Press Release: NAWL Takes Action on Gun Control Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Algonquin Anishnaabeg Territory/Ottawa, ON – The National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) has filed a brief with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security regarding Bill C-21: An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms).

With Bill C-21, the Government is proposing comprehensive gun control legislation, including several provisions that specifically address situations of domestic violence. NAWL commends the Government of Canada for taking action in this complex area, is supportive of the objective of keeping guns away from dangerous abusers, and overall is generally supportive of the proposed legislation.

For many months now, NAWL has worked closely with gun control advocates and victims’ groups, as well as participated in consultations with the federal government to discuss women’s specific needs and vulnerabilities in relation to gun control. We believe that Bill C-21 can be improved by strengthening and clarifying some of its domestic violence provisions.

Among other proposals, NAWL is advocating for:

swiftly removing guns from dangerous people, without giving them extra time to dispose of their guns as they please;
removing the employment exception, so that people who work with guns (for example, police officers) do not get a special right to keep their license if they have engaged in acts of domestic violence;
clarifying and strengthening provisions regarding licence revocation in cases of domestic violence, so that domestic violence is defined, other forms of family violence are included, and the decision maker’s discretion is reduced.

Read NAWL’s brief, and see which organizations have endorsed it: