In a recent Global News story, Patrick Cain examines a potential push for tighter gun control, revealed in a newly released briefing note to Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney.
Solomon Friedman was quoted in that story:
A tightening of firearm rules would come as welcome news to gun-control advocates, and would likely be slammed by opponents as being based more on fear than sound methodology.
“I see that as a step in the wrong direction,” argues Ottawa-based firearms lawyer Solomon Friedman. “There isn’t a list of features that lead to prohibition – nowhere does it say what the basis of prohibiting these firearms by appearance was.
“Semi-automatic firearms are all quite similar, functionally. You have what amounts to an arbitrary classification based on the appearance of the firearm, or on its heritage.”
[…]
Friedman, for his part, remains dubious about reviving the practice of banning firearms by name.
“I think the best way to look as this is to advocate for a principled approach to classification, which at the moment does not exist. Are any firearms more or less likely to cause harm? If you don’t begin your prohibition discussion from there, you’re not doing it on a principled basis.”