO, want a bit more information.
00:02:43.600 I did.
00:02:44.400 I was a suicide survivor.
00:02:45.800 I've written about it extensively.
00:02:47.520 And when I actually applied for my firearms license,
00:02:49.720 it was less than five years after the suicide attempt in question.
00:02:54.180 So what did they need?
00:02:55.140 They wanted to talk to my family to make sure that I was safe in their view.
00:02:58.920 They wanted to also get a letter from a health care practitioner in the mental health field
00:03:03.660 saying, you know what, Andrew is in a different place in his life now than he was before.
00:03:07.920 The CFO themselves called me up and asked about all of these different things that had happened,
00:03:14.060 and they made a case-by-case determination that I was not going to be a risk,
00:03:18.120 and I've had firearms ever since.
00:03:19.740 That process is supposed to filter out anyone who shouldn't have a firearm
00:03:24.920 or anyone who would be a danger, and it is a very hands-on, case-by-case process.
00:03:30.080 We don't know whether the handgun used by Hussein was acquired legally or illegally.
00:03:35.820 We don't know if he had a license or not.
00:03:38.020 But these are the questions that people are asking for answers to
00:03:40.860 about how one actually gets a gun in the country in the first place,
00:03:45.000 and whether it's even possible for someone with a mental health issue.
00:03:48.500 The short answer is it is, but it's not easy.
00:03:51.380 And the system is meant to distinguish between those with serious mental health issues
00:03:55.840 and those with mental health issues that won't actually cause a risk.
00:04:00.100 And this distinction is important for us to have a sensible approach to firearms.
00:04:03.820 It's also important for us to have a sensible approach to mental health issues.
00:04:08.120 For the True North Initiative, I'm Andrew Lutton.
00:04:10.260 For the True North Initiative, I'm Andrew Lutton.